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The Age of Innocence

by Edith Wharton, Stuart Hutchinson (Introduction and Notes)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 54,345 ratings · 2,772 reviews

Widely regarded as one of Edith Wharton's greatest achievements, The Age of Innocence is not only subtly satirical, but also a sometimes dark and disturbing comedy of manners in its exploration of the 'eternal triangle' of love.

Set against the backdrop of upper-class New York society during the 1870s, the author's combination of powerful prose combined with a thoroughly r...more

Paperback, 229 pages

Published 1999 by Wordsworth Classics (first published 1920)

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Apr 20, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kick-ass

Part of why I love The Age of Innocence so much is for the very reason my students hate it--the subtlety of action in a society constrained by its own ridiculous rules and mores. In Old New York, conformity is key and the upper-crust go about a life of ritual that has no substance or meaning. Both men and women are victims in this world as both are denied economic, intellectual, and creative outlets. All the world's a stage in Wharton's New York and everyone wears a mask of society's creation. S...more

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May 31, 2011 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Yes indeedy, what could be more jejune than another early 20th century novelist choosing as her subject the problematic relations between the sexes amongst the idle rich? D H Lawrence and Henry James do the same, the first like a big dog gnawing at a bone and finding something it mistakes for God in the marrow, and the latter in his infinite cheeseparings putting the whole thing into the form of a three-dimensional chess game played by sardonic French subatomic particle physicists who you suspec...more

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Sep 17, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, in-by-of-the-americas, reviewed, victorians-and-wannabes

I saw the film years ago. My mother and I were the only people in the theater laughing. The man behind us turned to his wife and in a loud-but-passive-aggressive-I-wish-you'd-shut-up-voice said, "Is this funny?"

Yes.

Edith Wharton is a lot funnier than people think. It's that intelligent, subtle, dart-like humor that I am so pleased with. This passage, rivals Jane Austen's opening of Pride and Prejudice for combining a witty criticism of her society's absurdism and establishing that the unalte...more I saw the film years ago. My mother and I were the only people in the theater laughing. The man behind us turned to his wife and in a loud-but-passive-aggressive-I-wish-you'd-shut-up-voice said, "Is this funny?"

Yes.

Edith Wharton is a lot funnier than people think. It's that intelligent, subtle, dart-like humor that I am so pleased with. This passage, rivals Jane Austen's opening of Pride and Prejudice for combining a witty criticism of her society's absurdism and establishing that the unalterable and unquestionable and universal will be questioned and, may, or may not, turn out to be alterable or universal. And it does it in a way that has you laughing.

[...]since an unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences. This seemed as natural to Newland Archer as all the other conventions on which his life was moulded: such as the duty of using two silver-backed brushes with his monogram in blue enamel to part his hair, and never appearing in society without a flower (preferably a gardenia) in his buttonhole.

How can anyone be so funny and make such a profound point at the same time? All my favorite authors seem to have this ability and I've got to say, I think it may be a bit unfair. We regular mortals should be able do this as well. In fact, I wish more authors did have this ability -

But I rant. What I wanted to say about The Age of Innocence is how amazing it is. How wonderful Edith Wharton is for blending humor and such subtle actions with profound emotion. Newland Archer could stare at a woman's hand and the description of the act tells me more than a description of his feelings what he wanted to do (like take it in his own and smother it with kisses and then run away with it - and the woman attached, I think). It was fascinating to have the story from his point of view as well, as it gave us such as distorted view of May (his initial love interest) and their interaction. I realized how unreliable he was as a narrator where she was concerned probably later than it was obvious to others, but I loved that about the book. I loved the complete lack of understanding that the men had for the women. Considering everything going on in Wharton's life that was one of the most interesting things about the story; she handled it so deftly. When was the last time you felt the author had run a central theme through a novel like a ribbon lain on a table and not taken it up to strangle you with it.

I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time.
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May 16, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Book Report: Society marriages and mores of 1870s New York. Very beautifully constructed. Pusillanimous young lawyer marries frail, fainting flower with a rod of steel up her backside, falls in love with her cousin, and no one gets away happy.

My Review: I've always said mixed marriages don't work. Expecting someone not like you in fundamental, crucial ways to "get" you, to support you, to really be there for you, is not a good bet. Men do not need to be marrying women. Th...more

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May 12, 2013 Jr Bacdayan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Each time you happen to me all over again.”

