Edith Wharton Home Finally Debt Free

Author Edith Wharton's historic Massachusetts home is finally debt-free, seven years after defaulting on a loan and nearly shutting its doors.

The estate in Lenox is known as The Mount, and it includes a house and gardens. It's also a National Historic Landmark. Just 5 percent of those sites are dedicated to women.

Wharton's best-known works are the novels "The Age of Innocence," ''The House of Mirth" and "Ethan Frome." She wrote more than 40 books, including one on home design, which along with gardening was one of her passions.

The 1901 Berkshires estate faced foreclosure in 2008 when it owed $8.5 million to its lenders. Its operators announced Monday it's out of debt.

An emergency "Save The Mount" campaign included an $800,000 gift from the JM Kaplan Fund.