Mount, The - Lenox, MA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Edith Jones was born into the privileged world of New York society on January 24, 1862 to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander of New York City. At the age of 10 she gained access to her father's extensive library. This began her interest in the world of literature. She was highly regarded for her books on gardens and design, but most well known for her works of fiction.

In 1885, she married Edward Robbins Wharton. In 1902, she built The Mount, a 113 acre estate in Lenox, Massachusetts, which expresses her principles of garden and interior design. The Palladian-style English country house has both Italian and French influences. It was designed by Ogden Codman, Jr. and Francis L.V. Hoppin and built by R. W. Curry. The Italian style gardens were designed by Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton lived at the Mount from 1902 until she moved to France in 1911. During her years at the Mount she wrote some of her most famous novels including Sanctuary (1903), The Fruit of the Trees (1907) along with the bestselling novels House of Mirth (1905) and the classic Ethan Frome (1911).

During her life Edith Wharton wrote over 40 books, including novels, short stories, poetry travel, architecture, garden and interior design. She was the first woman to be awarded the Pulitizer Prize in Literature for her 1921 novel The Age of Innocence and the first woman to be awarded an honorary doctor of letters from Yale University.

Edith Wharton died of a stroke on August 11, 1937 in Le Pavillon Colombe, her 18th-century house on Rue de Montmorency in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt (now rue Edith Wharton). She is interred in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.

The Mount is open for tours from May through October. The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk.

Street address: 2 Plunkett Street Lenox, MA United States 01240 County / Borough / Parish: Berkshire Year listed: 1971 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Education Privately owned?: yes Season start / Season finish: From: 05/01/2015 To: 10/31/2015 Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link]

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