<p><em>The House of Mirth</em> follows the career and final downfall of Lily Bart, a society beauty in turn-of-the-century New York, whose financial security stands on very shaky ground. In a culture where money measures everything and morals are worn like fashionable garments, for appearances only, an essentially honest Lily is torn between offers of a loveless, financially secure marriage and one of love and relative poverty with the man she adores. By turns na&iuml;ve, worldly and reckless, her vacillating nature pulls her first in one direction, then the other, in a downward spiral towards eventual tragedy. Edith Wharton was born into the same social milieu she so successfully satirised in her novels, and <em>The House of Mirth</em>&#39;s scathing and perceptive view of New York&#39;s financial elite did not make her any friends among the American beau monde. Following the book&#39;s publication (and its tremendous literary success), Wharton left the United States permanently and spent the rest of her days in Europe.</p>