Imagine that person you love most in this world, right within your grasp, but somehow out of reach. An invisible thin wall keeping you apart. Apart but not away from each other. Together yet not with each other. This is the worst form of torture, a torture of invisible chains and soundless screams. Constantly seeing each other, constantly being reminded of what cannot be. Constantly falling in love yet constantly falling apart. The urge, the love, the...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Shovelmonkey1 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by: 1001 books list

Shelves: 1001-books, almost-chick-lit, bookcrossing-books

Before writing this review I decided to find out a bit more about Edith Wharton. Turns out that she is actually a lot more interesting than some of her books. If you turn to the Wikipedia page (not exactly hardcore research, I know but I'm not in a position to march off to the library and start wading through Wharton's presumably numerous biographies) you'll be faced with a picture of a timid and pretty dour looking lady with two disagreeable looking Paris-Hilton porta-dogs plonked on her knee....more Before writing this review I decided to find out a bit more about Edith Wharton. Turns out that she is actually a lot more interesting than some of her books. If you turn to the Wikipedia page (not exactly hardcore research, I know but I'm not in a position to march off to the library and start wading through Wharton's presumably numerous biographies) you'll be faced with a picture of a timid and pretty dour looking lady with two disagreeable looking Paris-Hilton porta-dogs plonked on her knee.

Don't let appearances fool you ladies and gentlemen, for Wharton was a regular social and creative dynamo; designer, socialite, writer, Knight (Chevalier of the legion of honour for her work in France during the war) there was no stopping this woman.

So back to The Age of Innocence. What's it all about? Mostly about how being young, rich and desirable and mixing with the cream of society isn't all it is cracked up to be. Why? Well because high society is actually incredibly dull. Really? Yup. In order to set themselves apart from the grubby minions who do the dishes, drive the coaches and actually work for a living, "society" set about creating a set of hideously constrictive rules and moral guidelines which sap the joy, happiness, fun, freedom of expression and general day to day life out of everyone involved.

It is incredibly ironic that everyone then strives to get accepted into this set when everyone who's already there is so damned miserable most of the time. Most of Wharton's principal characters are unhappy with their lot and lead a treading-on-eggshells existence because they're terrified out of their wits about any kind of scandal. Obviously scandal of sorts does ensue but everyone deals with it very nicely, calmly and diplomatically without any mud slinging or calling in Piers Morgan.

Clearly a lot has changed... now massive scandal can be a potentially lucrative money earner if you have the right press connections and in certain cities (Lets pretend I don't live in one of them) people set out to bed a sleb (celebrity) and then launch a modelling/music/TV career based on the back of some good quality kiss and tell anecdotes.

The best thing about this book for me was the names of the main characters. Not satisfied with a range of traditional names (you will find no James, Johns, Matthews or Mikes here reader) Wharton presented me with a barrage of people with names like Newland Archer, Manson Mingott, Sillerton Jackson, Emerson Sillerton and Dallas Archer. Eek! Perhaps the silliness of the names mirrors Whartons' own slightly mocking perspective on the society she herself inhabited.

If I had been brought up in high society I would have probably had to kick off my satin slippers and throw myself under the wheels of the first passing horse and carriage as soon as I entered adulthood. Who would want to live in such constrained times? Not I. (less)

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May 04, 2012 Angus rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulitzer-prize, modern-library-100, radcliffes-rival-100, the-novel-100, reviewed-and-blogged

Original post at Book Rhapsody.

***

An age I don’t want to live in

I know I am incurring some form of literary sacrilege by failing to appreciate this novel. I remember reading this holding my breath at every stop of a conversation because I feel that the characters are holding their breaths as well lest they do something against their will, rather, something against the expectations imposed on them by their society. You see, the characters are rich New Yorkers who visit each other in carriages or...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 2012

This was the first book I've read from Edith Wharton and it was better than I was expecting. The images of 1870's New York are rich and chilling and it's central theme so relevant and relatable.

Newland Archer aches with the constraints of his time and the absurdity and hypocrisy of the society in which he lives. He longs to break free and yet ultimately lives a life of quiet remorse. It struck me just how little has changed in that regard. Most people still fall into a conventional life simply...more

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Dec 07, 2012 [P] rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bitchin

The usually cynical Ms. Wharton acknowledges that one doesn’t have to forsake all for the beautiful and glittering. Written in as fine a prose as one is ever likely to encounter, this novel also contrived to move me despite betraying the conventions of dramatic narrative, and romantic fiction, by having its hero do the right, but less obviously thrilling, thing and give up his exciting lover in order to settle with his less glamorous wife-to-be.

