Which 1921 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Edith Wharton follows Newland Archer in Gilded Age New York?

Edith Wharton’s 1921 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Newland Archer in Gilded Age New York is The Age of Innocence.

Published in 1920, the novel examines New York’s rigid upper-class society during the 1870s. Archer is engaged to May Welland, but he becomes increasingly fascinated by her unconventional cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Their situation exposes the social rules governing marriage, reputation, and acceptable behavior.

The book was Wharton’s best-known literary prize success and made her the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The award was presented in 1921, when the category was called the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel.

A common mix-up is confusing this novel with Wharton’s The House of Mirth, which was published earlier but did not win the Pulitzer. Martin Scorsese directed a 1993 film adaptation starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder.