"The Custom of the Country" is a 1913 tragicomedy of manners novel by the American author Edith Wharton. It tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City society. The Spraggs, a family of newly wealthy midwesterners from Apex, arrive in New York City to advantageously marry off their beautiful, ambitious, and temperamental daughter, Undine. Attracted to glamour and extravagance Undine has a hard time making inroads into the high status old money social circles she wishes to enter. Undine soon meets Ralph Marvell, a member of the Dagonets, an old money family. But their courtship and marriage soon faces many hurdles, not least the revelation of the Dagonets' true financial state…
