It took some time for me to get into this novel--a decided difference from when I read The Age of Innocence, which I do think is the best Wharton I've read. (I just remembered how much I hated reading Ethan Frome in high school...) However, Mirth's great protagonist Lily is so well-developed in her intellect about the society she plays in and the mistakes she knows she's making within that society. She's actually a very good person, but hardly any of the other characters recognize that in her. By the end of the book, I was sad for her trajectory, and quite angry at Selden--who, from the beginning, I thought would be a better man. He's just like the rest of them in my esteem. So often I cheered for Lily and her sometimes stubborn decisions, but in the end, it's just depressing. I enjoyed Wharton's writing, though.