A historical novel set in the 18th century, The Valley of Decision centers on a young Italian nobleman who attempts to reform his dukedom according to the principles of the Enlightenment. Tragedy soon follows.
The novelist Henry James, after reading it, told her to “do New York” instead. She did, and a planned sequel was never written. Nonetheless, when she died 35 years later, it was the second book (after The House of Mirth) “The New York Herald Tribune” mentioned in their obituary, using it as evidence that Wharton “could bring distant horizons closer.”
Published in March 1902