Pulitzer Prize winning author Edith Wharton wrote this collection of short stories. Wharton who is famous for her book 'The Age of Innocence' writes stories themed on the Gilded Age, the period in American History marked with rapid economic growth of the nation that led to there being super wealthy individuals who then led illustrious luxury-filled lives riddled with both fame and infamy. Some of the titles in the collection include: 'The Descent of Man', 'The Other Two', 'Expiation', 'The Lady's Maid's Bell', 'The Mission of Jane', 'The Reckoning' and 'The Letter'.