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The House of Mirth
- Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Summary
Exclusively from Audible
Beautiful, sophisticated and endlessly ambitious Lily Bart endeavours to climb the social ladder of New York's elite by securing a good match and living beyond her means.
Now nearing 30 years of age and having rejected several proposals, forever in the hope of finding someone better, her future prospects are threatened.
A damning commentary of 20th-century social order, Edith Wharton's tale established her as one of the greatest British novelists of the 1900s. Taking us on a journey through lavish drawing rooms in grand country houses to cold and menacing boarding houses, Wharton addresses the consequences awaiting those who openly dared to challenge the status quo.
First published in serial form, The House of Mirth contributed significantly to Edith Wharton's already substantial riches. Accustomed to living a life of privilege, Wharton was able to foster her creative talents from a young age.
Working as a published author from the age of 18, Wharton's story is as intriguing and daring as her heroine's. Wedding and then divorcing Edward Wharton, her experience of marriage and consequent heartbreak is usually chronicled in her works.
Never the victim however, Wharton went on to receive multiple awards for her writing, as well as the bravery that she demonstrated during the First World War when she organised hostels for refugees, fund-raised for those in need and reported from battlefield frontlines.
Usually seen in the company of other great authors including Jack London, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jean Cocteau, Wharton became a literary master whose skill and wit is perfectly captured in this enthralling audiobook.
Narrator Biography
Celebrated author and stage, film and television actress, Eleanor Bron, lends her iconic voice to the narration of The House of Mirth.
Best known for her roles in films such as A Little Princess, Bedazzled, Women in Love, Black Beauty and Alfie, Eleanor's career is as varied as it has been successful.
Also not a stranger to the theatre, Bron thrived in classical and modern productions of plays including The Prime of Miss Jean Brody, The Merchant of Venice, Private Lives, All About My Mother and Hedda Gabler.
A celebrated writer, Eleanor has published various titles, including Life and Other Punctures, Double Take and The Pillow Book of Eleanor Bron.
Further audiobook contributions include A Little Princess by Frances Burnett, The Aeneid by Virgil, The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier and Daniel Deronda by George Eliot.
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What listeners say about The House of Mirth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Valerie Harris
- 19-12-08
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
A beautifully written novel, expertly read by Eleanor Bron. It tells the story of 29 year old Lily Bart, a dazzling socialite in 1890's New York. The big problem for Lily is money, the fact that she has none and the life style she desires needs plenty.The novel follows her fall into poverty and the response of her friends and acquaintances. A fascinating look at late 19 Century American society
A delight to listen to.
17 people found this helpful
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- Nancy Bowring
- 14-05-09
Unforgettable
Beautifully and sympathetically read by Eleanor Bron, this book is an expert example of vanitas - the futility and emptiness of worldly wealth - and will linger long in my mind. Edith Wharton's intelligent portrayal of the loneliness and waste of a beautiful young woman's life, discarded by the society who had once feted her, is profound in the extreme.
14 people found this helpful
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- Philip
- 26-06-13
Beautifully done.
The worst of this was that the 'blurb' on Audible gives away the plot- I knew how Lily ended up before Eleanor Bron even opened her mouth.
Apart from that it was absolutely superb- as one expects from this publisher.
11 people found this helpful
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- mme
- 07-04-13
Wonderful listening
Having read and listened to the book The House of Mirth, I can recommend this title for anyone who appreciates the beauty of Edith Wharton's prose. Nothing is lost and the characterisation and accent are totally in keeping with the time period of the story. This book is a classic example of Wharton's style, dramatic irony, telling the tale of Lily Bart, beautiful, witty and sophisticated, who dares to claim the privileges of marriage without assuming the responisbilities. This will lead to her downfall. The book is long but the words are carefully chosen and the change of settings and situations keep the listener totally absorbed.
9 people found this helpful
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- Julie Bail
- 15-10-10
Wonderful Wharton, Beautifully Read
This is a favourite book of mine, a modern classic and Eleanor Bron reads it beautifully. Poor stunning Lily Bart. This is such a complex, moving portrait of a beauty, a fine spirit and the fashionable and established society she lives in, raising questions about integrity, worth, status etc in a complulsive story.
If you enjoy it, do listen to The Age of Innocence too, it may be even better.
8 people found this helpful
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- Jane @The Owl Pen
- 23-05-13
Not a bundle of laughs
Although the title may be deceptive (the central character, Lily Bart, comes to a tragic end), this is a beautifully written book, superbly interpreted by the reader, Eleanor Bron. Edith Wharton is an easier to read version of Henry James, and depicts brilliantly the vanity and hypocrisy of American society at the beginning of the 20th century. Well worth listening to.
