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In the critical analysis of The Age of Innocence, done by Constance Allen, the author depicts the novel as ‘subtle yet unmistakable indictment of stratified New York high society in 1920.’ She is reminded of Henry James by Wharton because she probes the emotions and motivations of the characters. Allen believes that The Age of Innocence is one or Wharton’s most successful books because it offers an inside look at a subject the author knew very well. Because the author was already familiar with New York society due to the fact that she grew up in old New York, it was not as difficult for Wharton to place the characters in the novel, and to develop the central theme. Wharton’s most successful theme was the plight of the young and the innocent in a culture they were not prepa