Gilded Age in Print

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Books abound for Gilded Age culture vultures. The movie thread gave me the thought we should keep books separate. Non fiction and fiction tomes can give great insight into the Age. I have just finished Consuelo
Vanderbilt's The Glitter and the Gold. Poor Connie was coerced into marrying The Duke of Marlborough and was dragged off to Bleimhem Palace to please Mother. "How to Marry an English Lord" which is still in print is a MUST have for Gilded Age afficianados and details the cattle call of American heiresses sold to the high European bidder for his royal title and a run-down stately home (which her funds refurbished!). Riveting stuff. Some great novels as well- some detailing the seamier side of the Gilded Age. Dreiser's Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy show the grit and the glamor- although they can be depressing reads! An American tragedy is 800 pages- but there's lots of great period description. My all-time pageturner fav is Jack Finney's Time and Again- visit Old New York - it will keep you up all night.

 

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

Dear we are both onto books at the same time! You however have cheated and started a new thread!

I had to dig mine out of the dusty but rich ET attic!

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Great minds.... The Edwardian Childhood is delightful indeed as is the well-known An Edwardian Lady's Diary by Holden which spurred a whole industry of cards, notepapers, and other paper novelties about 12 years ago- the delicate watercolor nature scenes are worth the price of the hardcover. It is still easy to find. The companion book to the Scorsese The Age of Innocence is a must-have- sumptuous coffee table volume! Many books have come out on Edith Wharton- we will be passing her fabulous home (Pen Craig) on the Ocean Drive during the Newport Gilded Age convention in April. She chronicles the life of the upper class better than anyone I know. I would also point out online fun at the Victorian and Edwardian Ladies League (anyone may join online) at The Victorian and Edwardian Ladies League
Hours of pleasant reading, fluff and fashions for a cold winter's night.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

If you are interested in Gilded Age architecture, interior design and urban planning, go to half.com and pick yourselves up the hardcover versions of New York 1880, and New York 1900 (both by Stern, Mellins, and Fishman) which are huge books filed with literally hundreds of good quality photos of all of the major, and many of the lesser, residences, hotels, theaters, commercal buildings. The premise behind the NY series is to outline the history of urbanism and architecture in NYC at roughly 25 year intervals and there are volumes covering 1880, 1900, 1930 and 1960. At about 1200 pages each they are nothing if not thorough. The 1880 volume has a great detailed cover photo of the William Vanderbilt residence, which is what sucked me into the series to begin with. For a nation wide view of Gilded Age urbanism, check out Grand Avenue, which is the 1000 page catalogue for an exhibit done in the 1980s (easily found on the used book sarch engines) which documented, in photos, the rise and (in most cases) fall of the "Streets of Mansions" in about 15 major American Cities. It is a great blend of scholarly text and nearly 1000 (mostly) unpublished high-quality photos. Consuelo Vanderbilt's mother, Alva, was quite an interesting character wasn't she? From vapid but ambitious social climber to crusading reformer, she certainly blazed a unique trail -although I think things would have worked out better for Consuelo had her mother had her 'liberating moment' a decade or two earlier.

 

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for that! That's a series I've heard about and now, with your recommendation, I'm determined to at least get the 1900 album.

Another reading suggestion I forgot to include is a really great book on the excesses of the American Gilded Age - Lucius Beebe's "The Big Spenders" (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1966). I'm sure you've read it Jim, and I think Shelley has. Beebe was some writer! The book is kind of a snooty read but the material is fun, if overblown, full of the anecdotal stuff we all love.

Randy

 

[Steve Anderson]

As for books on the Gilded Age in print.

Since I haven't seen it here yet I will throw this one out for comment as it is an excellent work on this time period.

"THE GOOD YEARS From 1900 to the First World War"

By none other then the father of all Titanic books and research, the man who got most of us interested in this subject of "Titanic" in the first place Water Lord.

Lord, Walter, "The Good Years", Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, NY, 1960 LOC CCNO: 59-10585

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Run to buy The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Never has non-fiction read more like a novel. The White City is of course the World's Fair(Columbian Exposition) , Chicago 1893. The book opens on the Olympic, April 14, 1912 with famous architect Daniel Burnham receiving news that his telegran to his friend Francis Millet cannot be sent as the Titanic's operator was refusing to accept wireless traffic. Well -what a grabber! The second page contains a photo of Millet and the other architects who built the White City which I have never seen before. Burnham said, "Make no little plans; they have no power to stir men's blood"- he should know as builder of the Flatiron Bldg.in NYC and Union Station in Washington D.C. The book tells parallel tales of 2 men- Burnham, the good guy in the White City, and famous serial killer Harry H. Holmes who lured scores of women to their deaths in his "World's Fair Hotel". If you have never heard of the case- turn on the light, pour out a glass, and settle in for the night!

