Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power

by Jennifer Wright

From the author of the critically acclaimed Madame Restell and Get Well Soon, Jennifer Wright, a provocatively written biography on Mamie Fish, also known as “The Ruler of the 400” and “The Theme Party Queen of the Gilded Age," that explores how women like Fish used parties and social gatherings to gain power and prestige

Marion Graves Anthon Fish, known by the nicknames “Mamie” and “The Fun-Maker,” threw the most epic parties in American history. Whether hosting at her Upper East Side townhouse, Hudson River highlands retreat, or oceanside mansion in Newport, RI, this Gilded Age icon brought it: lavish decor; highly specific themes; A-list invitees; booze; pranks; music; surprises; large animal guest stars. If you were a member of New York high society in the Peak Age of Innocence Era, you simply had to be on Mamie Fish’s guest list. There was no exile like exclusion from her parties—and no honor more exciting (or terrifying) than attending one hosted by a woman who might greet you by saying, “make yourself at home. No one wishes you were there more than I do.”

At one party, Mamie required her very rich and dignified guests to dress up as dolls and speak exclusively in baby talk. Others featured fairy tale dress codes, hay rides and pitchforks, elephants who rumbled across the ballroom while guests fed them peanuts, and dogs in diamond necklaces who dined on foie gras at the table as honored guests. Mamie Fish understood that people didn’t just need the formality of prior generations — they needed wit and whimsy. They needed fun.

Make no mistake, Mamie Fish’s story is about so much more than partying. In GLITZ, GLAM, AND A DAMN GOOD TIME listeners will learn all about how Fish and her friends shaped the line of history, exerting their influence on business, politics, family relationships, and social change through elaborate social gatherings. In a time when women couldn’t even own property, let alone run for office, if women wanted any of the things men got outside the home—glory, money, attention, social networking, leadership roles—they had to do it by throwing a decadent soiree or chairing a cotillion. For a hostess like her, the Gilded Age presented unprecedented a proliferation in manufacturing, which made all kinds of glittering decor available on short notice for the first time; a wild accrual of wealth at the top of high society, which gave hosts and guests alike the means to go BIG on revelry; and most important, a country rapidly shifting away from the communitarian ideals on which it was founded, for better and for worse. A brilliant strategist and kingmaker in her own right, Fish knew the power of a good party better than just about any woman who has ever lived.

To ensure people would hear and remember what she had to say, Mamie Fish lived her whole life at Volume 10, becoming famous not by playing the part of a saintly helpmeet, but by letting her demanding, bitchy, hilarious, dramatic freak flag fly. And it’s time to let modern listeners in on the fun, the fabulousness, and the absolute ferocity that is Ms. Stuyvesant Fish—and her inimitable legacy.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Audiobook, Historical, Biography Memoir, American History

Audible Audio

Published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was light and fun.
The author is deeply familiar with the players of this era as well as the social expectations of the upper class.

The novel acknowledges racism much more easily than it does classism. Mamie was light hearted and loved a good time but she lived in an era of great poverty overseen by her husband and friends husbands. She's responsible to do much more than fundraise for causes and the author must be aware that funds raised by socialites rarely go to the intended cause.

This is perfect for fans of the show The Gilded Age on HBO. I adore that the narrator is the actress who plays Mamie on the show. This was very fun.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Know what’s really a damn good time?

This book.

I love a rollicking trip back in time, and Wright delivers that in spades here. This is the perfect blend of humor and history, and it’s both deeply detailed and exceptionally readable.

Editorializing in a nonfiction book is sometimes a dangerous practice, and there is a LOT of that happening here. But in this case it works fantastically well, and I found myself laughing out loud and the author’s observations, humor, and quirky asides.

This is a good example of a book the blends research and readability well, and I wish we saw more historians take up this format and style. I have read a lot about this era and about the Fish specifically, and this still felt fresh and original, and I think a lot of that is down to the way the information was presented.

