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Edith WhartonThe Age of Innocence (January 9, 2007)

LibriVox recording of The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. Read by Brenda Dayne.

In an era before the advent of electric lights, telephones or motor vehicles, there exists a small cluster of aristocratic “old revolutionary stock” families that rule New York’s social life. Under the rules of this society, “being things” is better than “doing things” and reputation and outward appearances come at the exclusion of everything else. In this Gilded Age, when America’s expansion and increased industrialism produce a group of newly wealthy robber barons and financiers, the patient, time-honored values of the old ruling class, and century, are giving way to the expediencies of the new. Caught at this cusp, a triangle of lovers, who must choose between the expectations of family and society, and the deepest yearnings of the heart.

Newly engaged couple, Newland Archer, a young lawyer, and May Welland, a society debutante, are part of the old world, where the “right people” follow the “correct rules” and marry into “acceptable families.” The arrival from Europe of May’s cousin, the Countess Ellen Olenska, complicates their union, as Ellen’s mysterious past threatens to cast a shadow of scandal over the newly betrothed couple. Newland Archer, at first critical of Ellen’s bohemian lifestyle, and her seemingly wilful ignorance of the rules and customs of his Old New York, is soon captivated by Ellen’s warmth, spirit, and her generous and loving heart. Will he cast off the life for which he’s been groomed, or sacrifice happiness for duty and the greater good of the social order?
(Summary by Brenda Dayne)

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This audio is part of the collection: LibriVox

Artist/Composer: Edith Wharton
Date: 2007-01-09
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobook; literature; novel; New York; marriage; society

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: librivoxbooks - - March 11, 2009
Subject: Search by reader
You CAN search by reader by going to this page:

http://librivox.org/newcatalog/visitor_advanced.php

Enjoy!

Reviewer: marys44 - - March 10, 2009
Subject: Wonderful
Although a broad reader (both in hip and in library), I have avoided this one because I am not much taken with a swept-away love story. But I think Ms. Dayne could read the Farmer's Almanac and it would be beautiful, compelling, and totally enjoyable. I wish we could search by reader.

Thank you Brenda and Librivox. -- mary s

Reviewer: LeonMire - - July 1, 2007
Subject: Splendid reading
I am not much a fan of the novel of manners as a genre of literature, but I have to applaud Brenda Dayne's wonderful reading of this book. Her clear, serene voice made me like this novel against my inclinations, and if it were not for the Librivox disclaimers at the beginning, I could have easily mistaken it for a professional recording.