Author · United States · 1862–1937
Edith Wharton
Manners, money, and freedom drawn with surgical clarity and mercy.
She was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer and she became, for her novel The Age of Innocence, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Literature.
Manners and choices for 2026
Wharton writes how money and manners shape choice. Her irony is precise but merciful, and rooms reveal power as clearly as courts. In debates about class and freedom she keeps dignity at the center. Read her to think about status, love, and housing with clarity.
