" A bit slow at the start, but as I told a friend who was also reading this, it is a book to be savored, not rushed. Newland Archer is our main character, he is engaged to May Welland, and has a curious attraction to her cousin Ellen Olenska. In this novel, we see New York high society at their best and worst, the fine clothes, the dinner parties, the scandals that can turn one to an instant outcast. We may not appreciate such attitudes now, but I think this book captures the time period. Does anyone serve canvas backs or terrapin at dinner parties anymore? "
— Andrea, 2/13/2014