What makes The Age of Innocence moving is that Wha...more

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Jul 27, 2008 Dini rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, fiction, lendable

This beautifully-written classic tells the story of people trapped in the "eternal triangle of love". Edith Wharton skillfully details the lifestyle, customs and manners of upper-class New York society in the 1870s, in which every family seems to be related one way or another.

Newland Archer, who is engaged to the innocent, conservative May Welland, falls in love with her exotic Europeanized cousin Ellen Olenska. He is torn between following his impulse to be with Ellen, whose marriage is on the...more

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Jan 05, 2008 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a gorgeous book with some great characters and a special ambience that I haven't experienced in any other novel. Edith Wharton takes the reader deep inside the strange little world of upper-class late 19th century New York, detailing the manners, the attitudes, the rules, the institutionalized hypocrisy, the spectacular beauty and superficiality, and most of all, the lies that everyone must tell themselves and those around them to survive in a tightly regimented culture that has just bar...more

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Mar 09, 2009 Darcy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: twentieth-century-novels

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The problem with writing a novel about people who are elite do-nothings with dull lives is that you run this risk of producing a dull novel. The Age of Innocence isn't exactly saved from this fate; as a novel, it isn't a very thrilling one. After all, it's about a wishy-washy young man who silently critiques everything. He's engaged to one lady, falls in love with another, and persists in a constant state of indecision and paralysis. Obviously, with a main character like that, you aren't going t...more The problem with writing a novel about people who are elite do-nothings with dull lives is that you run this risk of producing a dull novel. The Age of Innocence isn't exactly saved from this fate; as a novel, it isn't a very thrilling one. After all, it's about a wishy-washy young man who silently critiques everything. He's engaged to one lady, falls in love with another, and persists in a constant state of indecision and paralysis. Obviously, with a main character like that, you aren't going to get a novel jam-packed with excitement.

What I find to be so interesting about this novel is the struggle that ensues both thematically and within the narration over how people shift from object to subject and vice versa. This is particularly true of the Countess Olenska; she remains an object for many of the characters in the novel--a figure of pity, of problematic sexuality, of repression, and of rebellion. Even her own grandmother turns away from the Countess as soon as Ellen refuses to return to her husband; it is not until Ellen is once more physically present that her grandmother again treats her as an individual rather than a symbol. Interestingly, Ellen never seems to become an individual for Newland. Instead, she is always an object for him--a means by which he can escape what he sees as the impossibility of his marriage and his position. This is most true at the moment he asks Ellen to come to him and is cemented by his refusal, twenty-five years later, to meet her in Paris with his son. May is quite right in referring to Ellen as a "thing"; for Archer, Ellen is little else. Ironically, Ellen is a signpost for pointing out the inescapable subjectivity of other characters--the dullness of the Duke, the haughty pride of the Van der Luydens, and even May's potential for pain at the betrayal of her husband and cousin.

Much of the shifting from subject to object and back again is predicated on the ambiguity of language Wharton uses to describe these shifts. If Newland Archer seems indecisive and hesitant, it's in part because the narrator seems so unwilling to define exactly what Archer thinks and feels. Again, ironically, Archer complains at May's inability to speak openly what she really feels (to call, for example, the Duke boring), and yet remains himself unable to articulate his feelings for Ellen or even for May. I bet this is one of the reasons the book is taught so often in high school--it facilitates a discussion in which everyone can talk about the characters without having to mention in detail S-E-X. I wonder what Wharton would think about the fact that her great novel about our inability to communicate only fosters a state in which we refuse to communicate. I bet she'd get a kick out of that, actually.(less)

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Aug 04, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature, classic-challenge, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, personal-favourites, popularity-contest, books-with-films

"We can't behave like people in novels though can we?"

The Age of Innocence focuses on Newland Archer and the period up to and after his marriage to May Welland. Newland works in law and as part of his job is given the difficult task of trying to convince Countess Ellen Olenska to return to Europe to her foreign husband. The divide exists between his culture's expectations, the expectations of his soon to be family (Ellen is his fiancée's cousin) and the ideas he has about equality, freedom and...more
"We can't behave like people in novels though can we?"

