Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and designer. She drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper class New York "aristocracy" to realistically portray the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. She was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1921 for The Age of Innocence, and was also nominated for the prize in 1927, 1928 and 1930. Despite not publishing her first novel until she was 40, Wharton became an extraordinarily productive writer who, in addition to her 15 novels, 7 novellas and 85 short stories, published poetry, books on design, travel, literary and cultural criticism, and a memoir. She was a frequent visitor to Europe, and during WWI worked tirelessly in support of the French war effort. This novel was first published in 1923.