House of Mirth I

Wharton wrote a lot as a girl but she did not publish a novel until she was around 40. Her marriage ended and she spent most of her time in France, rather than the USA. She involved herself in war work during her life in France, and wrote about it. One of her best known novels is "House of Mirth". Like most of her work it is set in the US, in "Old New York".. ie among the moneyed well bred aristocracy of the East Coast. Her heroine, Lily Bart is from a well born family but her father comes home one day and tells his wife and daughter that they are ruined. He has lost all his money. He fades away and dies, ashamed. Mrs Bart is angry and upset that her husband has let her down, and left her poor. She dies, leaving Lily to the care of relatives who are not really pleased to have a young woman foisted on them. Lily moves from staying with one relative or friend and another, and feels that she has to play along with these people to have a home of sorts. She gambles a lot and sometimes wins but it's not a steady income. She tries to find a husband but never seems to find the right man, who would be agreeable to her and rich enough to keep her. At the beginning of the book, she is 29 and getting dangerously close to spinsterhood.