The Age of Innocence (Revised) (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

Name: The Age of Innocence (Revised) (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)
Brand: Dover Publications
SKU: SPTM-9780486298030
Price: 6.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$6.00

Product Variants

Brief Description:
A novel of thwarted love set against the backdrop of New York City society of the 1870s.

Jacket Description/Back:

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; his lovely fiancée, May Welland; and May's beautiful and unconventional cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. The romance that blossoms between Newland and Ellen and its consequences illustrate the conflict between living a passionate life and behaving in accordance with family and social expectations. The novel's lucid and penetrating prose style, vivid characterizations, and its rendering of the social history of an era have long made it a favorite with readers and critics alike.

Publisher Marketing:
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."

Publisher Marketing:

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.