description: Considered by many to be her masterpiece, Edith Wharton's second full-length work is a scathing yet personal examination of the exploits and follies of the modern upper class. As she unfolds the story of Undine Spragg, from New York to Europe, Wharton affords us a detailed glimpse of what might be called the interior décor of this America and its nouveau riche fringes. Through a heroine who is as vain, spoiled, and selfish as she is irresistibly fascinating, and through a most intricate and satisfying plot that follows Undine's marriages and affairs, she conveys a vision of social behavior that is both supremely informed and supremely disenchanted. - Anita Brookner
language: French
title: The Custom of the Country
titlecomplete: The Custom of the Country
characters: Elmer Moffatt, Undine Spragg, Claud Popple, Laura Fairford, Mabel Lipscomb, Raymond de Chelles, Peter Van Degen, Ralph Marvell, Leota Spragg, Abner Spragg, Charles Bowen, Clare Van Degen
genres: Fiction, 20th Century, Classics, Classic Literature, New York, American, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Literature, Novels
ratings_count: 13170
places: New York City, New York
publisher: Ed. du Temps