Order of Edith Wharton Books

Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Her work dissected the social codes, moral constraints, and hidden tensions of Gilded Age and Progressive Era high society. Her fiction blends psychological insight, precise social observation, and elegant, controlled prose, often revealing the quiet tragedies that unfold beneath rigid class expectations. Wharton’s major works, including The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, and The Age of Innocence, have secured her place as one of the central figures of early 20th-century American literature.

Edith Wharton made her debut as a novelist in 1902 with The Valley of Decision – her first full-length novel. Below is a list of Edith Wharton’s books in order of when they were originally released:

Publication Order of Old New York Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of American Poets Project Books

Publication Order of Gothic Fantasy Books

Publication Order of Akashic Noir Books

Publication Order of Women Writers of the World Books

Publication Order of Selected Shorts Books

Publication Order of Modern Library Torchbearers Books

Publication Order of Handheld Weirds Books

Publication Order of The Dark Descent Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

If You Like Edith Wharton Books, You’ll Love…

• Henry James
• Anthony Trollope
• Alice Munro

Edith Wharton Synopses: The Touchstone is a novella by Edith Wharton. Desperate to secure enough money to marry, Stephen Glennard makes a choice that will haunt him: he sells the intimate love letters written to him by a celebrated author who has recently died. The windfall brings him the future he thought he wanted, but the source of his fortune becomes an ever‑present weight. As guilt begins to erode his peace of mind, Glennard turns to his wife, hoping she can offer the clarity and forgiveness he cannot find in himself.

The Valley of Decision by Edith Wharton traces the intertwined lives of two Pittsburgh families divided by class and expectation: the affluent Scotts and the working‑class Marches. Their worlds collide when the Scotts hire Maggie O’Neil, a young Irish servant whose presence unsettles the careful balance of the household. Maggie’s growing attachment to Paul Scott soon deepens into a forbidden romance, one that threatens to expose the rigid social boundaries that govern the city’s elite.

As Maggie and Paul navigate the pressures of family loyalty, class prejudice, and the weight of public scrutiny, their relationship becomes a test of how far love can stretch against the constraints of the world they inhabit. The result is a vivid portrait of a community where privilege and hardship sit side by side, and where crossing the lines between them carries consequences neither family can ignore.

The House of Mirth is a standalone novel by Edith Wharton. The beautiful, much-desired Lily Bart has been raised to be one of the perfect wives of the wealthy upper class, but her spark of character and independent drive prevents her from becoming one of the many women who will succeed in those circles. Though her desire for a comfortable life means that she cannot marry for love without money, her resistance to the rules of the social elite endangers her many marriage proposals. As Lily spirals down into debt and dishonor, her story takes on the resonance of classic tragedy. One of Wharton’s most bracing and nuanced portraits of the life of women in a hostile, highly ordered world, The House of Mirth exposes the truths about American high society that its denizens most wished to deny.