The Age of Innocence (disambiguation)

The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by Edith Wharton.

The Age of Innocence may also refer to:

The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton's twelfth novel, initially serialized in four parts in the Pictorial Review magazine in 1920, and later released by D. Appleton and Company as a book in New York and in London. It won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize. The story is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s, during the so-called Gilded Age.

Synopsis

The Age of Innocence centers on an upper-class couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of the bride's cousin, plagued by scandal, whose presence threatens their happiness. Though the novel questions the assumptions and morals of 1870s New York society, it never develops into an outright condemnation of the institution. In fact, Wharton considered this novel an apology for her earlier novel, The House of Mirth, which was more brutal and critical. The novel is noted for Wharton's attention to detail and its accurate portrayal of how the 19th-century East Coast American upper class lived, and the social tragedy of its plot. Wharton was 58 years old at publication; she had lived in that world and had seen it change dramatically by the end of World War I.

The Age of Innocence (Hamilton book)

The Age of Innocence is a 1995 photography and poetry book by David Hamilton. The book contains images of early-teen girls, often nude, accompanied by lyrical poetry. Images are in a boudoir setting and photographed mainly in colour using a soft-focus filter, with some shots in black-and-white.

Reception

The book is one of Hamilton's most popular titles. According to the Los Angeles Times, the book's images are "thought by thousands of critics and consumers to be socially acceptable, even wonderful." Likewise The New York Times stated the book received critical praise. Outside of art critics however the book has been criticised. A journalist from The New York Times described the book as "the essence of icky. The author could certainly be considered a dirty old man." A journalist from Time stated he was both amused and repelled by the book, calling it "as campy as it is creepy".

Legality

The book is available for sale on Amazon.com, and in book shops around the world. Whilst the book itself has not been deemed illegal in any jurisdiction, the nature of the pictures within it have caused debate over what constitutes as child pornography in both the US and the UK.