The House of Mirth Audiobook By Edith Wharton cover art

The House of Mirth

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The House of Mirth

By: Edith Wharton
Narrated by: Barbarra Caruso
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Lily Bart, a beautiful, intelligent, but penniless young woman, lives on the outskirts of New York's high society, craving the luxurious lifestyle of her wealthy contacts. But while Lily possesses the grace, taste, and morality of the ideal turn-of-the-century lady, her delicate innocence threatens her survival in that very world. As she fights to maintain her newfound place among the aristocracy, Lily struggles mightily against what lurks beneath all the glitter and gold - greed, vulgarity, and ruthless competition. In her brilliantly perceptive novel, The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton, the peerless, Pulitzer Prize-winning chronicler of Old New York, provides yet another heartbreaking glimpse into the world of manners, privilege, betrayal, and shocking falls from grace.

Public Domain (P)1999 Recorded Books Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance

Critic reviews

"The House of Mirth is uniquely authentic among American novels of manners." (Louis Auchincloss)
Beautiful Writing • Compelling Story • Excellent Reader • Classic Status • Great Dialogue • Social Commentary

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Couldn't get in to the story or the characters. I only finished it because it's a classic.

Boring!

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Read this in high school for a book report, listened to it again in my 40's for a much different perspective. Nothing like a good Edith Wharton character study whenever I'm in the mood for Old New York.

A Classic Read

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This was a deeply satisfying audio.
The story is beautifully written and read....a good reader is so important to the audio experience. In fact I may well have become a little irritated with the depth of detail and repetition had I been reading it for myself; but really these qualities help to underline the inexorability of Lily's fate.
Having recently read Trollope's perspective on 19th century British "society", it was interesting to get the feel of what was going on in New York at the same time

Pride and prejudice can bring a girl down.

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The character of Lily is never developed consistently - and the changes in her moods, which form much of the novel, were often baffling to this male reader. This was not helped by the narrator - who in the long dialogues, does not make it clear which person is speaking. I was often left in the dark about what was going on.

I was not interested in the habits of the rich either - which must have been of great interest to many of the readers of this novel of manners.

One thing I did not miss, however, was the obligatory sexuality that now prevails. It was refreshing to hear of intense affairs between men and women without overt sexuality ever being mentioned.

Brilliant writing, but limited subject matter

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My favorite Wharton novel.
Beauty, brains and breeding promise great success for Lily Bart. We are introduced to the heroine when her social triumphs are just beginning to be a thing of the past, and no one is more aware of the clock ticking away than Lily herself.
Wharton lucidly shows how Lily's expectations and upbringing have prepared her for a kind of life for which, at heart, she has a contempt. Her intelligence and sensitivity make her overly critical of the hypocrisy and vanity of the set in which she aspires to reign.
Wrong choices, bad luck and false friends erode Lily's last chance at fortune. The reduced circumstances in which her only true friends live is repugnant to Lily who can only imagine life being worth while when passed amid luxury.
We vividly see the illusory trap that prevents Lily Bart from escaping the denouement.

The misfortune of beauty

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