Thursday, January 24, 2013

January 24: Edith Wharton

On this date in History .... 1862:

Edith Wharton is born. 

She became the first woman to take a Pulitzer (in 1921) for literature for her book, “Age of Innocence” (published in 1920). The story is set in New York in 1870, right in the middle of “The Gilded Age” of America. Her books were filled with stories of the era, attacking and romanticizing the lifestyle of the aristocratic society. 

She was born into a privileged class. Her father was George Frederic Jones and it is said the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’s” was a reference to her father’s family and his generations of wealth. She wrote 23 books and at least 85 short stories. 

The book, “Age of innocence”, can be read free here:  Age of Innocence link


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