‘Bunner Sisters’ explores the lives of the impoverished class in 1870s New York. Sisters Ann Eliza and Evelina run a small shop out of a shabby basement on a side street. Despite their misfortunes, they are happy in their small, supportive community of women. This bubble will soon be burst, however, as Ann Eliza and Evelina are faced with the harsh realities of the world that exists outside of their shop. A considerate exploration of American society, class, and sibling relationships, Edith Wharton’s novel is unmissable if you enjoyed Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’.Edith Wharton (1863-1937) was an American author. Best known for her sharp, scathing, and fierce stories about the upper-class society into which she was born and its treatment of women, she wrote more than 40 books. Her major works include The Age of Innocence (1920), Ethan Frome (1911), and The House of Mirth (1905). Beyond novels, she wrote authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel. She was the first female author to win the Pulitzer Prize, and her work is unmissable for all fans of classic authors, from Joseph Conrad to Virginia Woolf.
