Mr. and Mrs. Spragg are hoping to forge an entrée into society and arrange a suitably ambitious match for their only daughter. As she unfolds the story of Undine Spragg, from New York to Europe, Edith Wharton affords us a detailed glimpse of what might be called the interior décor of upper-class America and its nouveau riche fringes. Through a heroine who is as vain, spoilt and selfish as she is irresistibly fascinating, and through a most intricate and satisfying plot, Wharton conveys a vision of social behaviour that is both supremely informed and disenchanted.
With an Introduction by Anita Brookner
Editorial Review(s)
"The making of her as a novelist is her power to create incidents and to conduct great scenes. Strangely enough her ironical power and gift to surprise often recall those of an utterly different novelist--Thomas Hardy." --V.S. Pritchett
"As long as men and women seek to use each other--and to use each other badly--Edity Wharton can be counted upon to provide the ideal commentary." --Anita Brookner in her Introduction.
