Though brought up to enjoy a life of ease as the daughter of a prominent New York family, Edith Wharton earned lasting fame as one of the most distinguished writers of her time.

Even as a child, scribbling down verses and stories on bits of brown wrapping paper, young Edith displayed an intelligence and energy that were not expected of her. Later, after her marriage to Edward Wharton, she found the formal structure of American society stifling. She was happier in Europe, among friends such as Henry James and Walter Berry.

Living abroad much of her life, Edith Wharton produced a number of brilliant stories and novels, including the short masterpiece Ethan Frome and a Pulitzer prizewinner, The Age of Innocence. On both sides of the Atlantic she was acclaimed a novelist of exceptional talent and an acute social critic.

Once described by Henry James as "the angel of devastation," Edith Wharton was overbearing yet shy, capable of great generosity and of great condescension. Edith's enigmatic personality, her achievement as an artist, the world she moved in—all are sharply delineated in this biography. Through research into primary sources, including many unpublished letters, Olivia Coolidge has drawn a lifesize portrait of a fascinating figure in American literature.

From the dust jacket