The collection consists of twenty-seven autograph letters and note cards sent by Edith Wharton to her English friends, poet Alfred Austin and his wife, Hester Austin. Wharton usually startseach letter by thanking the Austins for their letters and their hospitality. The body of her letters are full of details about her life, her estate at "The Mount", her husband, Edward (Teddy) Robbins Wharton, their many travels to Europe and England, the death of her husband's mother which was followed by Edward's mental problems, her marital problems, and the collapse of her marriage. Wharton also talks about her apartment at Rue Varenne in Paris, which was purchased and decorated with the help of her brother after her divorce, and about her charitable relief efforts to help the refugees during World War I. Other topics of Wharton's letters include books that she sent the Austins, literary works by other authors, Alfred Austin's writings, and news of her close friend, the British author Henry James. Wharton consistently used French words and expressions in her letters.

In addition, the collection also includes a quitclaim deed to property on Sixth Avenue in New York City, signed by Wharton and dated 1920.