Catalog Search Results
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 9.7 - AR Pts: 26
Description
Set among the elegant brownstones of New York City and opulent country houses like gracious Bellomont on the Hudson, the novel creates a satiric portrayal of what Wharton herself called "a society of irresponsible pleasure-seekers" with a precision comparable to that of Proust. And her brilliant and complex characterization of the doomed Lily Bart, whose stunning beauty and dependence on marriage for economic survival reduce her to a decorative object,...
Pub. Date
2001
Description
The story takes place at the opening of a new century, one that held forth all kinds of promises, especially for women. In this post-Victorian Fifth Avenue milieu, Lily Bart, an unmarried woman of 29 with dwindling prospects, needs a husband badly. She lives beyond her means, relying on the grudging charity of her elderly aunt. She is the kind of girl who would make an admirable decoration on some fine gentleman's arm, but there is a liveliness--a...
Author
Pub. Date
1993.
Appears on list
Description
"Launched into society at a glorious and very expensive debutante ball, Lily sees a world of unlimited possibility before her. But her fathers announcement that he is financially ruined, followed quickly by his death, leave Lily and her mother with only one "asset"Lilys extraordinary beauty and charm. At the age of 29, now orphaned, Lily lives with an aunt who offers minimum, often grudging, hospitality and financial support. A wealthy husband could...
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