The Last Asset

by Edith Wharton

The Last Asset is a novel written by Edith Wharton, an American author known for her works on social commentary and the upper class. The story follows the life of a young woman named Lydia, who is born into a wealthy family but is forced to confront the harsh realities of life when her father loses all their money in a financial crisis. Lydia is then forced to work as a governess to make ends meet and support her family. As she navigates through her new life, Lydia encounters different characters from different walks of life, including a wealthy businessman who takes an interest in her, a struggling artist who becomes her friend, and a corrupt politician who tries to take advantage of her situation. Throughout the novel, Wharton explores themes of social class, gender roles, and the struggle for independence and self-discovery. The Last Asset is a poignant and thought-provoking work that showcases Wharton's talent for insightful social commentary and vivid characterizations.She received the tribute with complacency. ""The rooms are not bad, are they? We came over with the Woolsey Hubbards (you've heard of them, of course? -- they're from Detroit), and really they do things very decently. Their motor-car met us at Boulogne, and the courier always wires ahead to have the rooms filled with flowers. This salon, is really a part of their suite. I simply couldn't have afforded it myself.""This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Edith Wharton emerged as one of America’s most insightful novelists, deftly exposing the tensions between societal expectation and personal desire through her vivid portrayals of upper-class life. Drawing from her deep familiarity with New York’s privileged “aristocracy,” she offered readers a keenly observed and piercingly honest vision of Gilded Age society.

Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.

Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.

Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.

Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.

Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.

Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.

In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.

Reviews

[Chrissie]

****************

The Old Maid: The 'Fifties 5 stars
Bunner Sisters 4 stars
Roman Fever 4 stars
Summer 4 stars
Xingu 3 stars
The House of Mirth 3 stars
The Age of Innocence 1 star
Ethan Frome 1 star

Autres Temps TBR
The Last Asset TBR
Expiation TBR

[Persy · Rating 2 out of 5]

“There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there’s only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness.”

The social climber mother, the indifferent father, the faithful daughter — all characters we’ve seen a million times. Though Wharton certainly has a way with words, this story did not break any new ground.

[Reehan Miah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Last Asset is an Edith Wharton short story whose readability (Wharton's prose is always sophisticated enough to engage) belies a fairly mediocre plot. An expatriate reporter is called upon to reunite an estranged family in order to secure the daughter's betrothal and subsequent entry into wealth and privilege. Typically Whartonian concerns maybe, but the mysteries that could truly compel (i.e. the father's financial predicament, the nature of the parents' breakup) are frustratingly left unexplored by a writer uncharacteristically determined to reach a fairytale ending.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the behest of the scheming mother drsparate for her own social rehabilitation through her daughter's succeffull marriage, American journalist in Paris brings together the estranged down at heel father and daughter to enable her marriage into the high escalons of French and English society. Satisfying feel good happy ending.