Ethan Frome

Published in 1911, the book centres on Frome's loveless marriage to his sick wife Zeena. They live in the farmlands of Massachusetts. When Zeena's younger cousin Mattie Silver stays with him and his wife, Ethan obsessively falls in love with her. Wharton's narrative is driven by flashback sequences and comments on the social ironies of the day. Wharton's book the Age of Innocence later won her the Pulitzer Price. She was the first woman to ever receive this award.