The Age of Innocence focuses on Newland Archer and the period up to and after his marriage to May Welland. Newland works in law and as part of his job is given the difficult task of trying to convince Countess Ellen Olenska to return to Europe to her foreign husband. The divide exists between his culture's expectations, the expectations of his soon to be family (Ellen is his fiancée's cousin) and the ideas he has about equality, freedom and what is right.

The writing in The Age of Innocence is superb. I've said it before but the volume of words is like treacle or syrup to me. The writing is poignant and sweet but the sentences are long and sticky: they get between your teeth. So if you like the style the writing, particularly the opening few chapters, is spectacular. But if you want more mundane classics or a less embroidered style then try something closer to Jane Austen.

The Age of Innocence is in many ways a social critique and for that very reason was somewhat controversial I believe. Mainly because it suggests that an affair or something like an affair takes place. And that the character of Newland finds this perfectly acceptable. However this event is phrased in such a way that one could take it as that the relationship in the book was believed by everyone else to be an affair. In which sense the book takes on a less sordid meaning. And in such a way Edith Wharton also makes her work less scandalous. However I do not want to look at the affair or whether there was one within the book. What I do want to mention is how Edith Wharton, as she did with Ethan Frome, writes a criticism of society.

Her criticism is found in how Ellen Olenska is shunned by society for her lack of etiquette and style; the fact that she wishes to become a divorced woman and that she married a foreign nobleman; and that she is an embarrassment to the 'proper way of life' in New York. Her family encourage her to return to her husband even though it is suggested that she was in some way abused by him more for the sake of propriety than because they care for her. And to achieve this end manipulation and deceit is involved. The whole premise of The Age of Innocence very much revolves around Newland discovering that the ideals he held as valuable do not hold so much value when they interfere with human lives. The fact that this society cares more for what is trendy or fashionable than what affects a person and do not care for those who fall into monetary issues makes them all hypocritical individuals. Wealthy and fashionable hypocrites but hypocrites nonetheless.

In fact what I liked so much about this novel apart from the characters and the writing was how Edith Wharton challenged those ideas of the society. She threw up the idea that perhaps it did not matter who was fashionable and whether it was 'proper' to talk to a certain individual but rather what was right should prevail. As a side note the whole issue of the possible affair is pervaded to as perhaps something that could be morally justified because Newland's love was different from any other man. A justification often used and hence in my view unjustifiable. Another side note is that Edith Wharton also questions whether women should have the same ability of men and that it is wrong to judge a woman who seeks independence. Fair enough I say - someone needed to voice such opinions.

Ultimately the idea that I captured the spirit of most was how the society of innocence never talked about what was improper or about indecencies like affairs. However anything improper was silently perceived and judged by the masses, hence it was an age of innocence in that no one appeared to be doing anything improper. However under the surface immorality was more rampant than it appeared. And hence Edith Wharton I believe challenges the idea of judging another individual's actions. Because perhaps it may turn out that your judgement is just as wrong as the actions undertaken by another. She also challenges a culture where deception is practiced underfoot and subtly accepted. Lies are no foundation for a society is an opinion that she implies.

I fully recommend that anyone interested in classic literature read this. I would also like to draw attention to the excellent adaptation which I saw a year or two ago and prompted me to read this in the future: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106226/ I felt that the role of May Welland was done well by Winona Ryder and that Daniel Day Lewis performed well also as Newland. I think Michelle Pfeiffer did a decent job for what she had to act but I don't know if the character necessarily was owned by her... Either way this is a critique of the book and I merely recommend the film as a side interest. I would definitely challenge you to read this either way.(less)

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Jul 07, 2009 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kathryn by: Melanie and Tyler

Shelves: classics

Excellent! A thoughtful, beautiful, aching and acute investigation of the societal expectations of the elite in 1870s "Old" New York and how they mold one's life without ever allowing one to live his/her own life. Though some of the themes may seem a little "tired" by now, one must remember how fresh and startling this story was when it was first published. And Wharton's style is wonderful. I find it especially interesting that Wharton has chosen a male for her main character given the fact that...more

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Aug 15, 2008 Sera rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sera by: Dini

Shelves: classics, favorites, own, 1001-books, literary-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I forgot how much I love to read Edith Wharton. She can capture the mood of a specific point in time perfectly through both the actions and thoughts of the characters and the setting. I felt so much emotion as I read the book, because I felt the feelings of the primary players in the story. May's innocence, but underlying determination to keep her man. Archer's boredom with NY high society, and Ellen's quest for peace and freedom to be herself without fear of reprisal or rejection.

