rules

The novel "Two on a Tower" is one of the most famous works of the author. An atmospheric, dynamic story throws the characters at the disposal of forces far beyond their control. Lady Viviet, violating all the rules of decency, falls in love with Cleve, who is not only below her in social status, but also the youngest by 10 years. In an ancient monument turned into an astronomical tower, the heroes...

One of Edith Wharton’s most famous novels – the first by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize – exquisitely details a tragic struggle between love and responsibility during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people „dreaded scandal more than disease”. Newland Archer, a restrained young attorney, is engaged to the lovely May Welland but falls in love with May’s beautiful and...

Is Lily Bart a victim of circumstance or an agent of her own destruction? Edith Wharton’s acutely observed novel poses this question as it follows Lily’s tragic path through the country houses, card tables and drawing rooms of New York’s beau monde at the turn of the 20th century. Impoverished but well-born, Lily realizes a secure future depends on her acquiring a wealthy husband. Her desire for a...