| Description |
1 online resource (xvi, 122 pages) : illustrations |
| Series |
Masterworks studies ; no. 162 |
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Twayne's masterwork studies ; no. ; 162
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| Contents |
Chronology: Edith Wharton's Life and Works -- 1. Historical Context -- 2. The Importance of The Age of Innocence -- 3. Critical Reception -- 4. Edith Wharton's View of The Age of Innocence -- 5. An Ironic "Novel of Manners" -- 6. An Ironic "Traditional" Novel -- 7. A "Modern Novel" -- 8. As Newland Archer's Novel -- 9. As Ellen Olenska's Novel -- 10. As May Welland's Novel -- 11. Mothers and Daughters: Wharton's Pervasive Theme -- 12. Old New York: Postscript to The Age of Innocence -- 13. The Oasis of Nostalgia |
| Summary |
In this volume - the first devoted exclusively to The Age of Innocence - Linda Wagner-Martin not only examines the historical and social influences of Wharton's time, but also incorporates extended analyses of the novel itself. Wagner-Martin devotes a chapter to each of the principal characters and considers the story from each character's distinctive viewpoint |
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She also considers The Age of Innocence from several literary perspectives - as a "novel of manners," as a "traditional" novel, and as a "modern" novel. Wagner-Martin traces the critical response to The Age of Innocence, from publication to the present, and examines the novel's importance in the American literary canon. A chronology of Wharton's life and literary career and an extensive bibliography further enhance this study |
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The combination of Wagner-Martin's sophisticated and wide-ranging critical perspective and impeccable scholarship makes The Age of Innocence: A Novel of Ironic Nostalgia an invaluable reference |
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The novel's popularity endures as the story captures the reader's imagination with the sheer romance of the complicated, yet realistic portrayal of the marriage of Newland Archer to May Welland, and of his love for May's cousin, Ellen Olenska |
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Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence has captivated generations of American readers since it won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Subtle, ironic, and superbly crafted, Wharton's masterwork is a vivid portrait of late-19th-century New York society. The author's keen observations of the restrictive social mores and the position of women in 19th-century America is underscored by the compelling tale of one man's inability to achieve true happiness with the woman he loves |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-118) and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937. Age of innocence.
|
| SUBJECT |
Age of innocence (Wharton, Edith) fast http://id.worldcat.org/fast/fst01362076 |
| Subject |
Irony in literature.
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Nostalgia in literature.
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Irony in literature.
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Nostalgia in literature.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
95046868 |
| ISBN |
0805717315 |
|
9780805717310 |
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