Au temps de l'innocence

by Edith Wharton

"Au temps de l'innocence" by Edith Wharton is a novel published in 1920. Set in 1870s New York high society, it follows Newland Archer, a gentleman lawyer anticipating marriage to the beautiful May Welland. His certainty wavers when May's cousin, the scandalous Countess Ellen Olenska, returns from Europe after separating from her husband. As Newland grows fascinated by Ellen's bold defiance of social conventions, he must choose between duty and desire in a world where appearances matter more than truth.