The Notebook

Professor Lisa Safford and the participants in her Books@Work seminar reflect on how images brought to life Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. As Lisa describes, “Wharton wrote a subtle, but very rich tale of love, lust, duty, reputation, internal conflict, choice, limitations, and resignation. Along the way, she paints a vividly detailed picture—with sardonic wit and tender nostalgia—of the life and times of the era of her youth. As we discussed the story Wharton tells, I used images to guide readers toward the poignancy of Wharton’s writing within the context of the times in which she lived.”