Book a trip to Wharton's Mount

Poised on the slopes of a hill in western Massachusetts is an oversized Edwardian villa, a white stuccoed pastiche of a Riviera residence, with terraces, formal gardens and a tinkling fountain.

Overlooking the wooded shores of Lake Laurel, near Lenox, the Mount was once the residence of Edith Wharton. Built by the author 100 years ago, the house has just been restored to the original splendour not seen since Edith and husband Teddy left in 1911 to live on the real Riviera.

Reopened to visitors this month, it was here that Edith Wharton wrote two of her most famous novels, The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome, between 1902 and 1911. Henry James was among the regular guests and had his own bedroom, with views from his window taking in

In her autobiography, A Backward Glance, Wharton wrote: "There for 10 years I lived and gardened and wrote contentedly, and should doubtless have ended my days there had not a grave change in my husband's health made the burden of the property too heavy. The Mount was my first real home, and the distant lake. though it is nearly 20 years since I last saw it, its blessed influence still lives in me."

After the house and contents were sold, the Mount became a school, then home to a theatre company, becoming increasingly dilapidated with each passing decade. This changed with the establishment of the Edith Wharton Restoration Society in 1980, and in 1998, with Hillary Clinton's support, serious fundraising began.

A total of $3 million came from private, mostly female, benefactors, matched by the federal government. This $6 million has been spent on intricate, detailed restoration of the main fabric of the house and gardens.

The two upper floors and a stable block have yet to be restored, though the once abandoned gardens are being returned to their original restrained elegance and symmetry. The schematic pathways were discovered beneath eight inches of earth, making the task easier.

As few original records remain, and the furniture has long since been dispersed, seven interior decorators were invited to refurbish a room each "in the spirit of Edith Wharton". All American, except Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, most have remained faithful to the original colour schemes, although the dining room is wacky, with abstract paintings and retro 1950s sidetables.

The society now hopes that anyone owning something which once belonged to the Mount will now come forward.

The Mount (001413 637 1899; www.edithwharton.org), 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, Massachusetts 01240. Until 3 November; 9am-5pm; admission $16.

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