Edith Wharton (1862โ1937) was an American novelistโthe first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Age of Innocence in 1921โas well as a short story writer, playwright, designer, reporter, and poet. Her other works include Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth, and Roman Fever and Other Stories. Born into one of New Yorkโs elite families, she drew upon her knowledge of upper-class aristocracy to realistically portray the lives and morals of the Gilded Age.