7 people found this helpful
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- Cynthia
- 05-04-15
Absolute Perfection
Exceeded my expectations. Classic Wharton with perfect narration by Eleanor Bron. I was unable to stop listening, which for me is rare.
6 people found this helpful
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- Grete Buck
- 21-09-17
Loved this rendition.
Eleanor Brown's classy voice brought to life the rise and fall of Lily's life brilliantly.
4 people found this helpful
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- Karen
- 27-11-14
Beautiful and sad
Would you consider the audio edition of The House of Mirth to be better than the print version?
Yes. I read this book many years ago as I love the writing of Edith Wharton, an intelligent and perceptive author, but I particularly loved this book so was happy for Eleanor Bron to read it to me again and I picked up on things I feel I missed when I read it all that time ago.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The House of Mirth?
When Lawrence Seldon offers Lily a different life than the one she is currently pursuing. I felt this was the turning point in the book.
What about Eleanor Bron’s performance did you like?
Her voice is beautifully modulated throughout with a soft American accent that felt right and never jarring.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Yes, it made me feel angry by the unkindness and jealousy of women towards other women and the hypocrisy of the wealthy society that existed at that time. However, how people are so ready to believe the worst of others without being in a position to judge still goes on today.
Any additional comments?
Because of the way Lily Bart was raised, she knew herself to be a beautiful woman and used that beauty to pursue marriage to a wealthy man, but riches were not enough to replace love. Pride can sometimes preclude us from taking the proper path.
4 people found this helpful
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- Elizabeth Davies
- 15-06-09
Quite interesting
At times I found this "hard work". It is well written and had good characterisation and the story is interesting but it is quite "plodding." Glad I have finished it.
4 people found this helpful
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- Merlin
- 19-08-12
Like Henry James but more accessible
The novel portrays the New York upper middle class society in the late 19th century. Wharton writes elegantly, and is an acute psychologist and observer of manners. She's also very witty at times--with what you might call a stiletto wit. The reading is excellent, with subtle difference of voice and accent nicely calibrated to the character speaking.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the book. But it made me wonder why writers like Wharton and Henry James devote themselves to writing about people who don't do anything--a class of idlers, in fact, who are terrified that they might have to work for a living. Perhaps they think that this idleness produces greater subjective sensitivity and depth. But I think their long descriptions and analyses of people's inner depths are rather more refined and sophisticated than is justified by reality. OccasionalIy found myself saying: Bring on a pirate! Let's have a murder! Or at least have someone kicked by a horse.
28 people found this helpful
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- Catherine
- 12-04-11
Wonderful
I've listened to this book twice and will listen again after a while. I'd be happy to hear Eleanor Bron read the dictionary aloud: to hear her read Edith Wharton is pure bliss.
20 people found this helpful
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- David P
- 18-11-15
Wharton's Masterpiece
This novel is both a satire of New York society at the turn of the century and a tragedy about one woman's downfall. Wharton's depiction of wealthy society types is scathing. She combines the psychological insight of James and the epigrammatic wit of Wilde. In many ways, it is a shocking as it must have been when first published.
I sampled many versions and chose Eleanor Bron's reading for the quality of her voice. She gives a stunning reading, full of tenderness and pathos and the right bite when called for. Highest recommendation.
16 people found this helpful
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- Ladyethyme
- 19-03-21
Insufferable
Story of a stupid, shallow, insufferable, spoiled, entitled woman; constantly admired and praised by other characters as well as the author. “She never looked more beautiful” is included in pretty much every chapter, when all she does is spend money not her own, be critical and judgemental of others, sniggering at how ‘dreary and dingy’ they are-yet happily squats in thier houses pretending to befriend them.
A completely unlikable person in a book is fine... an unlikable main character.... but an unlikable main character constantly praised is intolerable.
7 people found this helpful
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- Robert R.
- 24-06-13
Renewed Resonance Given the Times We Live In
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Because it's so timely in that it's the story of a downward spiral as one watches the life they took for granted slipping away before their very eyes, only to be replaced by an ever more diminished view of the future, and so it parallels what's going on in the U.S. today as we adjust to a disappearing middle class, possibly forever, unless we act to preserve it.
What did you like best about this story?
In addition to its renewed resonance mentioned above (I've read the book in the past but it never resonated then the way it does now) I was very impressed with Wharton's writing, empathy, and understanding of what circumstances must be like for someone that she, being relatively affluent, never had to face or experienced herself. The ending chapters were brilliantly thought out and written, and yet she imagined the scenarios with great empathy. They were nothing she was able to call upon from her own life experience, and yet the depth of what she writes about, and how expertly she writes it, forces the reader to absolutely connect with the experience of the heroine.
