Edith Wharton (1862-1937) wrote carefully structured fiction that probed the psychological and social elements guiding the behavior of her characters. Her portrayals of upper-calss New Yorkers were unrivaled. The Age of Innocence, for which Wharton won the pulizer Prize in 1921, is one of her most memorable novels.
At the heart of the story are three people whose entangled lives are deeply affected by the ryrannical and rigid reauirements of high society. Newland Archer, a restrained young attorney, is engaged to the lovely May Welland but falls in love with May's beautiful and uncoventional cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Despite his fear of a dull marriage to May, Arcer goes through with the ceremony persuaded by his own sense of honor, family and socieeta pressures. He continues to see Ellen after the marriage, but his dreams of living a passionate life ultimately cease.
The novels's lucid and penetrating prose style, vivid characterization, and its rendering of the social history of an era have long made it a favorite with readers and critics alike.