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

For more about Holmes (a.k.a. Herman Mudgett) here is a great introduction
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial6/holmes/
Chilling.... the other side of the Gilded Age. Just think if he had met Lizzie Borden.

 

[shelley harris]

I wanted to add a few books too. I am working on All this and Heaven too by Rachel Field. It's a true story about the author's aunt Henriette Desportes who was a governess for a french royal family, later accused of conspiracy to murder and then went on to marry American Henry Field and became part of the New York society. Also, I've read Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt but was left wondering what happened to her after she came to america. So I emailed Blenheim Palace and they advised me to get a copy of Consuelo, Portrait of an American Heiress by James Brough. It was out of print so I got it used thru Amazon.com. Great read and it was neat to reference it with Consuelo's book. A fiction novel was recently written using Consuelo, the duke, and Churchill as characters called, " Weekend at Blenheim." It was an amusing mystery.

 

[Bob Cruise]

No appreciation of the Gilded Age can come without learning what happened as those legendary mega-inheritances were eventually dragged kicking and screaming into the "modern age".

No book captures this "syndrome" better than "Little Gloria Happy At Last" by Barbara Goldsmith (1980), which details how the last of the truly rich Vanderbilt clan paid a dear price for her inheritance.

For that matter, any book on the Vanderbilts (who, more than any other Gilded Age family, exemplified the term "excess") helps one understand the reality of life at the top of the food chain during the Gilded Age.

Other Vanderbilt tomes:

The Biography of Commodore Vanderbilt by W. J. Lane (1942)
The Vanderbilt Legend (1941) by W. Andrews
The Vanderbilts and Their Fortunes (1962) by E. P. Hoyt
Man of the World; My Life on Five Continents by C. Vanderbilt, Jr. (1959)

Read and you will learn how even privileged lives are not immune to ironic tragedy.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Shelley ( now there are two of us!) Have you seen the movie version of All This and Heaven Too with Bette Davis? It is on VCR- and is FABULOUS. Yes, poor Connie got happy at last with her handsome Jacques. One may see her bedroom in the Newport mansion still intact as it was when Momma shipped her off to become Duchess of Marlborough. She had the most exquisite swanlike neck and glorious features. If you have not read How To Marry an English Lord- do run right out for it- all of our Gilded Gals and their ultra-gilded nuptials are in it! I visited Blenheim in 2000 and saw amazing portraits of Consuelo there- the place is extraordinary but not worth life with Sunny!

 

[shelley harris]

This is to Bob, I actually did read the story of Little Gloria years ago. And now that I think about it, it is what got me interested in the Vanderbilts in the first place. I also read her second biography about when she got older and married. The message really is that Money doesn't buy happiness, isn't it? To Shelley: I want to see that movie All this and Heaven too, but I want to finish the book first. I got the copy of How to marry an English Lord last year and read it all the time! It is a must have for sure. It is great to use as a reference book to put in place all the people and try to figure out who knew who. I have a question to put out there. Does anyone know about the Spedden family that was on the Titanic? I have a book called Polar about the little bear that survived the titanic and I know the family lived at Wee Wha lodge in Tuxedo park. I was looking to see if there was a picture of their house there or if it even still existed.

 

[Bob Cruise]

As we speak - er... "post" - a new book has just come out detailing yet another instance of Gilded Age "excess" and the consequences it wrought.

The book is "After The Ball" by Patricia Beard.

It relates the turn-of-the-century story of James Hazen Hyde, the only surviving son of Henry Baldwin yde, founder and major stockholder of the Equitable Life Assurance Society.

Sonny Boy - who had virtually no business insight (unlike his father) - spent some of the company's reserves on an extremely lavish ball in January of '05.

When the truth became known, the New York state pols reacted with legislation.

Yet another example of how people with too much money can never get their hands on enough money.

 

[shelley harris]

I don't know if this is really under the title of gilded age in print but definetly gilded age in photographs. I stumbled upon a great website last night I couldn't wait to share with you. It's http://pro.corbis.com. It is a site that has historical archives of photographs. I typed in Vanderbilt under search and it came up with 660 pictures. Astor had about 550 pictures. Next I will look up Titanic pictures. Check it out, let me know what you think.

 

[Susan Leighton]

Very cool site Shelley. Thanks for sharing it!!