"Set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five-year-old named Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future."--

Considered by many to be her masterpiece, Edith Wharton's second full-length work is a scathing yet personal examination of the exploits and follies of the modern upper class. As she unfolds the story of Undine Spragg, from New York to Europe, Wharton affords us a detailed glimpse of what might be called the interior décor of this America and its nouveau riche fringes. Through a heroine who is as vain, spoiled, and selfish as she is irresistibly...

"Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery's mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn't get here by being soft. But in uptown do-gooder Justine Greene - the very definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove - Jack may have met his match. ... Justine is devoted to tracking down deadbeat husbands and fighting for fair working conditions. When...

Would-be painter, George Finch, with lots of money and no talent, falls for lovely Molly Waddington, who falls for him. Unfortunately, Molly's snobbish stepmother, Mrs. Sigsbee H. Waddington, New York society Queen, has grander ideas for Molly, not the least because George comes from Idaho, which in every sense is beyond the pale. The story of George's struggle to win his girl, with the willing help of Hamilton Beamish, author of self-improvement...