The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s sweeping and passionate portrait of New York society during the 1870s, a time when people were defined by rigid social expectations and stifling societal conventions. The novel follows the life of Newland Archer, a dutiful young man who finds himself falling in love with an enigmatic Countess named Ellen Olenska. When Archer chooses to pursue a relationship with Olenska, he must choose between his sense of duty to his fiancée, May Welland, and his passion for Olenska. Ultimately, The Age of Innocence is a story about choice—about how our most important decisions define us as people.