I found the st...more

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Nov 28, 2007 Ruth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

She's got Henry James beat hands down.

R

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Jan 23, 2013 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I ADORED this stunningly beautifully-written book about what felt like the weightiest questions in life set in the most frivolous, lovely, privileged, sumptuous interiors. At what cost personal happiness? What defines/decides a person's role in society? At what cost/advantage is conformity? What defines courage? Happiness?

Up until the last few pages of the book, I could consider Archer an upright man who had been unable to act according to the dictates of his young heart, and was consequently s...more

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Apr 30, 2011 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary, american-literature, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, pulitzer-prize, classic, audiobook, new-york, romance, female-author, rich-people, 19th-century

I hate to do it, but I'm gonna have to pull the "guy" card here: this book was quintessential women's fiction and it bored me. I'm sure plenty of male readers do like Edith Wharton, and it's not like I only read dudely fiction. I find Jane Austen marvelously witty, and while I did not like Wuthering Heights, it at least had dynamic characters and a twisted enough plot to hold my attention. But The Age of Innocence is all wistful self-examination that never goes very deep, and a lot of delicate i...more I hate to do it, but I'm gonna have to pull the "guy" card here: this book was quintessential women's fiction and it bored me. I'm sure plenty of male readers do like Edith Wharton, and it's not like I only read dudely fiction. I find Jane Austen marvelously witty, and while I did not like Wuthering Heights, it at least had dynamic characters and a twisted enough plot to hold my attention. But The Age of Innocence is all wistful self-examination that never goes very deep, and a lot of delicate interactions between super-privileged rich folks who communicate in code. So if you're fascinated by inner turmoil, marital angst, and 19th century etiquette, this book may be for you, but I found the lack of any real drama, the fact that all the characters were cut from the same cloth, and the stifling circumscription of the setting made for a dull book.

This is a period novel set in 1870s Upper Manhattan. The main character, Newland Archer, has just enough awareness to realize that his wife and his high society is constraining and boring, and not enough independence or determination to do much more than flirt with the notion of leaving either. So everyone lives very proper lives and we get lots of descriptions of people and places and table settings. Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for her portrayal of this society, and she describes the rich families of 19th century New York and their tribal customs with breezy but anthropological detail. This is a time and place where the color of the dress you wear to the opera or the soup you serve as a first course is fraught with social implications. Wharton describes the inner lives and outer appearance of her characters and the world they live in in minute detail, but ultimately, I just did not find them very interesting, and the plot was an almost superfluous element.

I rate books according to two criteria: first and foremost, how much I enjoyed them, and secondly, how "good" I think they are in an objective sense. (Yes, I think to some degree you can make objective judgments about the quality of a book, whether or not you enjoy it.) So, I didn't enjoy The Age of Innocence much, but that's completely because of my subjective tastes. I'm sure other people love it for reasons that are good and fine to them. Objectively, Wharton's writing is vivid and descriptive and at times there is a sparkle of wit and a flash of humor, though I wish I'd seen more of it, and she really brings the setting to life and makes us understand the characters to their depths. (Not a great challenge, as there isn't much depth to them -- this is not a knock on Wharton's characterization, but on the people she is describing.) So I give it 2 stars for my enjoyment and 4 stars for the writing quality, averaging to 3 stars.

If you like this kind of book, I still think Jane Austen or Anthony Trollope are better reads.(less)

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Apr 12, 2011 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulitzer, 5-star-reads, classics

I'm not sure I have sufficient vocabulary to fully express myself about this book. Prior to this afternoon, I would have told you that Stegner's Angle of Repose is my all time favorite book. No more. Wharton's Pulitzer prize-winner is told from the viewpoint of wealthy Newland Archer. It is a love story, but not pure and simple, as nothing in life is truly pure and simple. Even as a reader, we don't always get what we want in life.

So what is "The Age of Innocence"?

