Odo Valsecca, a promising nobleman, inherits a dukedom at a young age and, over the course of his young life, must quickly learn the politics of royalty as he deals with other nobles, the church, the free-thinking movement, and, of course, his subjects, the peasants. Will he be able to rise to power in time, or will he quickly buckle under the pressures of the Italian court during the seventeenth century? Published in 1902, The Valley of Decision is Edith Wharton's first full length novel. - Summary by Mary Kay
Chapters
1 Dedication 1 min 2 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.1 18 min 3 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.2 18 min 4 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.3 14 min 5 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.4 21 min 6 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.5 17 min 7 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.6 25 min 8 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.7 19 min 9 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.8 28 min 10 Book I. The Old Order. Section 1.9 17 min 11 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.1 18 min 12 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.2 12 min 13 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.3 18 min 14 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.4 30 min 15 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.5 20 min 16 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.6 20 min 17 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.7 22 min 18 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.8 7 min 19 Book II. The New Light. Mirandolina's Story 16 min 20 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.9 32 min 21 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.10 26 min 22 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.11 28 min 23 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.12 23 min 24 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.13 23 min 25 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.14 33 min 26 Book II. The New Light. Section 2.15 41 min 27 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.1 44 min 28 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.2 21 min 29 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.3 49 min 30 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.4 23 min 31 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.5 23 min 32 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.6 33 min 33 Book III. The Choice. Section 3.7 22 min 34 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.1 28 min 35 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.2 23 min 36 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.3 24 min 37 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.4 9 min 38 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.5 22 min 39 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.6 21 min 40 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.7 17 min 41 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.8 26 min 42 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.9 24 min 43 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.10 22 min 44 Book IV. The Reward. Section 4.11 36 min
