Edith Wharton was born in 1862 into one of New York's older and richer families, and was educated here and abroad. Her works include The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth, and Roman Fever and Other Stories. As a keen observer and chronicler of society, she is without peer. Edith Wharton died in France in 1937.
Gore VidalThere are only three or four American novelists who can be thought of as major -- and Edith Wharton is one.