World's Classics: The Custom of the Country

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. Custom of the Country follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous and selfish, mercenary and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father's money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Udine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by disillusion. The novel superbly captures post-Civil War America, a country where the ruthlessness of business leaders and politicians was matched by that of society's aspirants.

Stephen Orgel is Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Humanities at Stanford University.