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What if every door that opens only makes you hungry for the next?
Undine Spragg arrives in New York with her parents and a clear ambition: to reach the top of society. Beautiful, bold and almost without conscience, she wants the best clothes, the right invitations and constant admiration. Her father, Abner Spragg, has money. But money alone cannot teach her the rules.
In The Custom of the Country, Edith Wharton brings Undine face to face with Ralph Marvell, a gentle young man from an old New York family. He offers a world of quiet manners; she longs for something grander. Marriage becomes a ladder, and Wharton's dry humour asks who pays for each step upward.
What you’ll discover
- An appetite without limits Follow a woman you may dislike yet find impossible to stop watching.
- Two Americas collide Watch new fortunes meet old families whose quiet rules resist the power of money.
- Marriage as a ladder Explore a world where choosing a husband also means choosing a social rank.
- Rooms full of rules Move from New York hotels toward Italy and Paris, where ambition encounters different barriers.
- Humour with a hard edge Enjoy Wharton's controlled irony as admiration, spending and status expose the people chasing them.
Who will love it
Readers who love sharp social comedy, unforgettable heroines, and stories of money, marriage, and status will enjoy this novel. It suits admirers of Austen, Dickens, and Gilded Age New York.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Wanting becomes a way of life
- Ralph loves the girl he imagines
- Her past becomes another bargain
- The honeymoon reveals different desires
- Resistance makes Ralph an obstacle
- Rich company draws Undine away
- Undine searches for a way out
- Marriage follows the rules of exchange
- Every advance has a human cost
Who’s who
- Undine SpraggA strikingly beautiful girl from Apex City who wants the best society New York can offer and copies whoever she last met.
- Ralph MarvellA gentle, bookish man from an old New York family who hopes to write and falls in love with Undine.
- Abner SpraggUndine's tired, dry-humored father, a businessman who gives in to his daughter's demands and keeps secrets for her.
- Leota SpraggUndine's anxious mother, who has given up all ambition of her own and lives for her daughter's wishes.
- Elmer MoffattA shrewd, cheerful man from Apex who knows Undine's past and plans to rise on Wall Street.
- Peter Van DegenA rich, heavy-eyed banker's son who offers Undine amusement, money, and a taste of fast society.
- Clare Van DegenRalph's cousin, married to Peter, who still cares deeply for Ralph and watches over him quietly.
- Mrs. HeenyA manicurist and masseuse who gossips and knows everyone, and who guides the Spraggs through New York society.
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The Custom of the Country
by Edith Wharton · 1913
Undine Spragg, a hotel-bred beauty from Apex, sets out to conquer New York society.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“No article on Mrs. Wharton would be complete unless mention was made of her passion for gardening and her art in developing beautiful gardens, both at her home in Hyères and at St. Brice, near Paris.”
In short
A bellboy brings a note to a gilt hotel suite in New York, and a girl with reddish-gold hair snatches it from her mother's hand. She hopes it comes from a famous painter.
The Custom of the Country at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 20 min7 h 25 min fast, 11 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 133,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1913by Edith Wharton
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hotel suite becomes a stage for ambition
The story opens in the Hotel Stentorian, where the Spragg family lives in a suite with salmon-pink walls and gilt furniture. Mrs. Spragg sits in the middle of it like a wax figure, while her daughter Undine paces and waits for the world to notice her.
The Spraggs have moved from Apex City to launch Undine into society. Her father, Abner, pays with money that seems to come and go. Both parents fear her moods, which they call being nervous.
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Details
- First published
- 1913
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 10 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wharton, Edith. The Custom of the Country. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-custom-of-the-country.
Wharton, E. (2026). The custom of the country. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-custom-of-the-country (Original work published 1913)
Wharton, Edith. The Custom of the Country. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-custom-of-the-country.
@book{wharton2026custom,
author = {Wharton, Edith},
title = {The Custom of the Country},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-custom-of-the-country},
note = {First published 1913}
}
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What is The Custom of the Country about?
It follows Undine Spragg, a beautiful young woman from the Midwest who moves to New York and uses marriage to rise in society. Along the way it examines money, class, divorce, and what people are willing to trade.
Who is Undine Spragg?
Undine is the heroine, a young woman from Apex City whose parents bring her to New York. She is charming, restless, and quick to copy others, and she wants the best of everything immediately.
Why is the novel called The Custom of the Country?
The title points to American habits of marriage, money, and divorce. Characters such as Charles Bowen say that men and women live in separate worlds, and that custom shapes how Undine behaves.
The author
Edith Wharton
1862–1937 · American novelist
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American writer and designer born in New York City. She later lived in France, where she died. Her books include The House of Mirth (1905), Ethan Frome (1911), and The Age of Innocence (1920). She co-wrote The Decoration of Houses with Ogden Codman Jr. in 1897.
“It’s better to watch than to ask questions.”
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