Old New York
9.99 €
In stock
Old New York
9.99 €
Edith Wharton's "Old New York" (1924) is a series of four prequel novellas to her other novel, "The Age of Innocence," revealing the mores of New York's elite from the 1840s to the 1870s. Wharton masterfully dissects the social conventions of high society, where tradition and status dictate every step. The reader will encounter familiar characters from "The Age of Innocence": the influential Mrs. Manson Mingott, the gossip Sillerton Jackson, and the aristocrat Henry van der Lyden.
The protagonists of these novellas act out of love, but society rejects them for deviating from their accepted paradigm of behavior.
"Unfulfilled Hopes"
A young man, Lewis Rasey, spends his inheritance on Italian Renaissance paintings on the advice of Ruskin. His father deprives him of everything, but half a century later, the paintings bring him a fortune.
"The Old Maid"
Charlotte gives birth to an illegitimate child by her cousin Delia's former suitor. Due to circumstances, Charlotte is unable to raise the girl, so Delia adopts her.
"Spark"
The narrator admires Haley's friend Delaine, whose moral impulses are a legacy of his encounter with Whitman during the war. However, Delaine didn't know who he was back then, and when the narrator accidentally helps him solve a riddle and introduces him to some of Whitman's poems, Delaine is disillusioned, considering the new forms of poetry to be nonsense.
"New Year's Day"
Lizzie Hazeldean sells her love to Henry Priest to support her ailing husband. After his death, she remains an outcast, faithful to his memory for the rest of her days. Many years later, the narrator meets the aging Lizzie, who leads the life of a lady of the demi-monde, rejected by society, but at the same time remains faithful to the image of her husband and does not allow anyone to come to her.
The protagonists of these novellas act out of love, but society rejects them for deviating from their accepted paradigm of behavior.
"Unfulfilled Hopes"
A young man, Lewis Rasey, spends his inheritance on Italian Renaissance paintings on the advice of Ruskin. His father deprives him of everything, but half a century later, the paintings bring him a fortune.
"The Old Maid"
Charlotte gives birth to an illegitimate child by her cousin Delia's former suitor. Due to circumstances, Charlotte is unable to raise the girl, so Delia adopts her.
"Spark"
The narrator admires Haley's friend Delaine, whose moral impulses are a legacy of his encounter with Whitman during the war. However, Delaine didn't know who he was back then, and when the narrator accidentally helps him solve a riddle and introduces him to some of Whitman's poems, Delaine is disillusioned, considering the new forms of poetry to be nonsense.
"New Year's Day"
Lizzie Hazeldean sells her love to Henry Priest to support her ailing husband. After his death, she remains an outcast, faithful to his memory for the rest of her days. Many years later, the narrator meets the aging Lizzie, who leads the life of a lady of the demi-monde, rejected by society, but at the same time remains faithful to the image of her husband and does not allow anyone to come to her.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series Highway. The Main Trend