The Custom of the Country

E407841

The Custom of the Country is a 1913 novel by Edith Wharton that satirically portrays American society and social climbing through the ruthless ambitions of its heroine, Undine Spragg.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf novel
satirical novel
author Edith Wharton
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception regarded as one of Edith Wharton’s most biting social satires
depicts American expatriates in Europe
Gilded Age society
firstPublicationFormat serial
firstPublicationMedium magazine
follows The Reef
genre novel of manners
satire
social novel
hasAdaptation The Custom of the Country self-linksurface differs
surface form: The Custom of the Country (television adaptation project)
hasCharacter Clare Van Degen NERFINISHED
Elmer Spragg
Paul Marvell
Peter Van Degen
Ralph Marvell
Raymond de Chelles
hasTitleCharacterTrait ruthless ambition
social opportunism
includedIn Edith Wharton’s major novels
influenced later depictions of social climbing heroines in literature
language English
literaryMovement naturalism
realism
mainCharacter Undine Spragg
narrativePerspective third-person narration
notableFor critique of American marriage market
portrayal of transatlantic social relations
unsentimental portrayal of its heroine
originalPublicationPlace New York City
surface form: New York
precedes Summer
protagonist Undine Spragg
publicationYear 1913
publisher Charles Scribner's Sons
setting American high society
New York City
Paris
subjectMatter rise of a Midwestern girl in New York society
theme American upper class
ambition
consumerism
marriage and divorce
materialism
social climbing
timePeriodOfSetting early 20th century

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Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Edith Wharton notableWork The Custom of the Country
The Custom of the Country hasAdaptation The Custom of the Country self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: The Custom of the Country (television adaptation project)