What about Eleanor Bron’s performance did you like?
Top-notch. She's a great talent as an actress and always has been, even when playing an annoying American in the classic Audrey Hepburn/Albert Finney film Two for the Road, which is the first time she came to my attention decades ago.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The ending was very emotional as I listened to it anew with a completely different perspective now given the times we currently live in. I can't say more without giving away the ending, so I'll simply say I thought it was masterful and genuinely touching and heartfelt, but beyond that it's sticking with me. How differently things might have been if just one thing had been changed along the way time after time.
I was also glad to read this again after watching the Gillian Anderson film version because there's a very important difference in terms of intent at the very end that's better in the writing than it was in the film.
Any additional comments?
Though not a book filled with religious themes or much about religion at all, the title comes from Ecclesiastes 7:4 and one can keep this in mind while reading the book and see if they agree. Ecclesiastes 7:4 reads:
"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
I also felt this was interesting and something to keep in mind while reading:
"New York at the turn of the century was a time of opulence and frivolity for those who could afford it. But for those who couldn't and yet wanted desperately to keep up with the whirlwind, like Wharton's charming Lily Bart, it was something else altogether: a gilded cage rather than the Gilded Age."
"...The House of Mirth remains so timely and so vital in spite of its crushing end and its unflattering portrait of what life offers up."
9 people found this helpful
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- e
- 01-02-12
Brilliant Writing
This book is amazingly well written. There were so many beautiful turns of phrase and amazing metaphors and insights (comparing the wrinkled finery left on the floor after undressing to the unappealing leftovers of a banquet, allusions to the manacle-like nature of women's jewelry, chaining them to a life they may not have chosen). Edith Wharton truly is one of the great writers of the 20th century. I was a Literature major in college and I'm sad I never had a chance to study her works there. The narration was very good, the speaker had a pleasant voice.
6 people found this helpful
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- Jenny Jenkins
- 12-12-20
Superb Narrator for Wharton’s Best
I’ve read HOUSE OF MIRTH at least twice before. But Eleanor Bron’s sensitive, insightful reading brought out so many nuances I never noticed before. Her reading of the ending was transcendent. One of my best audiobook experiences.
2 people found this helpful
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- W Perry Hall
- 23-01-17
Money, It's a Hit
"Money, it's a hit,
Don't give me that do goody good bullsh!t."*
A superb, timeless novel that went to my top 40 (at least) because it was a real kick in the a$$ to NYC upper class society in the early 20th Century. So, why haven't we had these societal mirrors nearly as often or recent as we should?
>>>>>>>>
Take an utter beauty^ of modest means, orphaned at a young age and raised to be a perfect wife of wealth and privilege
+
put her into the depraved, hostile, covetous and capricious upper class society in Gilded Age New York City,
+
have her want love + wealth + status while maintaining a streak of independence, her moral compass and a touch of folly,
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a timeless classic tragedy arising from innocent Lily Bart's struggle against society and its expectations.
“She felt a stealing sense of fatigue as she walked; the sparkle had died out of her, and the taste of life was stale on her lips. She hardly knew what she had been seeking, or why the failure to find it had so blotted the light from her sky: she was only aware of a vague sense of failure, of an inner isolation deeper than the loneliness about her.”Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth
The eponymous verse from the King James Bible**:
"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
Ecclesiastes 7:4, KJV
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*Roger Waters, "Money" (1973)
**Her alternative title was "A Moment's Ornament," from one of her favorite poems, "She was a Phantom of Delight," first stanza (1804) "
She was a Phantom of delight
When first she gleam'd upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment's ornament:....
Wm. Wordsworth, "She was a Phantom of Delight," first stanza (1804)
^"Everything about her was warm and soft and scented; even the stains of her grief became her as raindrops do the beaten rose." Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth
5 people found this helpful
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- Thomas Lane
- 04-03-13
If you think you may be interested, get it!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely. This is one of the greatest novels by one of our greatest novelists. If you love beautiful writing and a great story, this is for you. Also: The narration by Eleonor Bron, the great, under-appreciated English actress who appeared in the film version of The House of Mirth (as well as the Beatles' movie Help!) is a work of art in itself.
What did you like best about this story?
The way social drama/comedy transforms into something much more profound.
Which scene was your favorite?
Impossible to choose.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, too long. A book to savor.
Any additional comments?
I had not expected this to be as good as Wharton's The Age of Innocence. I was wrong.
4 people found this helpful
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- John
- 13-06-20
Extraordinary
Edith Wharton is brilliant. I only wish there were writers of our era who are so extraordinary. A true work or art.
1 person found this helpful