Edith Wharton was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer who was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930. She was best known for her stories and novels about the upper-class society into which she was born, and thus well-acquainted with. She was born into a wealthy family in New York City during the Civil War. As a young girl, she travelled extensively with her parents, visiting countries like France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. She was educated by tutors and governesses while the family travelled and the young girl displayed a great thirst for knowledge. She read different types of books from her father’s library though her mother forbade her from reading novels until she was married. Edith began writing poetry and fiction as a young girl though she did not pursue this passion seriously until after several years of married life. Married to a rich banker in 1885, she became friends with the likes of Egerton Winthrop, Henry James, and Walter Berry who encouraged her interest in writing. She published her first book in 1899 and it did not take her long to establish herself as a distinguished writer of short stories and novels. She received several honors for her writing including the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature.