“The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton

My sister Kathleen came to San Francisco earlier this week for a quick visit. I asked if she would let me film her discussing her favorite book for this week’s LLP, but she said, “No dice.” So instead I convinced her just to recommend a book that she had recently read that she was crazy about. I was quite surprised she came up with a title that was originally published in 1920. “The Age of Innocence” was Edith Wharton’s 12-th book. It went on to earn her the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and mark her the first woman ever to win that award. The novel, set in the 1870s, examines the upper-class Gilded Age of New York City. The plot centers around a young couple and their upcoming wedding, and the glamorous countess who arrives on the scene to complicate things. Written when Wharton was 58 years old, reviews have said the story is Wharton’s own attempt to compare the life she saw as child, with the modern way of life emerging in America in the early 20- -th century. My sister followed up her reading of the book by viewing the 1993 Marin Scorsese film adaptation, “The Age of Innocence,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. Scorsese was criticized for some of his casting choices in the film, but my sister said if you re-read the novel, Ryder fit the part of May perfectly. What Kathleen loved about the book and the movie was the checklist of detailed Edwardian manners, and how they brought structure and organization to the characters in high society. Clearly she is my sister with her keen eye for organization, but I’m looking forward to the relationships, too. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.