Edith Wharton's 1913 novel is a devastating critique of American upward mobility, told through the journey of Undine Spragg from fictional Midwestern Apex City to New York to Paris. Undine is determined to acquire money and position through marriage, even if it means multiple divorces. Edith Wharton (born Edith Newbold Jones) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.