CBBC Week Five: The Age of Innocence Wrap-Up

Past discussions:
Week One, chapters 1-10
Week Two, chapters 11-18
Week Three, chapters 19-26
Week Four, Chapters 27-34

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My notes

Last week, J asked if people put this much work into a face-to-face book club. The answer, at least for my book club, is no. I'm lucky if people in my book club actually read the book, let alone look things up from it. They certainly don't prepare questions. BUT. It's a different vibe. I usually do prepare one or two questions just to get us talking about the book and then the conversation goes where it goes. It's different in an online space because the conversation is less likely to meander, although I like it when it does go places I don't expect when I read the chapters. 

Anyway, my process for reading a CBBC book is basically the same as any other book for me, but a bit more extreme. I read with a pen in hand and mark down all the things on a piece of paper as I read - major plot points, character names/descriptions, lines of note, things I need to look up, hats. And then when I work on my post, I use these notes. Basically, if I miss something in my post, it's because it didn't make it into my notes!

I thought you just might like that little inside peek into my process. 

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What were your overall thoughts on this book? 

Here's what I think: This is not my jam. I do not understand human nature enough to have people just not say what they think. I think Archer was  lame character to focus on. 

However, I do feel like this book sets a tone that is hard to ignore. The claustrophobic feeling of how constrained choices were was palpable. You really get a feeling for elite New York in the 1870s. I also realllllly enjoyed Wharton's descriptions of the locations. You can tell that Wharton was a designer (remember how her first book was non-fiction work on design and architecture called The Decoration of Houses (1897) that she co-authored with Ogden Codman, Jr.? I feel like that background came shining through in The Age of Innocence.

But, I'll allow that I probably missed the point of this one. Stories of poor little rich people annoy me almost as much as stories of famous people complaining about being famous. 

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Pop culture:

Last week, Jacquie wrote a comment about a movie adaptation of the novel.

This movie was a 1993 Martin Scorsese joint that earned Ryder earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for her performance, as well as an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Other adaptations include a 1934 film directed for RKO Studios by Philip Moeller, numerous stage adaptations, and an homage in an episode of Gossip Girl.  There's also an upcoming period drama miniseries for Netflix based on the novel. The cast is led by Kristine Froseth, Ben Radcliffe, Camila Morrone, and Margo Martindale.

Diane turned me on to a book called The Innocents by Francesca Segal that is a modern retelling of the novel. I will admit that the first Goodreads review made me snort.

Did I miss any other major nods in pop culture? 

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TAoI questions to ponder:

As always, discuss as few or as many of these questions as you like. 

1) Who is the innocent in this novel?

2) What role do minor characters – for instance Julius Beaufort, Mrs. Manson Mingott, the Van der Luydens, Newland’s mother and sister Janey – play in this novel?

3) Edith Wharton’s original title for The Age of Innocence was “Old New York.” Which title do you think is more fitting? 

4) How are Ellen and May alike? How are they different? 

5) Throughout the novel, Wharton references a number of artistic works—the opera Faust, the Cesnola

Antiquities at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chippendale furniture in the Lannings’ home, to name a

few. What role in the story do these references play?

6) Is it moral and honorable to protect others at the expense of one’s happiness? Is duty to one’s community more important than duty to oneself?

7) What scene from this book will stick with you? For me, it's pathetic Archer sitting on a park bench talking to himself in Paris. 

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Most iconic line:

Typically I do a poll here, but I'm just going to ask you instead. What do you think the most iconic line from the book is? 

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That's a wrap on winter 2026 CBBC! Thanks for joining and participating.