Books in order
Edith Wharton Books in Order
by Edith Wharton
Start with Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (1920), an inviting introduction to her insight into love and social rules. The list below moves from her best-known fiction toward different settings, more intimate moral studies, wartime concerns, and finally nonfiction.
Updated
The books in order
Free to start one of the free gifts when you start
In order of publication
Every Edith Wharton book in our library, numbered by year of first publication; a book without a known year comes last.
| # | First published | Book | Kind | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1897 | The Decoration of HousesEdith WhartonChallenging · 2–5 h A guide to shaping rooms around architecture rather than clutter. | Non-fiction | Free to startRead free |
| 2 | 1900 | The TouchstoneEdith WhartonMedium level · Under 2 h A lawyer sells private letters and struggles with his conscience. | Novella | Free to startRead free |
| 3 | 1905 | The House of MirthEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h A woman without wealth struggles to keep her social place. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 4 | 1911 | Ethan FromeEdith WhartonMedium level · 2–5 h A poor farmer struggles between marriage and love for another woman. | Novella | Free to startRead free |
| 5 | 1912 | The ReefEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h A diplomat’s brief affair threatens his hopes of marriage. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 6 | 1913 | The Custom of the CountryEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h A young woman uses marriage to pursue wealth and status. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 7 | 1917 | Novel | Free to startRead free | |
| 8 | 1920 | The Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h An engaged lawyer falls in love against his society’s rules. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 9 | 1922 | The Glimpses of the MoonEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h A couple’s marriage bargain puts love at odds with money. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 10 | 1923 | A Son at the FrontEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h An American painter faces his son's involvement in war. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
Suggested reading order for a first-time reader
Our advice, not a required order: each line says why the book comes at that step.
| # | First published | Book | Kind | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1920 | The Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h Begin with this familiar classic for Wharton's precise treatment of love, manners, and social constraint. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 2 | 1905 | The House of MirthEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h Stay with New York society while exploring the sharper pressures of money and precarious social standing. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 3 | 1911 | Ethan FromeEdith WhartonMedium level · 2–5 h This brief rural tragedy reveals how powerfully Wharton writes beyond wealthy drawing rooms. | Novella | Free to startRead free |
| 4 | 1913 | The Custom of the CountryEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h With her social world established, turn to a more biting satire of ambition and marriage. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 5 | 1917 | SummerEdith WhartonMedium level · 2–5 h Return to rural life for a young woman's perspective on desire, independence, and limited choices. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 6 | 1922 | The Glimpses of the MoonEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h Next, explore a marriage bargain that gives familiar questions about love and money a different shape. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 7 | 1912 | The ReefEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h Move into subtler emotional territory, where uncertain motives and intimate conversations demand closer attention. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 8 | 1900 | The TouchstoneEdith WhartonMedium level · Under 2 h This compact study of conscience offers a focused look at privacy, money, and moral compromise. | Novella | Free to startRead free |
| 9 | 1923 | A Son at the FrontEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 h Broaden your reading with a wartime novel centered on parenthood, art, and divided loyalties. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 10 | 1897 | The Decoration of HousesEdith WhartonChallenging · 2–5 h Finish with nonfiction, shifting from imagined social spaces to practical principles of architecture and interior design. | Non-fiction | Free to startRead free |
Where to start
Start hereThe Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 hThe clearest introduction to her social observation, emotional restraint, and conflicts between love and duty.
Read free
Another way inThe House of MirthEdith WhartonMedium level · 5–10 hChoose this for a compelling portrait of social ambition and the vulnerability of a woman without wealth.
Read free
Or tryEthan FromeEdith WhartonMedium level · 2–5 hChoose this short, stark rural story if you prefer concentrated drama to elaborate social settings.
Read free
Questions
Where should I start with Edith Wharton?
Start with Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (1920), an inviting introduction to her insight into love and social rules. The list below moves from her best-known fiction toward different settings, more intimate moral studies, wartime concerns, and finally nonfiction.
What order should I read Edith Wharton's books in?
Read by accessibility and interest rather than publication date: begin with The Age of Innocence, then The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome. These books need no sequel order, so continue through the suggested sequence or follow the settings and themes that interest you most.
Which Edith Wharton book on this page came out first?
The Decoration of Houses (1897). The table above lists every Edith Wharton book we hold by year of first publication.
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Read and hear all of them
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