Book Club News

Our Book Club this year has been very successful and we have read a number of different books all suggested by the Group. This encourages us to read different authors that we have not read before and discuss them at our friendly meetings. So if you have read a good book recently and would like to share it please come along and let us know. 

Refreshments. Cost £1. (See details below) Our next meeting will be on: 
17 March at 11 a.m. off site.

Please contact me for more details and the venue Marion Smith

MARCH Choice
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 

The Age of Innocence is set in New York at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20 Century. The story is set in the upper middle class society of the day and describes the unrequited love between Newland Archer and the exotic divorcee Ellen Olenska. The story follows the twists and turns of a besotted Newland, who is already engaged to the beautiful May Welland, a woman who fulfils the requirements of this status conscious society in which they both live. By contrast Ellen does not fit in, she is her own woman, who intrigues the men but is feared or disliked by the women, who feel she is ‘beneath them.’ The power of the book lies in the reality of the characters, who form a wealthy, and self righteous group of insiders. The relationships, the parties and social life, are all part of the exclusivity, and kept me involved throughout. For me the story encompasses far more than the individuals concerned, it is about the closed society in which there is a moralistic atmosphere which the families and friends value beyond all else, the importance of ‘marrying well’ and not bringing shame upon the family. On the surface it represents High Society, but simmering beneath the surface are their secrets, shame and desires. The book describes a world which the author, Edith Wharton was part of. She creates an atmosphere that is believable and compelling. Her writing is incisive and she makes wonderful asides and comments about her characters, which could apply to life today, as well as over 100 years ago, when the book was written.