Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence is a story of Old New York manners and traditions. As always, Wharton writes about people in a pickle. Always they seem to have extraordinarily bad timing. Always they get in the way of their own happiness. The Age of Innocence belongs to a time when societal obligation invariably supersedes personal fulfillment. At times, the novel was a satire; the traditions of the upper crust verged on ridiculous. Although Newland is the protagonist of the story, I found him to be the weakest character. As a man, he had more options than a woman in his place would have. Instead, he caves into the expectations of the family. He gets played, by just about everyone, but especially the women.

The Cat Who Saw Red is arguably the best novel in the “Cat Who” series, perhaps because in this story, Qwilleran is at his most vulnerable. He has just won prize money of $1000, which he sorely needs considering his penniless state when he decided to try for the prize. He has moved once again, this time to an apartment house over a pottery. His new landlord is a dignified lawyer who would rather spend his time cooking gourmet meals than attending to clients’ legal matters. We will hear more of Robert (Mickey) Maus in future “Cat Who” novels.

The Black Moth, first published in 1921, is Georgette Heyer’s first novel and is also the first novel in a four-part series including These Old Shades, Devil’s Cub, and An Infamous Army. The Black Moth is set around 1751 during the Georgian era and comes disguised as an amusing but uncomplicated romance. The story appears so straightforward that you may be inclined to read it with half a mind, but that would be a mistake.