Other Fiction Wharton, Edith: The House of Mirth, v.1, 17 Feb 2008.

[Patricia]

A novel, first published in 1905.

Lily Bart has been brought up to love luxury and beauty. After her father is ruined she is thrown alone into New York society. Can she make a good marriage? After she is apparently compromised, will her sense of honour allow her to use underhand means to recapture her social standing?

The title is a Biblical quotation:
‘The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.’ [Ecclesiastes, 7: 4.]

I have restored accents, italics and emdashes. and added curly quotes.

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