Edith Wharton: The Custom of the Country (1913)

[jserraglio]

My third Wharton big book, following House of Mirth and Age of Innocence: every one of them way better than her over-assigned-in-high-school Ethan Frome.

From the get-go, The Custom of the Country grabbed me. Wharton is sharply funny, witty, urbane. She writes flawlessly--she relentlessly pillories her snobbish, high-society NYC wannabes but does so with genuine affection. Supposedly, this novel inspired the creator of the Downton Abbey series, which I have never seen a single episode of.