Old New York

Spanning four decades in the mid-nineteenth century, the interconnected novellas of Old New York lay out the complex and inscrutable codes, customs, and taboos of New York society in classic Wharton style. In False Dawn (1840s), Mr. Halston Raycie sends his son Lewis to Europe to buy art, as Mr. Raycie aims to ascend to the upper crust of society by means of a well-respected art collection. But w...