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Includes bibliographical references (p. xxvii-xxviii).

"Launched into society at a glorious and very expensive debutante ball, Lily sees a world of unlimited possibility before her. But her fathers announcement that he is financially ruined, followed quickly by his death, leave Lily and her mother with only one "asset"Lilys extraordinary beauty and charm. At the age of 29, now orphaned, Lily lives with an aunt who offers minimum, often grudging, hospitality and financial support. A wealthy husband could satisfy her craving for luxury and admiration, but Lily is reluctant to consummate this kind of "deal." In a chronicle that richly details the follies of shallowness, and cruelties of society as it illuminates Lilys own ambivalence about who and what she wants, Wharton traces her heroines decline from her elite position as a much-desired guest in exclusive social events, to her role as a liaison between rich "outsiders" eager to be accepted in society but ignorant of its ways, to her piteous existence when the homes of both old and new society are firmly, finally, closed to her"--provided by publisher.