The Age of Innocence (Modern Classics)

by EdithWharton (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1974

  $3.42

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $3.42

  The return of the beautiful Countess Olenska into the rigidly conventional society of New York sends reverberations throughout the upper reaches of society. Newland Archer, an eligible young man of the establishment is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a pretty ingenue, when May's cousin, Countess Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence. Her sorrowful eyes, her tragic worldliness and her air of unapproachability attract the sensitive Newland and, almost against their will, a passionate bond develops between them. But Archer's life has no place for passion and, with society on the side of May and all she stands for, he finds himself drawn into a bitter conflict between love and duty.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2004

  $6.98

  As the scion of one of New York's leading families, Newland Archer was born into a life of sumptuous privilege and strict duty. Though sensitive and intelligent, Archer respects the rigid social code of his class and plans to marry one of his own kind, the striking May Welland. But the arrival of the free-spirited Countess Olenska, who breathes clouds of European sophistication, makes him question his formerly complacent life. As he falls ever more deeply in love with her, he discovers just how hard it is to escape the bounds of his society. Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is at once a poignant story of frustrated love and an extraordinarily vivid and satirical portrait of a vanished world. The world's greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth, and featuring gilt edges and ribbon markers, these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. They'll transport readers to imaginary worlds and provide excitement, entertainment, and enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations and have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library, the bedside table or bureau.

• New

  Paperback
  2003

  $27.79

  The text of Wharton's richly allusive Pulitzer Prize-winning 1921 novel of desire and its implications in Old New York has been rigorously annotated by a prominent Wharton scholar.

• New

  Hardcover
  1993

  $16.47

  Edith Wharton's novel reworks the eternal triangle of two women and a man in a strikingly original manner. When about to marry the beautiful and conventional May Welland, Newland Archer falls in love with her very unconventional cousin, the Countess Olenska. The consequent drama, set in New York during the 1870s, reveals terrifying chasms under the polished surface of upper-class society as the increasingly fraught Archer struggles with conflicting obligations and desires. The first woman to do so, Edith Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for this dark comedy of manners which was immediately recognized as one of her greatest achievements.