Was it that time in our nation...more I'm not sure I have sufficient vocabulary to fully express myself about this book. Prior to this afternoon, I would have told you that Stegner's Angle of Repose is my all time favorite book. No more. Wharton's Pulitzer prize-winner is told from the viewpoint of wealthy Newland Archer. It is a love story, but not pure and simple, as nothing in life is truly pure and simple. Even as a reader, we don't always get what we want in life.

So what is "The Age of Innocence"?

Was it that time in our nation's history when Society (yes, with a capital S) had a certain proscribed standard? That was a time when certain behavior was the norm, and, if one's behavior moved outside that norm, it was carefully concealed. It was a time when women of some means were protected and had a certain narrow role in life. Wharton knew this society well, and wrote of the possiblity that life could be different. "Women should be free-as free as we are," struck to the root of a problem that it was agreed in his world to regard as non-existent. "Nice" women, however, wronged, would never claim the kind of freedom he meant, and generous-minded men like himself were therefore-in the heat of argument-the more chivalrously ready to concede it to them.

Later, Newland Archer, thinking of his intended while looking at his future mother-in-law, thought

... and he asked himself if May's face was doomed to thicken into the same middle-aged image of invincible innocence.

Ah, no, he did not want May to have that kind of innocence, the innocence that seals the mind against imagination and the heart against experience!

Perhaps the innocence was on the part of men, however. Perhaps women did, in fact, know about the philandering of husbands and chose to pretend they did not.
Or is the Age of Innocence when we believe that anything is possible, that society will allow us be and do anything, including loving those whom our circle does not accept? Times have changed, and perhaps we are moving toward a time when such is possible. It was not possible in the 1870s of which the novel is written, nor in 1920 when the novel was published.

An advertisement of my younger years that targeted women I remember particularly, proclaimed "You've come a long way, Baby!" Yes, we have.
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Aug 02, 2008 Alison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: bohemians, aristocrats, the nouveau rich, paupers

Recommended to Alison by: Meghan, Ginnie

Shelves: modernlibrary100best

"...His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever going to happen."

The Age that Wharton so painstakingly details in her Pulitzer Prize winning novel (she was the first female recipient) is far from innocent. Rather, it is a world where innocence is feined...where old, rich, tight-knit families make and enforce the rules and rigid standards are in place regarding all aspects of livin...more

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Jun 27, 2008 Edan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At first this novel overwhelmed me with its descriptions of New York society and its oppressive social rules, and the narration felt too on the nose (I get it, I get it: Archer is feeling closed in by these cultural rituals, and he's not passionately in love with his fiancee. I get it!). But this tedium waned once the story got rolling, or it became more nuanced and thus entertaining, and Edith Wharton's prose is enviable the whole way through. Her descriptions of ballrooms and what people are w...more

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Oct 05, 2007 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maybe this book got five stars from me because it has sentimental value - my mother enjoyed the movie enough to buy the tape, which was an extravagance for her, and I grew up watching it over and over again and really enjoying it. Amazingly, I never read the book until quite recently. I had only ever read Ethan Frome by Wharton before, which is certainly a good book, but also sort of an after-school special. (KIDS: DON'T ADULTERATE AND TOBAGGON.) I passionately loved Age, though. Wharton's chara...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a sucker for Wharton's books. To me, she is Jane Austen's antithesis. She shows the ugly and sad side to society living. Long-suffering characters are not redeemed and reunited in her world. If you haven't read a Wharton novel: start here. It's the perfect introduction to the teeming world of late 19th century NY society. Your name matters. The names of your closest friends and associates matters. Where you spend your summers matters. Where you lodge when you are in the city matters. Your da...more

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view all 6 comments

Diana Well, Tess of the D'ubervilles is one of the best known--very tragic, probably the most Hardy-esque of the Hardy's. It is fun (in a tragic way) and wo...more
Jun 24, 2008 09:14am

Anne I have read Tess of the D'ubervilles. And, I did enjoy it. I will definitely pursue your other suggestions as I would like to explore Hardy futher, so...more
Jun 24, 2008 10:32am

May 28, 2008 Lena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This elegant novel tells the tale of Newland Archer, a well-bred, well-heeled member of 1870's New York society. At the book's opening, he has just become engaged to May Welland, who he considers an ideal match for a man of his station. Unfortunately, Archer's idealized plans for the future are quickly interrupted by the arrival of May's cousin, the disgraced but charming Countess Olenska.

