The Custom of the Country (Summarized Edition)
Enriched edition. A ruthless social climber in 20th-century New York exposes class, marriage, gender, and wealth inequality in American realism
Published on 10. January 2026
166 pages
8596547878742 (EAN)
Description
Published in 1913, The Custom of the Country anatomizes the brisk commerce of status in New York and Paris through Undine Spragg, whose radiant will-to-consume turns marriage, art, and lineage into negotiable currency. With cool, surgical irony and supple free indirect discourse, Wharton stages a transatlantic comedy of manners whose settings-from clubrooms to divorce courts-expose the hinge between old money's codes and new money's appetites. Even the title plays on habit and tariff: the custom that sanctions predation, and the customs that tax every crossing. Wharton wrote from inside knowledge. Born into Old New York and later resident in Paris, she observed both genteel hypocrisies and raw plutocratic energies at close range. Her difficult marriage and cosmopolitan circle, including Henry James, sharpened her sense of marriage as marketplace and of women's agency constrained by law, money, and decorum. Recommended to readers of James and Balzac, to scholars of gender and capitalism, and to anyone curious about consumer modernity, this novel feels startlingly current. Its crystalline sentences and unsentimental intelligence make Undine's ascent both exhilarating and terrifying-a classic that clarifies the prices we pay for wanting everything.
Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.
More details
Persons
Edith Wharton, née Edith Newbold Jones, was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer born on January 24, 1862, into a wealthy and distinguished New York family. She broke away from the tightly regulated society of her upbringing to forge a path as a leading literary figure. Wharton's narrative style is characterized by her sharp wit, incisive social critique, and keen insight into her characters' psychological depth. Her work often centers around the theme of society and the constraints it places on individuals, particularly women. Among her numerous and celebrated works, 'The Custom of the Country' stands out as a notable example, painting a satirical and unflattering portrait of the American upper class through the experiences of its protagonist, Undine Spragg. This novel, along with 'The Age of Innocence' for which Wharton became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in Literature, and 'Ethan Frome', secured her place as an important figure in American literary history. Her literary contributions extended to over forty books, including novels, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Wharton's legacy continues to influence writers and is a subject of scholarly study that acknowledges her as a preeminent voice in the American realist tradition. She died on August 11, 1937, but her work endures, testifying to the intellect and skill of this significant author.
