The House of Mirth

This was recommended on The Slate Culture Gabfest podcast so I thought I would give it a try to fill in some of my classics reading. I really liked it! The protagonist is very sympathetic and considering it's very personal, shallow stuff at stake, it is pretty compelling.

I enjoyed the story. For me the writing style seemed somewhat flowery which was probably the style of the day. It was interesting to me to see the differences in speech, thought and behavior of men and women compared to now.

In the midst of postmodernism it seems more dated that I remembered it from when I first read it some 50 years ago. Still, it marks a measure for where people were then and the distance from then to the present. Such tradeoffs, both in form as well as content. A worthwhile imaginative experience.

Edith Wharton has created a story that is still so relevant for many of us today. There are no perfect people in this book; each character has his or her faults (some more than others), and that is part of what makes this story great; it is realistic. Get off the computer now and read!

This is a recent, no frills edition published by the Freeriver Community. It's printed like a manuscript, with one chapter beginning immediately and often at the bottom of the same page that the preceding chapter ends. The font size could be bigger. The cover graphic is lovely.
Edith Wharton is definitely the master story-teller about society in old New York at the end of the 19 Century, coinciding with the French "Belle Epoque." Lily Bart is striving to maintain social status with limited funds, relying on her beauty, charms and the charity of friends and family. For Downton fans, she's a contemporary of Lady Cora and would share her society before Lady Cora married the Earl of Grantham. Lily Bart has the same goal in mind; to marry well, preferably a man with a title. It's a worthwhile read for the look into the social norms of the late 19th Century and the double standards women endured. A word of caution, the treatment of one particular character would not be appreciated today. It's subtly anti-Semitic and would not be considered politically correct.

Sad book. Lily you kept cheering for but she never could make a "right" decision. She held to many secrets that let to her end when she didn't have to hold them. Not sure if that makes her good or bad?

Edith Wharton has created a story that is still so relevant for many of us today. There are no perfect people in this book; each character has his or her faults (some more than others), and that is part of what makes this story great; it is realistic. Get off the computer now and read!

This is a recent, no frills edition published by the Freeriver Community. It's printed like a manuscript, with one chapter beginning immediately and often at the bottom of the same page that the preceding chapter ends. The font size could be bigger. The cover graphic is lovely.
Edith Wharton is definitely the master story-teller about society in old New York at the end of the 19 Century, coinciding with the French "Belle Epoque." Lily Bart is striving to maintain social status with limited funds, relying on her beauty, charms and the charity of friends and family. For Downton fans, she's a contemporary of Lady Cora and would share her society before Lady Cora married the Earl of Grantham. Lily Bart has the same goal in mind; to marry well, preferably a man with a title. It's a worthwhile read for the look into the social norms of the late 19th Century and the double standards women endured. A word of caution, the treatment of one particular character would not be appreciated today. It's subtly anti-Semitic and would not be considered politically correct.

Sad book. Lily you kept cheering for but she never could make a "right" decision. She held to many secrets that let to her end when she didn't have to hold them. Not sure if that makes her good or bad?

Fascinating study of a brilliant and beautiful woman ultimately destroyed by both her indecisiveness and the misplaced values she shares with her world. Set more than a century ago, it remains stunningly relevant..

The intimacy with which Wharton reveals her heroine, Lily Bart, makes her choices poignantly heroic though sadly unfortunate. Her character deepens as her troubles overwhelm her and Wharton's imagery renders her self-sacrifice both bitter and sweet. Seldon, like Angel Claire, understands too late what he has lost by pride and a soul depleting withholding of affection. In judging Lily too harshly, he sacrifices his own happiness and a shared life in a true house of mirth.

I love Edith Wharton. Fell in love with her books as a youth and reread them every couple years. This book is the one that always makes me catch my breath and wonder aloud how anyone can write this well. It is utterly heartbreaking.

I can't classify this book- not comedy, mystery, or romance like may Victorian tales. It's more a look into society in the 1900s and how social standing is everything. Girls in high society were raised with few skills, and the main character, Lily had one gift- she was pretty, when her money was gone she was able to live off her friends - for a while, until her poverty became obvious. Then she became a social leper, her friends avoided her as if they might catch what she had. What she didn't have was the skills to earn a living- this story traces the character's descent from being a "must invite" to the gentry's parties to drug addicted poverty. I found Lily to be frivolous and not always likable- she depended on her looks to support her in the lifestyle she aspired to and scoffed at many opportunities that could have prevented her downfall. Still, it is a book worth reading and closer to the reality of what life was like in those years.

This was a beautifully written story but very depressing. I'm glad I read it but found it a little too wordy at times which was why I gave it four stars. I liked The Age of Innocence much better and will read more of her books.

This is another one of Edith Wharton's better books. For those of you who prefer the less sensational writings of today, Wharton provides excellent glimpses into life during the late 19th and early 20th century, mostly among the wealthy, largely idle 'upper class' of New York and the Hamptons.

I love the beautiful cover and the artwork on the sleeve. If you have a difficult time with fine print this is not the selection you should make, or at least have a good pair of readers handy if you do make this selection.

The story is wonderful and Edith Wharton is an exceptional author.

Unfortunately, this Penguin Classics press is the worst printed book I have ever seen. The pages are not printed consistently and the ink seems to have bled. The front cover doesn't even align properly with the pages and leaves them partially uncovered. It's incredibly poor quality. Don't bother buying this copy if you can get your hands on another. Usually, penguin classics are well done, but this was a huge disappointment.

I also received this "new" book in a damaged condition. I've ordered used books in "good" condition that were in better shape. The shipping box was fine so it had to have been packaged this way.

Two things this novel is not: Feminist literature; a manners novel. Don't get me wrong, both can be found within its pages, but the wider perspective is much broader. The fun part is that it is also a fabulous read. When the novel was not causing me to conduct raging debates in my thoughts, it was thoroughly enjoyable entertainment. What a word smith Wharton is.

House of Mirth was interesting because it was written at the beginning of women's suffragism. Edith Wharton came from a wealthy family, the elite of New York. She was considered a kook in her American social circles. Fared much better in Europe. She was sort of our American Oscar Wilde, poking fun at the social fakery of the time - of the gilded age. I liked her writing but it was a bit stilted. (That's a judgement from the modern age of 2015.) Still, she was a revolutionary thinker. It didn't hurt that she had a very rich daddy and could live well. A poor girl at that time - wouldn't have done so well embracing such rebelliousness. The heroine of this novel is self sabotaging, ruins herself trying to leverage up in suitors. She needed, wanted money and position. The only good guy in the story - she gave the boot to and went on to ruin herself. She had some vices, too. Gambling. It's a tale of the price we pay for what we pursue. Worth reading.

This novel illuminates what "Old New York" was like for women. Raised to be an ornamental wife, Lily Bart painfully navigates rigid class structures and the politics of the wealthy set in NYC. Marriage had little to do with love and much to do with consolidation of wealth and power. This story reveals how tenuous life for women of this era could be and how vacuous wealth and social status are.

a beautiful classic, psychologically and artistically. Edith Wharton has a rare understanding of the human response, and can articulate the complex motives and understands of various characters. We do get to see life as it happens -- or doesn't.