num_pages: 364
description: The classic satire of New York society and the American Dream through the misadventures of an insatiable young striver—with an introduction by Jia Tolentino, author of Trick MirrorAmbitious and wholeheartedly materialistic, Undine Spragg is a beautiful heiress who sees men as a means to an end. New York millionaires and French aristocrats fall at her feet, but each conquest is merely a stepping-stone in Undine’s quest for power and position—and in her elusive search for happiness.A biting satire from one of America’s greatest writers, The Custom of the Country features a compelling and ruthless heroine, a sharp-eyed critique of the marriage market and its objectification of women, and a knowing send-up of Gilded Age snobbery. The Modern Library Torchbearers series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance:AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES • THE AWAKENING • THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY • THE HEADS OF CERBERUS • LADY AUDLEY’S SECRET • LOVE, ANGER, MADNESS • PASSING • THE TRANSFORMATION OF PHILIP JETTAN • VILLETTE
language: English
title: The Custom of the Country
titlecomplete: The Custom of the Country (Modern Library Torchbearers)
characters: Elmer Moffatt, Mabel Lipscomb, Ralph Marvell, Abner Spragg, Undine Spragg, Leota Spragg, Claud Popple, Peter Van Degen, Raymond de Chelles, Clare Van Degen, Laura Fairford, Charles Bowen
genres: Fiction, American, Classic Literature, Literature, Classics, Novels, New York, Historical Fiction, 20th Century, Literary Fiction
ratings_count: 13171
places: New York City, New York
publisher: Modern Library