At first, Archer finds the Countess' willingness to disrupt the ridged conventions upon which his life is b...more

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Jul 03, 2007 Eleanor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those for whom hope springs eternal

Shelves: americana, made-me-cry

I started this, and thought I was going to hate it. Then the book ended up in my bag on a trip into the mountains a week and a half ago, and I spent a couple hours in the hottub with it and a Negro Modelo. Now I must finish. I think it's going to turn out like an American Jane Eyre -- the sexual tension is making me crazy; everyone's so proper that I'm 200 pages in and there's only been ONE KISS between the protagonist and the woman he loves (who is not, as it happens, his wife). Now I have to f...more

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May 10, 2012 Mikela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-list, books-read-in-2012, 1900s, pulitzer-winners

There is very little that I can add in respect to all that has been said of this fantastic book. Wharton opened a window to us which allowed us to catch a glimpse of lives and and social customs of the rich and social elites in New York during the late 19th century and in so doing forced me to do a great deal of soul searching and thinking. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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May 30, 2011 S. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: women-writers, read-in-2011, 1001-list

Once again an underwhelming Pulitzer Prize winner. I would have given up but "The Age of Innocence" is one of my father’s favorites, so I stuck it out, hoping for an ironic twist or natural catastrophe or messy and embarrassing suicide.

Lacking intellectual pursuits, weird sexual inclinations and/or worthy and urgent causes, the idle rich are a dull lot, and the calamity of this book is that to the last page Newland Archer’s life goes on as tediously as ever.

About 30 pages in I wondered if the b...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are reasons that certain books are classics...the timeless quality to the writing. It transcends time and that is what this book does as the story, characters and their trials resonate today as it must have then. This is one of my favorite Wharton books.

This book is wonderfully written with excellent commentary on decadent society. It's a mature story of love and family and social expectations/responsibilities.

A wonderful story, slow and deliberate, with so many facets that all blend toge...more

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May 14, 2013 Dergrossest rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The consistency of man throughout the ages is remarkable. As this story of unrequited love among the aristocracy of turn of the 19th century New York demonstrates, we always seem to have a pathological need for conformity and an unflagging dissatisfaction with our lot in life. Indeed, while at first the old conventions of times past seem as foreign as gaiters and corsets, it quickly becomes apparent that we have merely exchanged them for Polartec jackets and Lululemon yoga pants.

The writing itse...more

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Oct 01, 2010 Susie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved, loved, loved this book. The writing is splendid, and holds a resonance that long rings in your ears. I wanted to pick out several of the lines and paste them into this review, but there is so many of them, a person just has to read it for themselves.

Written in the early 1900's, the book speaks of "Old New York society" and its very many rigid rules. Newland Archer, our main character, is the embodiment of these rules when the story first begins, and you hate the smugness of his voice. B...more

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The 1700-1939 Boo...: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton	8	25	May 18, 2013 05:51am
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1920s Pulitzers -- why are they so bad?	6	102	Mar 15, 2013 10:07pm
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About Edith Wharton

Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the a...more Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the age of eighteen she had written a novella, (as well as witty reviews of it) and published poetry in the Atlantic Monthly.

After a failed engagement, Edith married a wealthy sportsman, Edward Wharton. Despite similar backgrounds and a shared taste for travel, the marriage was not a success. Many of Wharton's novels chronicle unhappy marriages, in which the demands of love and vocation often conflict with the expectations of society. Wharton's first major novel, The House of Mirth, published in 1905, enjoyed considerable literary success. Ethan Frome appeared six years later, solidifying Wharton's reputation as an important novelist. Often in the company of her close friend, Henry James, Wharton mingled with some of the most famous writers and artists of the day, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, André Gide, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, and Jack London.

In 1913 Edith divorced Edward. She lived mostly in France for the remainder of her life. When World War I broke out, she organized hostels for refugees, worked as a fund-raiser, and wrote for American publications from battlefield frontlines. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her courage and distinguished work.

The Age of Innocence, a novel about New York in the 1870s, earned Wharton the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921 -- the first time the award had been bestowed upon a woman. Wharton traveled throughout Europe to encourage young authors. She also continued to write, lying in her bed every morning, as she had always done, dropping each newly penned page on the floor to be collected and arranged when she was finished. Wharton suffered a stroke and died on August 11, 1937. She is buried in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.
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