The Writing of Fiction

A rare work of nonfiction from Edith Wharton, The Writing of Fiction contains timeless advice on writing and reading well from the first woman ever to win a Pulitzer Prize—now with a new introduction by Brandon Taylor.

In 1921, Edith Wharton won a Pulitzer Prize for her first novel, The Age of Innocence. Over the course of her career, she would continue to produce beloved, bestselling work—from The House of Mirth to The Custom of the Country—and gained a reputation for her incisive critiques of her upper-class social circle. To each new generation of readers, her work remains fresh, formally remarkable, and endlessly entertaining.

The Writing of Fiction is a window into Wharton’s mind as she ponders the intertwined arts of writing and reading. Wharton provides invaluable insight on the subjects of character, the challenge of finely-tuned short stories, the construction of a novel, and more. Beyond a treatise on craft, The Writing of Fiction is a sweeping meditation by a masterful practitioner and a rare chance to experience the inimitable voice of one of America’s most influential novelists.