Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American novelist and short story writer. Her works show the lives of people of the late nineteenth century, the times of decline in American history. She was the ?rst woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1921. Wh arton also was familiar with many famous people of the time, including President Theodore Roosevelt. This volume includes many wonderful short stories like “The Other Two,” “Expiation,” “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell,” and the title story “The Descent of Man.”