The Custom of the Country
$22.72
- Paperback
480 pages
- Release Date
31 March 1999
Summary
The classic satire of New York society and the American Dream through the misadventures of an insatiable young striver.
Ambitious and wholeheartedly materialistic, Undine Spragg is a beautiful heiress who sees men as a means to an end. New York millionaires and French aristocrats fall at her feet, but each conquest is merely a stepping-stone in Undine’s quest for power and position—and in her elusive search for happiness.
A biting satire from one of America’s greatest writers,…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780553213935 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0553213938 |
| Author: | Edith Wharton |
| Publisher: | Random House USA Inc |
| Imprint: | Bantam Classics |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 480 |
| Release Date: | 31 March 1999 |
| Weight: | 261g |
| Dimensions: | 171mm x 106mm x 25mm |
| Series: | Bantam Classics |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
“Edith Wharton’s finest achievement.” –Elizabeth Hardwick From the Trade Paperback edition.
“Edith Wharton’s finest achievement.“—Elizabeth Hardwick
About The Author
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton was born into the upper stratum of New York society in 1862, which provided her with material as a novelist but did not encourage her artistic growth. Educated by tutors and governesses, she was raised for marriage. Her marriage, in 1885, to Edward Wharton was an emotional disappointment, and she suffered a series of nervous breakdowns beginning in 1894. Despite the strain, she began to write fiction and published her first story in 1889.
Her first book was a guide to interior decorating, followed by novels and story collections written while the Whartons lived in Newport and New York, traveled in Europe, and built The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts. In Europe, she met Henry James, who became her friend, traveling companion, and critic. The House of Mirth (1905) and Ethan Frome (1911) were critical and commercial successes.
In 1913, the Whartons divorced, and Edith took up permanent residence in France. Her subject remained America, especially the New York of her youth. The Custom of the Country was published in 1913, and The Age of Innocence won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1921.
In her later years, she enjoyed the admiration of writers, including Sinclair Lewis and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In all, she wrote some thirty books, including her autobiography, A Backwards Glance (1934). She died at her villa near Paris in 1937.
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