Edith Wharton, one of America's greatest novelists, was also a keen observer of her era's manners and morals. She wrote her first novel at the age of 40, "The Valley of Decision." An immediate best seller, it catapulted its late-starting author into a long and brilliant career. Wharton regarded herself as a true American, and continued to make Americans the central characters of her meticulously crafted novels. Defying convention by divorcing her husband, Edith Wharton remained abroad until her death in 1937.

This is part of Chelsea House Publishers' American Women of Achievement series. This ebook contains the complete text from the original print version.