This guide will help you read Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence in three sessions. The parts of the guide should not be read all at once, but read in conjunction with the relevant “installment” of the novel.

Begin by reading through part 1 (there will be no spoilers). Then read the corresponding portion of The Age of Innocence (chapters 1 through 9). That’s all–stop there. The point of serial reading is to pause at certain points to consider what you have just read and anticipate what may come.

After reading the installment, reread part 1 of the guide, making any notes of agreement, disagreement, and observation that you like. Then follow the same procedure with part 2 and the indicated portion of the novel. And so on.

If you are a teacher, you can also use this guide to structure course readings, class discussion, and essay assignments.

Wharton’s novel was originally published in four parts in 1920. My arrangement speeds up the reading experience just a bit. As noted, part 1 covers the first nine chapters of the novel. The other two parts cover about 100 pages each. Part 2 takes you from chapter 10 to chapter 21. Part 3 moves from chapter 22 to the end of the book at chapter 34.

Next: Part 1 of the serial reading guide for The Age of Innocence (chs. 1 – 9) >

Links to The Age of Innocence serial reading guide:

Part One: Chs. 1 – 9
Part Two: Chs. 10 – 21
Part Three: Chs. 22 – 34

My original Newberry Library Seminar posting is here.

Image: Katharine Cornell as Ellen Olenska in a 1929 stage production of The Age of Innocence. From the New York Public Library Digital Collections.