I got this softcover at Barnes and Noble, for another release copy.

The story's not a cheerful one, and I have to admit that I found very few of the characters very likable - including the heroine, Lily Bart. While I could empathize with her rather difficult in-between status - not rich enough to live the life of her wealthy friends, but not poor enough to be content with an ordinary working life - she certainly didn't make the best choices, whether in friends, in advice, or in behavior towards others.

What I did enjoy was Wharton's masterful description of life and society at that time. (While this book focuses primarily on the upper classes, it certainly touches on the difficulties of those who are much poorer, and other Wharton works get down to the gritty details of the lives of people who really are living from hand to mouth, where a single mis-step or accident can ruin the labor of a lifetime.) And the more unsympathetic traits of Lily and her "friends" are painted so clearly that one can feel the trap closing, the doors shutting...

Vague spoiler follows:
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I wasn't thrilled with the ending - not because of Lily's fate, but because of the too-little/too-late element regarding Selden. A domestic tragedy, this.

The 2000 film adaptation starring Gillian Anderson was very handsome, but I found it a bit chilly - then again, that did rather fit my reactions to the book! I was surprised to find that there was a 1981 adaptation that has a higher rating on the IMDB site; I may try to find that one. (There's also a listing for a 1918 film; that'd be interesting to see!)

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2020 Movie release challenge. ***