Edith Wharton: Novels (Loa #30): The House of Mirth / The Reef / The Custom of the Country / The Age of Innocence

America and Europe of the 1800s were stiff, gilded, formal place, full of "old" families, rigid customs and social transgressions. And nobody chronicled them better than Edith Wharton, who spun exquisitely barbed novels out of the social clashes of the late nineteenth century -- both social clashes, and ones between the sexes. This collection brings together four of her best books, exploring the nature of infidelity, passion, social-climbing and a woman's place in an unfriendly world. And each story is tinged with tragedy, satire or romance. "Age of Innocence" is a pretty ironic title. Newland Archer, of a wealthy old New York family, has become engaged to pretty, naive May. But during his engagement, he becomes acquainted with May's exotic cousin, the still-legally-married Countess Olenska -- and after his marriage, his attraction to the mysterious Countess and her unconventional ways becomes even stronger. Will he become an outcast and leave with her, or stick with a life of conformity and safety with his young wife? "The Custom of the Country" takes whatever is biting about "Age of Innocence" and magnifies it. Undine Spragg is a mesmerizing beauty from a tiny town, who wants the best of everything -- more than her family can afford, or ever will be able to. She begins by marrying a young scion of "old money", and leaving divorce, death and broken hearts in her wake. She does all this while hiding a then-shameful secret. The only way to succeed lies in the one man who sees her for what she is. But the mockery in "House of Mirth" is not meant to be funny, but saddening and eye-opening instead -- because an impoverished single woman's lot in the 1800s was a sad one. Lily Bart is on the prowl for a marriage to keep her in luxury and affluent circles. But her schemes and plans start to collapse, as she rejects all her adoring suitors, and a nasty society matron decides to deflect attention from her adultery by accusing Lily falsely. Her life rapidly descends into a spiral of wretched unemployment and poverty, with only one way out. "The Reef" is one of infidelity -- Charles Darrow has been reunited with his first love Anna, now a widow living in France. But as he prepares to propose, he receives a telegram telling him not to come. Angry and hurt, he decides to escort a feisty young companion named Sophy Viner around Paris, and the two fall into a brief affair. But when he reunites and reconciles with Anna, Charles discovers that not only is Sophy the governess of Anna's daughter, but is engaged to her stepson. Wharton tended to pay attention to three things: human nature, society, and how the two often clashed. These four books are, in fact, crammed with the societal clashes of the time: infidelity, divorce, the lenience towards men versus the strict standards given to women, the impact of "new money" in the territory of the old, and what it took for a person to break out of the bounds of society -- and the cost it had. Her writing is striki

America and Europe of the 1800s were stiff, gilded, formal place, full of "old" families, rigid customs and social transgressions. And nobody chronicled them better than Edith Wharton, who spun exquisitely barbed novels out of the social clashes of the late nineteenth century. This collection brings together four of her best books, exploring the nature of infidelity, passion, social-climbing and a woman's place in an unfriendly world. "Age of Innocence" is a pretty ironic title. Newland Archer, of a wealthy old New York family, has become engaged to pretty, naive May. But as he tries to get their wedding date moved up, he becomes acquainted with May's exotic cousin, Countess Olenska, who has returned home after dumping her cheating count husband. At first, the two are friends, but then they become something more. After Newland marries May, the attraction to the mysterious Countess and her free, unconventional life becomes even stronger. He starts to rebel in little ways, but he's still mired in a 100% conventional marriage, job and life. Will he become an outcast and go away with the beautiful countess, or will he stick with May and a safe, dull life? "The Custom of the Country" takes whatever is biting about "Age of Innocence" and magnifies it. Undine Spragg is a mesmerizing beauty from a tiny town, whose parents made a small-scale fortune and have moved to the glitzy world of New York. Undine wants the best of everything, more than her family can afford, but she thinks it's all worth it -- so she marries a besotted son of "old New York," but it doesn't take long for him to realize how incompatible they are. And he doesn't realize that Undine is hiding a (then) shameful secret -- she was once married and quickly divorced from a vulgar businessman. In the present, Undine continues her quest for a life of pleasure, moving on to a French nobleman and getting just as dissatisfied with him. The only way to succeed lies in the one man who sees her for what she is. But the mockery in "House of Mirth" is not meant to be funny, but saddening and eye-opening. Like most not-so-rich women, Lily Bart is on the prowl for a marriage to keep her in luxury and affluent circles. What's more, she has the rapid intellect to be able to navigate these treacherous waters. But her schemes and plans start to collapse, as she rejects all her adoring suitors because they aren't rich enough, and a nasty society matron decides to deflect attention from her adultery by accusing Lily falsely. Her life rapidly descends into a spiral of wretched unemployment and poverty, until the tragic finale. "The Reef" is far more romantic in nature, but Wharton still tackles the touchy, shades-of-grey nature of relationships and infidelity. George Darrow receives a telegram postponing a meeting with his might-be-fiancee, reserved widow Anna Leath. Hurt and angry, he chaperons a young American woman, Sophie Viner, around Paris... and then has a fling with her. Several months

Along with her good friend Henry James, Edith Wharton was an expert at studying the stiff social fabric of New York in the 1800's. In this collection of some of her best work, the reader is invited into the lives of characters who struggle against the confines of society, for love and/or their own sanity. The House of Mirth is one of the best novels I've ever read, with the thoroughly captivating character of Lily Bart taking center stage. Wharton proved that she could see love and all of its tribulations through the eyes of a man when she wrote The Age of Innocence. No matter what she wrote, she did so with unerring detail and an almost uncanny knack for "the right phrase" for every situation. This collection is an interesting study not only of "old New York" but of characters who stay with you long after the last sentence is savored.