As the scion of one of New York’s leading families, Newland Archer was born into a life of sumptuous privilege and strict duty. Though sensitive and intelligent, Archer respects the rigid social code of his class and plans to marry “one of his own kind,” the striking May Welland. But the arrival of the free-spirited Countess Olenska, who breathes clouds of European sophistication, makes him question his formerly complacent life. As he falls ever more deeply in love with her, he discovers just how hard it is to escape the bounds of his society. Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is at once a poignant story of frustrated love and an extraordinarily vivid and satirical portrait of a vanished world. The world's greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth, and featuring gilt edges and ribbon markers, these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. They'll transport readers to imaginary worlds and provide excitement, entertainment, and enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations and have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library, the bedside table or bureau.

2. Why does Archer suddenly realize that marriage is "not the safe anchorage he had been taught to think, but a voyage on uncharted seas"? (p. 35)
3. Why does Archer feel "oppressed" when contemplating the "factitious purity" of his betrothed? (p. 37)
4. Why is Countess Olenska a threat to the social order that claims Archer as one of its kind?
5. Why is the neighborhood where Countess Olenska resides a "queer quarter for such a beauty to settle in"? (p. 99)
6. To what is Archer referring when he thinks about his peers that "over many of them the green mould of the perfunctory was already perceptibly spreading"? (p. 103)
7. What does Archer mean when he thinks that "it was wonderful that...such depths of feeling could coexist with such absence of imagination"? (p. 154)
8. How does Archer feel about May's talent with her bow and arrow? Why does he so often feel "cheated...into momentary well-being"? (p. 173)
9. When Archer, at the request of Mrs. Mingott, follows the path to the shore to fetch Countess Olenska, why does he say to himself, "If she doesn't turn before that sail crosses the Lime Rock light I'll go back"? (p. 177)
10. What kind of "code" exists between Archer and May? How does it work? What is its origin? (p. 219)
11. Why does May decide to host the farewell dinner for the Countess Olenska? Why does Archer think of the dinner guests as "a band of dumb conspirators"? (p. 276)
12. Why does Archer walk away from a potential reunion with Countess Olenska?

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