The custom of the country - Genevieve's BookWyrm

370 pages

English language

Published 2006 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-14-303970-9
OCLC Number:: 62430934

(1 review)

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. It follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the Midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous, selfish, mercenary, and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father's money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Undine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by disillusion. Wharton was re-creating an environment she knew intimately, and Undine's education for social success is chronicled in meticulous detail. The novel superbly captures the world of post-Civil War Ameria, as ruthless in its social ambitions as in its business and politics. - Back cover.

47 editions

Gertie MacDowell reviewed The custom of the country by Edith Wharton

Lifestyles of the wannabe rich and famous

4 stars

This was an interesting book from the standpoint of social conventions in upper crust society at the turn of the 20th century. Undine Spragg is very much the antihero leaving a trail of destruction in her wake as she crawls up the social ladder marriage by marriage. One wonders whether Meghan Markle should have read it before becoming entangled in the British royal family given the subject matter.

It's a bit hard to relate to so much of the novel partly because it's over a hundred years old, but also because I am not of the New York elite and therefore unfamiliar, even baffled by some of the social aspects of the story. Having to have your mother respond first before you can seems bizarre and so when Undine breaks some of these rules, it is difficult to appreciate the effect it should have on the reader.

One of the …

This was an interesting book from the standpoint of social conventions in upper crust society at the turn of the 20th century. Undine Spragg is very much the antihero leaving a trail of destruction in her wake as she crawls up the social ladder marriage by marriage. One wonders whether Meghan Markle should have read it before becoming entangled in the British royal family given the subject matter.

It's a bit hard to relate to so much of the novel partly because it's over a hundred years old, but also because I am not of the New York elite and therefore unfamiliar, even baffled by some of the social aspects of the story. Having to have your mother respond first before you can seems bizarre and so when Undine breaks some of these rules, it is difficult to appreciate the effect it should have on the reader.

One of the main thrusts of the story is that then, as now, money is seen as a cure for all ailments, real and psychological. Undine's constant need for more coupled with the limitations she comes up against make for a relevant argument against rampant consumerism. A somewhat novelty at the time, it remains a potent point today, and it isn't hard to read between the lines as Wharton skewers beliefs and actions she saw as vulgar and reflecting the emptiness of the people involved.

Rather straight and to the point, Wharton's writing style reflects the serialised nature of the book as it was first published but it never wearies the reader.

Overall, 'The Custom of the Country' is worth a read and it's prompted me to add more Wharton books to the reading list.

Subjects

Americans -- France -- Fiction
Remarried people -- Fiction
Divorced women -- Fiction
Upper class -- Fiction
New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
Paris (France) -- Fiction