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The Custom of the Country (Everyman's Library Classics)
  
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The Custom of the Country (Everyman's Library Classics) (Hardcover)

by Edith Wharton (Author), Lorna Sage (Introduction) "Undine Spragg-how can you?" her mother wailed, raising a prematurely-wrinkled hand heavy with rings to defend the note which a languid "bell-boy" had just brought..." (more)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Everyman's Library; New edition edition (21 July 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857151984
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857151985
  • Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13.4 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 263,384 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #38 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Wharton, Edith

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Product Description

Product Description

A satire on the manners of late 19th-century America. This is the story of the beautiful but brutally ambitious Undine Spragg who marries her way into the the high aristocracy of Europe, abandoning several husbands along the way.

About the Author

Stephen Orgel is Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Humanities at Stanford University. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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"Undine Spragg-how can you?" her mother wailed, raising a prematurely-wrinkled hand heavy with rings to defend the note which a languid "bell-boy" had just brought in. Read the first page
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3.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is our custom, 13 Feb 2007
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Custom of the Country (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)
Few social climbers are as surreally despicable as Edith Wharton's Undine Spragg, who doesn't care what happens to anyone else as long as she can shop and party. And "The Custom of the Country" is the perfect example of what such people do to the people around them. It's nauseating and brilliant, all at once.

Undine Spragg is a mesmerizing beauty from a tiny town, whose parents made a small-scale fortune and have moved to the glitzy world of New York. Undine wants the best of everything, more than her family can afford, but she thinks it's all worth it -- so she marries a besotted son of "old New York," but it doesn't take long for him to realize how incompatible they are.

And he doesn't realize that Undine is hiding a (then) shameful secret -- she was once married and quickly divorced from a vulgar businessman. In the present, Undine continues her quest for a life of pleasure, moving on to a French nobleman and getting just as dissatisfied with him. The only way to succeed lies in the one man who sees her for what she is.

Undine Spragg may actually be one of the most despicable, selfish characters in all of classic literature -- she literally doesn't care about anyone but herself, or who she hurts. You'd think a book about someone like that would be dreary, but instead it's one long needle at the people like Undine, who care only for money, status and fun.

But it's also about the changing fortunes in late 19th-century America (and Europe). New money -- symbolized by Undine and her shrewd, megarich ex-hubby -- was squeezing out the old guard, who were never terribly rich to start with. Wharton's observations on their rise and decline have a sharp, biting edge. Although compared to the anti-heroine, the old traditions seem pretty innocent.

Lots of celebrity socialites could take a lesson from Undine's story: she's a snob of humble stock, thinks she's a great person, and utterly selfish -- if her husband shoots himself, that's great! She can marry again without the disgrace of a divorce! Yet in the end, you know that Undine will always be craving something more that she thinks will make her happy, but she will never find it.

The characters around Undine are usually nice, but blinded by her nymphlike beauty -- and even her parents, who know what she's like, are too beaten-down by her whining to resist. Only her ex-husband, Ralph Marvell, is really right for her -- not only is he obscenely rich and just as grasping as Undine, but he's smart enough to know what a monster she is.

"The Custom of the Country" is a wickedly barbed, brilliant piece of work, with one of the nastiest anti-heroines ever, and a great look at the rising tides of "new money." A must-read.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply brilliant, 3 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Custom of the Country (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)
What an incredible book this is. I'm so glad the other reader-reviewers here also appreciate it for what it is: a haunting masterpiece by one of America's most gifted novelists. The tragedy of Undine Spragg is not the legacy of pain and desolation she leaves behind her, it's the fact that American society of that time created the monster she was; she was its perfect Frankenstein. I also agree with one other reviewer who wrote that this book would translate well to film.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing-not one of her best works., 12 Oct 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Custom of the Country (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)
Being an avid Edith Wharton reader, I was looking forward to yet another brilliant and engaging portrayal of the New York of the past. Yet this book did not deliver what I was looking for. For starters, it was excessively long. Much of the description seemed very unecessary, and aided only in dragging out the heart of the story. And second, and most importantly, the main character was unlikable. In most books, the main character is either someone you can respect and admire or someone you loathe, yet are intrigued by and can feel some empathy towards. In this case, however, the main character-though dispicable-did little to evoke any emotion or thought. I found it very difficult to maintain an interest in the book without having any interest in her. If you enjoy Edith Wharton's writing, give it a try. There is much of her usual style apparent throughout. But if you have never read one of her books, this one should not be your starting point. It is by far her worst.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Much ado about Undine Spragg
Undine Spragg is an interesting heroine. To get what she wants, she gets married, she divorces, she lies. She never feels bad about it. Read more
Published on 18 May 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read!
Edith Wharton takes the reader back in time as she eloquently depicts life at the turn of the century for New York's wealthy elite. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 1998

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