The Jones family frequently took trips to the country and to Europe. Because her brothers went to boarding school, and so were often away from home, Edith was essentially raised as an only child in a brownstone mansion on West Twenty-third Street in New York City. Edith had two older brothers: Frederic Rhinelander Jones (Freddie), sixteen years older than her, and Henry Edward Jones (Harry), eleven years older. Her ancestry was of the best English and Dutch strains. Her family on both sides was established, old-money New York business aristocracy. Wharton's personal experiences, opinions, and passions influenced her writing.Įdith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24, 1862, in New York City to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones. Wharton's protagonists challenge social taboos, but are unable to overcome the barriers of social convention. Her protagonists are most often tragic heroes or heroines portrayed as intelligent and emotional people who want more out of life. Edith Wharton, an American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, is known for her ironic and polished prose about the aristocratic New York society into which she was born.
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