A great book! And one of the most beautifully written in my opinion. Every sentence Edith Wharton pen's is poetry-some of the analogies and metaphores she uses just floor me! I think I have half of the book underlined/highlighted.
Set amongst the affluent society of the New York upper-class during the turn-of-the-century, she tells the story of Lily Bart; A young woman of 29 set on marrying a rich husband. Lily is in a constant battle with herself, torn between the luxurious lifestyle of the opulent society in wich she's trying to establish herself and the realization that such a life can never satisfy her. She's a complex character who is incessantly doing the wrong thing at the right time and the right thing at the wrong time. I pick up something new every time I open this book.

"She was not made for mean and shaby surroundings, for the squalid compromises of poverty. Her whole being dilated in an atmosphere of luxury; it was the background she required, the only climate she could breathe in." p.24
"She had been bored all afternoon by Percy Gryce-the mere thought seemed to waken an echo of his droning voice-but she could not ignore him on the morrow, she must follow up her success, must submit to more boredom, must be ready with fresh compliances and adaptabilities, and all on the bare chance that he might ultimately decide to do her the honor of boring her for life." p.24
"That's Lily all over you know. She works like a slave preparing the ground and sowing her seed, but the day she ought to be reaping the harvest she oversleeps herself or goes off on a picnic." p.179