The House of MirthThe House of Mirth
Score Classic
What it's about
Lily Bart is twenty-nine, beautiful and charming, but she has no money of her own in the glittering high society of 1900s New York. To keep her place she must marry a rich man, and she's running out of time. But Lily keeps sabotaging her chances, partly from a longing for something better, and as debts and gossip close in, she slides down the social ladder.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Modern Library list of the best novels. It's Wharton's first great novel, a sharp, heartbreaking story about money and women.
You'll love it if you liked
The Age of Innocence
Middlemarch
Anna KareninaGood to know
It's a tragedy, and the ending is sad. There's some period antisemitism in the portrayal of one character.
By the numbers
- Readers41 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller61 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking
More by Edith Wharton
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Quick answers
Is The House of Mirth worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Modern Library list of the best novels. It ranks #1,016 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 72.8 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The House of Mirth about?
Lily Bart is twenty-nine, beautiful and charming, but she has no money of her own in the glittering high society of 1900s New York. To keep her place she must marry a rich man, and she's running out of time. But Lily keeps sabotaging her chances, partly from a longing for something better, and as debts and gossip close in, she slides down the social ladder.
How long does it take to read The House of Mirth?
About 7 hours (286 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The House of Mirth?
If you liked it, try The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Middlemarch by George Eliot or Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.