The Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton

Summary

"They lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only uttered by a set of arbitrary signs."

Newland Archer is a man of the elite, a gentleman lawyer perfectly aligned with the rigid social codes of 1870s New York. His life is meticulously planned, beginning with his engagement to the beautiful, conventional May Welland. But when May's cousin, the scandalous Countess Ellen Olenska, returns from Europe seeking a divorce, Archer's world is upended. Drawn to Ellen's independence and intellectual fire, he begins to question the very foundations of the society that sustains him.

The Invisible Chains of Convention: Wharton brilliantly portrays a world where "the tribal ritual" of social life is more powerful than any individual passion. As Archer and Ellen's forbidden attraction grows, the weight of family expectation and the subtle, unspoken threats of social exile begin to close in. It is a story where a dinner party can be as deadly as a duel, and a raised eyebrow can signal the end of a reputation.

A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Masterpiece: The Age of Innocence is a lush, satirical, and ultimately heartbreaking exploration of the sacrifice required to belong. Wharton, an insider of the world she describes, uses her exquisite prose to dissect the hypocrisy and the hidden beauty of a vanished era. It remains the definitive novel of the American Gilded Age—a timeless study of the conflict between the heart's longing and the world's demands.

Step behind the velvet curtain of Old New York. Purchase "The Age of Innocence" today and experience the elegance and the agony of a world bound by decorum.

Available since: 01/05/2026.

Print length: 374 pages.

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