The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton – The Classic Art Collection

This is the complete and unabridged text of the beloved American classic, The Age of Innocence.

Cover art: Pea Blossoms by Edward John Poynter, painted in 1890

For an illustrated edition of this book, click here.

Synopsis:

Old New York, 1870s: Gaslit streets, formal dances, secret scandal… In The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton masterfully draws out the depth of hypocrisy and vacuity that marked this time in history among the American elite.

Newland Archer is comfortable conforming to conventional New York standards in marrying the beautiful yet unimaginative May Welland. But when May’s cousin, Ellen Olenska, arrives in New York in the wake of a disastrous marriage, Archer finds himself enchanted. And so begins the years-long affair of the heart, a thwarted love that seeps into every crevice of his life…

Edith Wharton was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which was awarded to her for The Age of Innocence in 1921. This novel certainly is an unmatched literary achievement. With a cast of characters that practically jump off the page and an evocative and compelling setting, it is a story that is not quickly forgotten.