Edith Wharton is the renowned author of The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome , and she was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, for The Age of Innocence . Published in 1900, prior to her better-known works, The Touchstone explores the emotional complexities of love and betrayal. Penniless and unable to marry the woman he adores, the financially struggling lawyer Stephen Glennard discovers a way out of his predicaments by selling love letters written to him by deceased author Margaret Aubyn. Glennard's psychological anguish as he grapples with his guilt and the repercussions of his actions presents a poignant narrative of conscience and morality that maintains its relevance in the twenty-first century.