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The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1862-1937) In an era before the advent of electric lights, telephones or motor vehicles, there exists a small cluster of aristocratic families that rule New York’s social life. Under the rules of this society, reputation and outward appearances come at the exclusion of everything else. In this Gilded Age, Wharton tells the story of 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. (summary by Brenda Dayne) Total running time: 12:32:32 Read by Brenda Dayne Cover design by Kathryn Delaney Painting by James Tissot, Too Early, 1873

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