Edith Wharton and self-doubt aren’t two concepts you’d expect to read in the same phrase. Yet this storied American author (1862 – 1937) struggled to feel worthy of her right to write, let alone to achieve any sort of success at this calling.

Despite her wealthy background and privileged upbringing, Wharton (born Edith Newbold Jones) was no haughty heiress. On the contrary, she felt inferior to those she aspired to become peers —published authors she admired. Read More→