The age of innocence

Description

Edith Wharton's most famous novel, written immediately after the end of the First World War, is a brilliantly realized anatomy of New York society in the 1870s, the world in which she grew up, and from which she spent her life escaping. Newland Archer, Wharton's protagonist, charming, tactful, enlightened, is a thorough product of this society; he accepts its standards and abides by its rules but he also recognizes its limitations. His engagement to the impeccable May Welland assures him of a safe and conventional future, until the arrival of May's cousin Ellen Olenska puts all his plans in jeopardy. Independent, free-thinking, scandalously separated from her husband, Ellen forces Archer to question the values and assumptions of his narrow world. As their love for each other grows, Archer has to decide where his ultimate loyalty lies. - Back cover.

Description

When the Countess Ellen Olenska returns from Europe, fleeing her brutish husband, her rebellious independence and passionate awareness of life stir the educated sensitivity of Newland Archer, already engaged to be married to her cousin May Welland, "that terrifying product of the social system he belonged to and believed in, the young girl who knew nothing and expected everything." As the consequent drama unfolds, Edith Wharton's sharp ironic wit and Jamesian mastery of form create a disturbingly accurate picture of men and women caught in a society that denies humanity while desperately defending "civilization."

Subjects

Genres

• Fiction.

Series Statement

• Penguin twentieth-century classics

Other Editions

• The age of innocencePenguin1996-01-01
• The age of innocenceD. Appleton1921-01-01
• The Age of InnocenceeBookRandom House Publishing Group2000-01-01
• The Age Of Innocence LPHarperCollins2000-04-01
• The Age Of Innocence LPPaperbackHarperCollins2000-04-01
• The Age of InnocenceeBookNuVision Publications2004-01-01