Books like The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Pride and Prejudice is a classic novel by Jane Austen.

A dark, passionate tale set on the West Yorkshire moors, following the tumultuous love and revenge between the Earnshaws, Lintons, and the enigmatic Heathcliff.

Mark Twain’s classic novel follows the first-person narration of Huckleberry "Huck" Finn as he journeyes down the Mississippi River in 19th‑century America, exploring adventure, friendship and the era’s social issues.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece examines the glittering yet hollow glamour of the Roaring Twenties as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby pursues love, wealth, and identity across the social divide.

Charles Dickens’ classic bildungsroman follows an orphan named Pip as he grows from humble beginnings in Kent to London society, encountering wealth, poverty, love, and moral triumph.

A Christmas Carol is Charles Dickens’ allegorical novella about Ebenezer Scrooge, whose miserly ways are transformed through visits from Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

A contemporary day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a 1920s London politician’s wife, as she prepares for an evening party and is haunted by memories of youth, friendships, and past loves.

In 19th‑century rural France, country doctor Charles Bovary marries the ambitious Emma, whose longing for romance and luxury drives her into affairs and reckless spending, spiraling her into ruin and social disgrace.

In post‑war New York, Newland Archer faces a dilemma when his fiancée’s cousin, the rebellious Ellen Olenska, challenges his elite society’s expectations and his own loyalty.

A love story set in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, where Anne Elliot finds herself amidst the Regency era as her sister rents Miss Elliot's father's house, leading to an unexpected reunion with Captain Frederick Wentworth and the return of her beloved.

In wintry Starkfield, Massachusetts, disabled farmer Ethan Frome is trapped in a loveless marriage to Zeena while his unrequited love for Zeena’s cousin Mattie drives a desperate, tragic triangle that culminates in a failed attempt to escape together.

Set in the 1830s Midlands, George Eliot’s Middlemarch intertwines village life, politics, and the struggles of its characters to explore social reform, gender roles, and community hypocrisy.

Craig of the Mohicans, a frontier scout turns away from civilization, forming a bond with a Mohican warrior as they escort two sisters across the perilous wilderness of America's frontier.

In Dickens’s sweeping novel, the protracted Jarndyce and Jarndyce case in the Court of Chancery pulls together a disparate cast— from heirs torn by legal costs to a mysterious ward, a cunning lawyer, and a destitute street sweeper— exposing London’s social decay.

A coming‑of‑age narrative set in 19th‑century England, following young David Copperfield as he navigates orphanhood, hardship and society’s social hierarchies.

Young Caroline Meeber's journey from girlhood to womanhood in 19th-century Chicago and New York, exploring themes of independence, relationships, and the struggles of rising above expectations in a harsh environment and the promise of the American Dream through the eyes of a runaway teenager, with a twist of psychological thriller elements.

A satiric masterpiece by Charles Dickens, *Our Mutual Friend* explores the themes of money, poverty, and social change in 19th-century London.

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. It follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the Midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous, selfish, mercenary, and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father's money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Undine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by disillusion. Wharton was re-creating an environment she knew intimately, and Undine's education for social success is chronicled in meticulous detail. The novel superbly captures the world of post-Civil War Ameria, as ruthless in its social ambitions as in its business and politics. - Back cover.

In 1886‑Boston satire, a civil war veteran, his feminist cousin, and a newcomer collide over reformist ideals, revealing the era’s social tensions.

A trio of Edith Wharton’s celebrated novels—The Age of Innocence, Custom of the Country, and House of Mirth—explore New York elite society, social customs, and the complexities of marriage and relationships in late‑19th‑century America.