The Reef

The author of The House of Mirth explores the nature of romance as the love affairs of four Americans dramatically intertwine in early twentieth-century France.

This novel explores the complicated nature of love, its limitations and its possibilities, through the intertwining love stories of four Americans.

George Darrow is a diplomat in London when he runs into an old flame at a dinner party. Anna Leath left George to marry another man, but she is now a widow living with her family in France. After Anna mysteriously cancels a rendezvous with George, he meets the beautiful Sophy Viner, an aspiring young actress in search of a fresh start in Paris. Finally, there is Owen Leath, Anna’s stepson, whose fiancée is certain to make things more difficult for everyone . . .

Originally published in 1912, The Reef is possibly Edith Wharton’s most autobiographical novel. Wharton, of course, went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 for her novel The Age of Innocence.