By the time of her death in 1937 Edith Wharton had established herself as one of America’s foremost literary talents. She had been nominated for the Nobel Prize three times and won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1921, making her the awards’ first ever female recipient. She wrote novels, short-stories, poems, travelogues, and books on design; finding praise in each field she turned her hand to.

It was her fictional accounts of American high society though that secured her literary legacy. Works like ‘Ethan Frome’, ‘The House of Mirth’, and her Pulitzer Prize winning ‘The Age of Innocence’ brought a critical eye to bear on the morals and institutions of high society, achieving praise for their wit and social insights. Yet it was her own membership of the privileged class that enabled Wharton’s rise as a literary star.

Born into one of New York’s most prestigious families Wharton’s early life was marked extensive travel and a good education. In 1865 the American Civil War ended and Wharton’s father was again able to indulge in his love of travel and the family, with the four year old Edith in tow, left for Europe where they spent the following six years.

Though she received a typical education while traveling the continent, and at home, Wharton was severely dissatisfied with its limited scope. Women at the time were expected to marry, socialise, and bear children and so her tutors and governesses focused on fashion and social etiquette. Rebelling against this lacklustre education Wharton raided the libraries of her father and his friends; reading everything but novels which her mother forbade until she was married.

Wharton’s passion for writing was as strong as her love of reading and from an early age she began to compose poems and short stories; even trying her hand at writing a novel when she was eleven. Writing was not seen as a suitable pursuit for a lady of her standing and, despite her early success, Wharton was discouraged from writing by those closest to her. It wouldn’t be until the 1890s that she would begin publishing again.

In the meantime she travelled, married, and cultivated a strong network of friends and associates in America and Europe. These travels and friends would play a large part in Wharton’s eventual literary career as she struck out on her own.

A few years after their marriage in 1885 Wharton’s husband, Teddy, began to suffer from acute depression. He was a gentleman from the same social standing as Wharton and, though he had been twelve years her senior, their shared love of adventure and travel brought the couple together. With the onset of Teddy’s depression the couple stopped travelling. It was, maybe not unsurprising, around this time that Wharton began to write again in earnest.

Teddy worsened and by 1902 they were living exclusively at The Mount, an estate in Massachusetts designed by Wharton. It became apparent that there would be no cure for Teddy’s mental distress and in 1913, estranged from each other, the couple divorced. Two years before Wharton, possibly spurred on by the ending of her affair with her ‘ideal intellectual partner’ William Morton, had decided to move permanently to France.

When war broke out in 1914 Wharton bucked the trend of her fellow Americans and chose to stay in France. Here she set up undertakings to help with the French war effort and provide shelter for refugees fleeing from the frontlines. She was given access to the trenches and villages of the Western Front during 1915 and wrote numerous articles on her experiences. The following year she was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest decoration, for her work in aiding France and the wartime refugees.

True to her word Wharton lived out the rest of her days in France, only once returning to America to receive an honorary doctorate from Yale. This didn’t stop her from being a major figure in the international social scene and a friend to many of the world’s leading intellectuals, artists, and politicians. By the time of her death in 1937 she had forged a lasting legacy as a great American writer and a leading intellectual and socialite.

This installment of ‘Talking Books’ is dedicated entirely to the life and writings of the great author Edith Wharton. Susan is joined by Dr Nerys William and Dr Michael Hinds as they discuss some of Wharton’s best works and the life that inspired them. How have her writings stood the test of time? Does she deserve her reputation as a great writer? And are the facts of her life greater than the fictions she wrote?

Rounding off the show Susan talks with Irene Goldman-Price about the latest book on Wharton, ‘My Dear Governess’, which she edited. A collection of Wharton’s correspondence with her long serving governess, Anna Bahlmann, this book offers new insights into the life of a woman who was very guarded about her personal life. Join Susan and Irene as they look back at these letters and what light they shed on the character and personality of Edith Wharton. What was she like behind closed doors?

This week's music to read to

Clem Leek opens and closes this week's show with 'Breaking Down' while Jonathan Kirkscey's 'Sketches of Soulsville' brings us out of part one.