The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton is a novel set in late 19th-century New York high society. It follows the story of Newland Archer, who is engaged to the virtuous May Welland, but becomes entranced by May’s cousin, the unconventional Ellen Olenska. The novel explores themes of social conventions, desire, and the constraints of upper-class life.