Twilight sleep

by Edith Wharton

"Twilight Sleep" by Edith Wharton is a novel published in 1927. Set in Jazz Age New York, it follows a wealthy socialite family whose carefully maintained facade begins to crumble. As they struggle to save one marriage, hidden affairs and avoidance threaten to unravel everything. Through shifting perspectives, Wharton satirizes a society obsessed with efficiency and escaping pain, where characters desperately seek quick fixes rather than confronting uncomfortable truths. The story builds toward a violent climax that forces nothing to change.