The Age of Innocence vs The Portrait of a Lady: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Triangles, Married people, Social life and customs, Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton's most famous novel, written immediately after the end of the First World War, is a brilliantly realized anatomy of New York society in the 1870s, the world in which she grew up, and from which she spent…
1 film adaptation
vs
The Portrait of a Lady
Young American Isabel Archer charms European society, but falls prey to the machinations of a calculating older woman.
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Age of Innocence is the quickest read — about 7 hours vs 11 for The Portrait of a Lady.
- The Age of Innocence has the widest readership — 203393 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Age of Innocence | The Portrait of a Lady | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (203393) | 3.8 (86678) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (198) | 3.7 (75) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (6) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (9) | 4.0 (12) |
Reception
| The Age of Innocence | The Portrait of a Lady | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 203393 | 86678 |
| Editions | 301 | 432 |
| Citations | — | 34 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 300823 | 136198 |
| Reading it now | 14066 | 5833 |
| Written reviews | 14329 | 4724 |
| Wikipedia attention | 15419 | 13411 |
| Pages | 384 | 634 |