Land's End, a Newport Estate Once Owned by Novelist Edith Wharton

This house is listed by Kendra Topper at Lila Delman Real Estate. Click here for more photos and full listing details.

An Iconic estate once owned by Pulitzer-prize winner Edith Wharton, Land’s End provided ample high society source material for her award-winning book, “The Age of Innocence”. Located in one of Newport’s most sought-after locations, this elegant 8-bedroom home (plus 3-bedroom carriage house) is located on a quiet southeastern point of Aquidneck Island, with unobstructed ocean views as far as Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. 

Designed by architect John Sturgis during Newport’s Gilded Age, ‘Land’s End’, when Wharton moved in circa 1890 she set about overhauling the entire estate with the help of her friend, architect Ogden Codman Jr. “ "Codman shared my dislike of these sumptuary excesses, and thought as I did that interior decoration should be simple and architectural," Wharton wrote.

Her vision was informed by what she didn't want: an overly chintzy Gilded Age design, a look favored by some of her Newport peers. The Vanderbilts, for instance, Wharton found to be "entrenched in a sort of Thermopylae of bad taste, from which apparently no force on earth can dislodge them." 

An example of understated elegance and charm, Land’s End is the quintessential Newport home. With 8 working fireplaces, it’s the perfect gathering place for friends and family, year round.  

All photos belong to the listing agency.