Edith Wharton (1862–1937) wrote carefully structured fiction that probed the psychological and social elements guiding the behavior of her characters. Her portrayals of upper-class New Yorkers were unrivaled. The Age of Innocence, for which Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize in 1920, is one of her most memorable novels.
At the heart of the story are three people whose entangled lives are deeply affected by the tyrannical and rigid requirements of high society. Newland Archer, a restrained young attorney, is engaged to the lovely May Welland but falls in love with May's beautiful and unconventional cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Despite his fear of a dull marriage to May, Archer goes through with the ceremony — persuaded by his own sense of honor, family, and societal pressures. He continues to see Ellen after the marriage, but his dreams of living a passionate life ultimately cease.
The novel's lucid and penetrating prose style, vivid characterization, and its rendering of the social history of an era have long made it a favorite with readers and critics alike.

Reprint of a standard edition.

banned books; pulitzer prize;gilded age;classic literature;prize winning;classical literature;folio society;individual destinies;separate social;gossip girl;mary whipple;social custom;yellow roses;polish count;social codes;society demands;winona ryder;endless conversations;hopeless love;endless emptiness;conventional life;direct confrontation;unconventional life;wedding date;mysterious countess;social rules;hypocritical society;hundred years;tragic love;realistic picture;upper crust;19th century;passionate love;strict rules;rich people;social mores;loveless marriage;american woman;unrequited love;golden age;returned home;upper class;nineteenth century;hypocrisy;human nature;frome;maude;karenina;gatsby;1970;twain;frankenstein;welland;hieroglyphic;rosebud;sillerton;ballrooms;scorsese;jazz;ethan;upper-crust;dictionary;marriageable;mirth;1921;yorkers;1870s;propriety;conformity;upper-class;1920;ostracized;scandalous;pulitzer prize winning;pulitzer prize winner;classic american literature;19th century literature;newman archer;anna karenina;archer newland;michelle pfeiffer;janey;jane austen;daniel day-lewis;ellen olenska ellen;lily bart;ellen ellen;newland archer;ellen newland;boston;florida;britain;washington;united states;japan;france;new york city;paris;europe;boo;

You may also like