New York: Quality Paperback Book Club Large trade paperback. 361pp., No previous ownership marks. A clean, square, tight copy , lightly read with no spine crease. Very good.. Reprint. Soft Cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Synopsis

Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s, during the so-called Gilded Age. The novel, which takes its title from artist Joshua Reynolds’ 1785 painting of a little girl, focuses on impending marriage of an upper-class couple: Newland Archer, a distinguished lawyer, and the shy, but lovely May Welland. Enter the bride's cousin, Ellen Olenska, plagued by a scandalous separation from her European husband, a Polish count. The presence of Ellen, a classic femme fatale, threatens the happiness of Newland and May. However, May’s determination must not be undermined as she proceeds to use everything in her power to ensure her marriage to Newland. Though the novel questions the assumptions and morals of the Gilded Age, it never explicitly condemns the era. …And perhaps it should have. The Age of Innocence won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize; however, upon being awarded the honor, the novel was praised as “best present[ing] the wholesome atmosphere of American life and the highest standard of American manners and manhood.” Many claimed that even Wharton was taken aback when reviewers failed to see the irony of the title and her social criticism of 1870s New York society. Of the many film, television, and theatrical adaptations of The Age of Innocence, perhaps most notable is the 1993 film of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Michelle Pfeiffer as Countess Ellen Olenska, Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer, and Winona Ryder as May Welland Archer. The film won an Oscar for costume design and Ryder was not only nominated for an Oscar, but won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of May Welland Archer. The Age of Innocence is ranked 58th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century and 45th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels.

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Details

Seller: Great Expectations Rare Books (US)
Seller's Inventory #: 007036
Title: The Age of Innocence
Author: Wharton, Edith
Format/Binding: Paperback
Book Condition: Used - Very Good
Edition: Reprint
ISBN 10: 0684719258
ISBN 13: 9780684719252
Publisher: Quality Paperback Book Club
Place of Publication: New York
This edition first published: 1968-01
Keywords: Fiction
Bookseller catalogs: Modern Fiction;

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Great Expectations Rare Books

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About the Seller

Great Expectations Rare Books

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Biblio member since 2005

Staten Island, New York

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About Great Expectations Rare Books

We carry a general stock of antiquarian books with a focus on Charles Dickens, 19th and 20th century literature, history and biography.

Glossary

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Quality Paperback: Quality paperback is simply another term for a trade paperback, describing a paperback generally the approximate size of a...
Reprint: Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
Trade Paperback: Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...
Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Tight: Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.