{"product_id":"2026200008583-secondhand-the-children","title":"The Children","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA sharp and witty social satire, The Children by Edith Wharton chronicles the story of Martin Boyne, a middle-aged engineer who becomes unexpectedly entangled with a brood of seven stepchildren from a wealthy, fractured family while travelling through Europe. Wharton masterfully illustrates the absurdities of upper-class society in the 1920s, where adult irresponsibility and serial divorce leave children to fend for themselves. At its emotional core, the novel presents a poignant and morally complex portrait of misplaced affection, as Boyne develops an inappropriate attachment to the eldest of the children, the teenaged Judith. Written with Wharton's characteristic precision and irony, the narrative argues that the self-indulgence of the privileged class carries a genuine human cost, paid most dearly by the innocent.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48956366520539,"sku":"2026200008583-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/bffef543-c8d1-43bd-bd89-11af6541645c.png?v=1783500313","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200008583-secondhand-the-children","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}