The House of Mirth Paperback – International Edition, 26 April 2012

Un roman passionnant sur une femme du début du XXeme siècle, fréquentant la haute société sans en avoir les moyens, financiers, car en beauté et en esprit elle est sans égale. Elle écarte plusieurs candidats au mariage, et finit tout juste couturière, tout juste car elle n'a pas les capacités de travailler de ses mains, puis jusqu'au suicide. Ce roman écrit par une femme sonde assez profondément la psychologie féminine. Ce livre a en plus l'avantage d'etre peu cher, ce qui fait que ca vaut le coup d'essayer, meme si on est sceptique au début.Pour ma part après avoir lu ce livre j'a acheté un recueil de 4 livres de Edith Wharton dans la collection Library of America.

Great book 😁😁😁

I didn't have high expectations when I bought this novel since the author and the novel itself were very unknown to me. Now I must confess that The House of Mirth is one of the best English/American classics I have read so far. I don't understand why it has not received its due praises. It was very insightful and thought-provoking. The end was very unexpected and sad and for these reasons this novel deserves five stars..

A really sad and moving story which was written beautifully. Through Lily Bart, Edith Wharton criticizes the constraints on women of that era, and also the greed and superficiality of the upper classes and society in general. How rumours, gossip and privilege (and also the lack of it) affects everybody. What I like about this book is that while it a social critique , all of the books characters are complex and well drawn. While Lily is shunned by the upper class society after one of the characters hurls a false accusation at her, there are also few who try to help her during those difficult time. This is obviously is contrast with those novels of social critique which look at these issues in black and white. Lily herself is a complex, ambiguous character. Throughout the book ,I was asking myself, is Lily principled ? or is she holding onto the society's idea of "perfection" which makes her act in a certain way. Was it her independence or her false pride which made her seek for employment.? We never really are given clear answers. But what is clear that Lily's upbringing (and those of other upper class women of her time) is limited , and there weren't many options for her . Thus Edith Wharton makes us sympathize with Lily despite her flaws.The ending was sad but beautiful in a certain way .The language was very flowery, and the sentences exquisite. A lot was said in many words signifying the strength of Wharton's writing. A must read book for lovers of Classic literature.

Después de ver la película que es un autentico peliculón...me decidí por este libro. La autora es la misma que la de la edad de la inocencia (peliculón) y la solterona ( con Bette Davis peliculón too) ...osea que es una IMPRESCINDIBLE.