Edith Wharton Summit

At the Mount

By: Mount - Apr 30, 2026

 

The Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center, will host the 2026 Edith Wharton Summit from Thursday, June 4 through Saturday, June 6, 2026, bringing together leading scholars, cultural historians, writers, and Wharton enthusiasts from around the world for three days of inquiry, dialogue, and immersive programming.

Held at The Mount—Wharton’s historic estate in Lenox, Massachusetts—the Summit will examine the enduring relevance of Edith Wharton’s life and work in a rapidly changing world. Guided by the question, What is Edith Wharton’s relevance today?, the gathering explores the contemporary resonance of Wharton’s writing, including her prescient observations on social upheaval and cultural transformation. As Wharton wrote in January 1932, she felt as if society were “nervously sitting on the thin crust of the same volcano,” a sentiment that continues to resonate in today’s uncertain times.

The 2026 Summit is supported by academic advisors Emily Orlando (Fairfield University) and Laura Rattray (University of Glasgow) and will celebrate a decade of scholarship published since the last major Wharton gathering in Washington, D.C. in 2016. Programming will feature new research and emerging perspectives from scholars across multiple disciplines, including literature, gender studies, art history, architecture, media studies, international development, and the humanities.

Over the course of three days, participants will experience behind-the-scenes tours of Wharton’s home and library, guided explorations of Lenox and the surrounding region, readings, lectures, and panel discussions across The Mount’s historic interiors, Stable Auditorium, and gardens. Social gatherings, curated conversations, and intimate access to Wharton’s personal library and archives will deepen engagement with Wharton’s legacy and her continuing influence on literature and culture.

The Summit has attracted participants from across the globe, with current registrants representing nine countries— the United States, Germany, Kenya, France, England, Canada, Scotland, Norway, and Switzerland—and 18 U.S. states. Sessions will explore a broad range of topics organized around themes including history and politics, architecture and archaeology, manuscripts and archives, religion and spirituality, mobility and travel, education, life stages, and the intersections of the natural and built environment.

Select sessions will be presented in partnership with the Edith Wharton Society and the Edith Wharton Review.

The full program schedule and event details are available at: https://edithwharton.org/2026-edith-wharton-summit/