The Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton

Jan 1920 · Windsor Editions

Ratings and reviews

The dry wit and insightful skewering Ms. Wharton so skillfully weilds, gives the reader an amusing trip through the corridors of time to land in another age, whose mores are so removed from the contemporary, they might as well be describing a society which existed centuries in the past.

The ending was a bit corny, but I really enjoyed this overall. Read it in one day. About 6 hours, really. Just didn't want to put it down!

Edith Wharton's vivid portrait of wealthy New York in 1870 is as sharp as a paper cut in its insight. She knows her subject matter well and draws a detailed picture of a society where manners and morality, at least outwardly, were as sacred as modern moralities are often profane. The poignant ending completes the story of Newland Archer, the book's main character, in the quiet careful way he lived his life. Perfection.