Read by Anna Fields
Unabridged
12 CDs $69.00
Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award
Set among the elegant brownstones and opulent country houses of
turn-of-the-century upper-class New York, Edith Wharton’s first great
novel is a precise, satiric portrayal of what the author herself called
“a society of irresponsible pleasure-seekers.” Her brilliantly complex
characterization of the doomed Lily Bart, whose stunning beauty and
dependence on marriage for economic survival reduce her to a decorative
object, is an incisive commentary on the status of women in that
society. Lily is all too much a product of the world indicated by the
title, a phrase taken from Ecclesiastes: “The heart of fools is in the
house of mirth.” From her tragic attraction to bachelor lawyer Lawrence
Seldon, to her desperate relationship with the social-climbing
Rosedale, it is Lily’s very specialness that threatens the fulfillment
she seeks in life.
“Lily's misadventures create a shifting mix of poignancy, sadness,
exhilaration, pity, even fear—for her and for the listener, who is well
served in this audiobook by the truly marvelous narration of Anna
Fields. She perfectly captures Lily and a largish cast, discriminating
among them with such skill that you'll believe you're hearing a
full-cast recording.”—AudioFile
