Custom of the Country

The Custom of the Country, first published in 1913, tells the story of Undine Spragg, an exquisitely beautiful but cold and ruthless girl from the American Midwest. In a drama which is by turns comic and tragi-comic, we observe Undine achieving her social ambitions, but only at the highest cost to her family, her admirers and her several husbands. By satirizing the mores of American marriage in her time, Edith Wharton presents a devastating commentary on a society increasingly dominated by the values of big business.