The Buccaneers

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a major figure in American literary realism. Her fiction examines the various ways in which social class, money, gender norms, and reputation influence individual choices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born Edith Newbold Jones to a wealthy family in New York City, the author was educated by private tutors, spent significant time in Europe, and enjoyed early exposure to languages and the arts. The rules and expectations of New York’s upper class therefore form the background of many of her works. Wharton’s first books were not novels. In 1897, she published a nonfiction work titled The Decoration of Houses alongside architect Ogden Codman Jr., promoting classical simplicity rather than contemporary ornamental styles. In 1902, her home in Lenox was built to embody the design principles she supported.

In 1885, Wharton married Edward “Teddy” Robbins Wharton, but the marriage was troubled and ended in divorce in 1913. By then, she had moved much of her life to Europe, especially Paris, where she entered literary circles that included Henry James. The celebrated author encouraged her development as a novelist. Like James, Wharton belongs to the realist tradition and often uses controlled third-person narration and free indirect