This is the monthly selection for my goodreads group. I haven't read any of Edith Wharton's books, nor ever heard of her. I must confess that I'm really not impressed.
I spent most of the first half of the book wondering just what the point was. There was no obvious storyline or plot. There was plenty of name dropping as the author gives us a finely detailed history of whom married whom and who gave birth to whom. It was very similar to the begats in the bible, but not half as interesting.
The story does seem to pick up speed though when Madame Ellen Olenska moves into town. She arrives from Europe in a cloud of rumors and disgrace after leaving her abusive husband and returning to her family in New York. Her cousin's fiance jumps to Ellen's defense by pointing out how hypocritical society is of women's actions versus what men can get away with.
While this book starts off at a snail's pace, I'm hopeful that it will get better, or at least have a point to it.
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