The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American author best known for her stories and novels about the upper-class society into which she was born. Educated privately at home and in Europe, she married Edward Wharton, a Boston banker, in 1885. Her marriage was emotionally disappointing, if not disastrous, and she suffered a series of nervous breakdowns in 1894. About this time she began to write fiction. Her major literary model was Henry James, whom she knew, and her work reveals James’ concern for form and ethical issues.

Her novel The Valley of Decision was published in 1902, followed in 1905 by the critical and popular success of The House of Mirth, which established her as a leading writer. After 1907 Wharton lived in France, visiting the United States only at rare intervals. In 1913 she was divorced from her husband.

In the two decades following The House of Mirth, she wrote The Reef (1912), The Custom of the Country (1913), Summer (1917), and the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Age of Innocence (1920). She was the first woman to receive that honor. Her best known work, however, was the long tale Ethan Frome (1911).

She wrote some thirty books in all, including an autobiography, A Backward Glance (1934). She died in France in 1937. 

Elizabeth Klett is an English literature professor by day and an audiobook narrator by night. She has been a professional audiobook narrator since 2011 and has produced over 300 titles. She trained as an actor at Drew University and holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois. She loves reading (and teaching) fiction, drama, and poetry of all kinds, and delights in creating distinctive voices and accents for literary characters.