The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine Pictorial Review. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Appleton & Company. It won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize.

Though the committee had initially agreed to give the award to Sinclair Lewis for Main Street, the judges, in rejecting his book on political grounds, "established Wharton as the American 'First Lady of Letters'". The story is set in the 1870s, in upper-class, "Gilded Age" New York City. Wharton wrote the book in her 50s, after she was already established as a major author in high demand by publishers.

Public Domain (P)2022 Icon Audio Arts

A classic story and societal observations

I enjoyed this book, even though my 21st century sensibilities got annoyed with Newland Archer. I think that all of us can become stifled by the expectations on us, especially in an environment that requires conformity. Wharton writes smoothly and beautifully, and the narrator's performance with distinct voices for the characters completes the picture. Definitely worth the listen.