The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence is a novel written by Edith Wharton and first published in 1920. Set in New York City during the 1870s, the novel tells the story of Newland Archer, a wealthy young man who is engaged to May Welland, a beautiful and innocent young woman from a prominent family. However, their engagement is complicated by the arrival of May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, who has fled her unhappy marriage in Europe and has returned to New York. Newland becomes infatuated with Ellen, and as he becomes more and more drawn to her, he begins to question the values and traditions of his own society. The novel explores themes of love, duty, social class, and the constraints of society. It is considered a classic of American literature and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921.He bent and laid his lips on her hands, which were cold and lifeless. She drew them away, and he turned to the door, found his coat and hat under the faint gas-light of the hall, and plunged out into the winter night bursting with the belated eloquence of the inarticulate.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.