Publisher Description
This book, like (The Age of Innocence) is set in 1870s New York, however the lives of Ann Eliza and Evelina Bunner reflect impoverished New York. The sisters run a very small shop, in a shabby basement, in a sidestreet already doomed to decline. Shabby as it is, the sisters are happy in their small orderly community of supportive women. The story tells of the destruction of this life, and how the once content sisters are thrown into the realistic world outside of their little shop.
Customer Reviews
Reader
An interesting story about the struggles of two sisters during a time when women were expected to conform and accept their lot in life; one sister followed her heart and the other sacrificed her own happiness to allow her younger sister to experience the life she had dreamed of, but was too timid to pursue. There's an interesting twist of plot which makes this book worth reading. This book was beautifully written by one of America's most talented nineteenth century writers.
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Thoroughly engrossing. Another example of Wharton’s brilliant ability to develop characters with which the reader empathizes.