Edith Wharton was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer, born on January 24, 1862, in New York City. She is best known for her novels exploring the lives and morals of the American upper class during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her most famous works include The Age of Innocence, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, and The House of Mirth. Wharton was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was a prominent figure in American literature. In addition to her novels, she wrote numerous short stories, essays, and works on architecture and interior design. Wharton passed away on August 11, 1937, in France.