I am a big Edith Wharton fan. Be warned.
Wharton's timeless book is about so many things: social pressure, the perils of not fitting in, New York society...
At the heart of Age of Innocence is Newland Archer's doomed love for Countess Olenska, social outcast because she left her abusive husband. the Countess has just enough social clout to have some respectability in the snobbish New York society of the late 19th century, but she never stops pushing society's limits: by living alone, entertaining the wrong people, and being seen with known philanderers.
Wharton's prose is beautiful and understated. She describes the repressed emotions of Newland and the Countess with a restraint that reflects their restraint and somehow makes it seem more real.
The 1993 movie is a faithful retelling and a beautiful movie (Oscar for costume design).
This is the first of the Pulitzers to still be read today.
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