World's Classics: The Custom of the Country

Edith Wharton, edited with an introduction by Stephen Orgel

ISBN 10: 0192822888 / ISBN 13: 9780192822888

Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 1995

About this Item

General light handling wear, firmly bound with marks on the closed page edge.

Seller Inventory # 099488

Bibliographic Details

• Title: World's Classics: The Custom of the Country
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0192822888
• ISBN 13: 9780192822888
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

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