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The House of Mirth

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The House of Mirth

By: Edith Wharton
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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About this listen

 The House of Mirth was Edith Wharton's first great novel. Set among the elegant brownstones of New York City and opulent country houses like gracious Bellomont on the Hudson, the novel creates a satiric portrayal of what Wharton herself called "a society of irresponsible pleasure-seekers" with a precision comparable to that of Proust. And her brilliant and complex characterization of the doomed Lily Bart, whose stunning beauty and dependence on marriage for economic survival reduce her to a decorative object, becomes an incisive commentary on the nature and status of women in that society.(P)2001 Blackstone Audiobooks Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction
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This is an excellent book, well read, but beware. The reading includes the full text of the introduction to the novel. It gives away the ending, so if you don't want to know what happens, fast forward through to the start of the novel.

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The purposeful Lily Bart navigates her way through the wallets and wills of turn of the century New York in a timeless picaresque that would see her appearing on next week's Location, Location, Location....brandishing the proceeds of an elderly relative's post-mortem property boom bequest, in search of a sea view and a pair of floral designer flip-flops.
That Edith Wharton, the equal of Henry James, was in but not of Lily's type and society is the ray of hope in this novel. The boorish Gus Trenor and the dilettante Lawrence Selden are delivered unexpurgated - two sides of the same dollar. It's an enjoyable compleat that takes the listener fully into the House of Mirth - where the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Really enjoyable for a first time Wharton-ite!


Credit crunch 1900s.......thoroughly modern Lily

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This is a wonderful novel and is beautifully read by Anna Fields; she is particularly good at doing convincing male voices.
As has already been pointed out, the reading starts with a long introduction by R. W. B. Lewis, Wharton's biographer. This is a good essay on the novel but should be listened to after hearing the novel, since it gives away much of the plot. The novel itself starts at 31 minutes.

Excellent reading of a fine novel

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