The world knows Edith Wharton the writer: the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, the chronicler of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century social mores, the author of such remarkable books as The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and The House of Mirth. Equally significant is Edith Wharton the designer. Wharton is widely regarded as the inventor of the concept of interior design, both in her writings on the subject (The Decoration of Houses, published in 1897 and about to celebrate its centennial, and Italian Villas and Their Gardens, published in 1904, remain in print) and in her own residences.
This fascinating volume unites Wharton's personal history with discussion of her design theory, the elaborate settings she created in her fiction, and the design of her own residences, including exteriors, interiors, and gardens. Illustrated with an engaging combination of lavish new color photography and charming historical documents, it offers a unique collection that captures Wharton's timeless style.
Wharton's homes are exemplary of the architectural and design sensibilities she set forth in her books. Her early years were spent in Old New York, Europe, and Newport, Rhode Island. After her marriage, she and her husband lived in a Park Avenue townhouse and two Newport houses, until construction of The Mount, their grand home and grounds in Lenox, Massachusetts. Wharton's later years were spent in a Paris apartment, a house in the nearby countryside, the Pavillon Colombe, and a Riviera villa, Ste. Claire du Vieux Chateau. The extraordinary mix of Wharton own homes, the environments she created in her novels and stories, and her design theories enhances an understanding of her contributions to interior design, to literature, and to twentieth-century American design.

Theresa Craig is a professor of humanities at the New School for Social Research, where she teaches courses on Edith Wharton.