Our book this month is The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. We will be discussing the book in person on July 27, 2019 at Arden Dimick Library, at 10:30AM.

Martin Scorsese directed an adaptation of The Age of Innocence in 1993. Here’s a short interview in which he discusses making the movie. He was previously known as the creator of The Godfather, so many were surprised to see him taking on a historical novel with no overt violence. Scorsese pointed out that, like The Godfather, The Age of Innocence is about family. He also stated that this is his “most violent film”:

“What has always stuck in my head is the brutality under the manners. People hide what they mean under the surface of language. In the subculture I was around when I grew up in Little Italy, when somebody was killed, there was a finality to it. It was usually done by the hands of a friend. And in a funny way, it was almost like ritualistic slaughter, a sacrifice. But New York society in the 1870s didn’t have that. It was so cold-blooded. I don’t know which is preferable.”

 

 

Here is a trailer for the movie, which I highly recommend:

 

and here’s a clip: