Product DescriptionWinner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s masterful portrait of desire and betrayal during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people “dreaded scandal more than disease.”Among New York City's upper class of the 1870’s, before the advent of electric lights, telephones or motor vehicles, there was a small cluster of aristocratic families that ruled New York's social life. To those at the apex of the social world one's occupation or abilities were secondary to heredity and family connections, and one's reputation and outward appearance was of foremost importance. At the center of the highest circles is Newland Archer, a lawyer set to enter into a socially safe marriage with the sheltered and beautiful May Welland -- a decision Archer is forced to re-consider after the appearance of Countess Ellen Olenska, May's exotic and beautiful cousin, recently returned from a lengthy stay in Europe. About the AuthorEdith Wharton (1862 - 1937) was an acclaimed American novelist and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Known for her use of dramatic irony, Wharton found success early in her career with The House of Mirth, which garnered praise upon its publication. She won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for her tour de force, The Age of Innocence.