In all, a hugely fun and funny ride, and packed with the kind of sensory, immersive history that reads like fiction.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mamie Fish is an icon.

Is she a perfect person? Far from it. But she wanted to have a good time and didn’t want to be serious all the time. I think a healthy dose of silliness is needed every once in a while. And Mamie Fish provided that to her society members in The 400.

This period of American history is so fascinating because of how tone deaf the socialites at the time truly were. The Industrial Revolution made millionaires overnight. And used it to throw lavish parties - and shade.

The writing gets a bit sidetracked at times, pulling focus from Mamie to comment on others in the time, but overall it’s fun - Wright’s personal commentary peps up the writing to make it more conversational.

Overall it was a well-researched and interesting snapshot into the world of the Gilded Age and the woman who pushed people to not take themselves too seriously.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Wright, and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Gretchen Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing this reader loves more than narrative non-fiction and especially well-researched writing. While the author combines obviously well-researched writing with entertaining prose, her editorial side comments are jolting and unnecessary. Why do we need statements like “This is approximately the age of the characters in the original show Sex and the City.”? I think a reader understands how old 36 is without that reference. The book is rife with distracting and snide editorial comments that do nothing for the narrative. Where was the editor? This reader was interested in learning about Mamie Fish and her shameless and extravagant self-promotion, but won’t read anything by this author again.

[Daniel Kibblesmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t finished it yet, but this is a five star book and if you’ve enjoyed any of Jennifer Wright’s books, you also want this one. Enjoy.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the topic, but felt like this book took too many tangents away from Mamie and didn’t have a strong storyline.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, the T.V. show The Gilded Age is in no way doing Mamie Fish justice. I understand needing to give Bertha Russell and edge, but I feel like just sticking with Alva Vanderbilt and letting Mamie be Mamie would have been better.

That out of the way (and yes, that's partially what drew me to this book in the first place), this is a lot of fun and an excellent way to see where so many of society's foibles come from. I've said before that the Victorians have had an outsize influence on modern culture, and this definitely contributes to the idea. If you've ever wondered where our fascination with reality T.V. and worship of billionaires comes from, it's the Gilded Age and people like Mamie Fish. She was an interesting woman in her own right, but the ways that her reach extends into the modern day is the real meat of this book for social historians.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I am a big fan of the HBO series The Gilded Age and I wanted to know more about Mamie Fish. We lived in Newport for four years, so it was very interesting learning more about the history of the mansions and people and the parties.

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power by Jennifer Wright

Overview
Jennifer Wright’s Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time is a vibrant, meticulously researched biography of Marion “Mamie” Fish, the Gilded Age’s most audacious socialite. Wright reframes Fish not merely as a party hostess but as a strategic power broker who wielded extravagance as a tool for influence in an era when women were barred from formal political and economic spheres. The book interrogates how elite social gatherings functioned as covert networks for shaping business, politics, and cultural norms, offering a fresh lens on gender, class, and agency in late 19th-century America.

Strengths

-Provocative Thesis: Wright compellingly argues that Fish’s over-the-top soirées were calculated acts of defiance and ambition, akin to modern branding campaigns. The comparison to Elon Musk’s marketing excesses underscores this point.
-Narrative Style: The author’s irreverent tone mirrors Fish’s own disdain for Gilded Age propriety, making the biography as entertaining as it is scholarly. Wright’s wit cuts through the stuffiness often associated with historical texts.
-Historical Context: The book excels in linking Fish’s antics—like doll-themed parties and elephant arrivals—to broader societal shifts, including industrialization and wealth disparity.

Critiques

-Visual Descriptions: Wright omits detailed physical descriptions of Fish or her legendary wardrobe, leaving readers to rely on external portrayals. A deeper dive into fashion as a status symbol would have enriched the analysis.
-Structural Rigor: While the playful prose is refreshing, some academic readers might crave tighter thematic organization to balance the narrative flair.

How I would describe this book:

- Jennifer Wright delivers a damn good biography—Mamie Fish’s parties weren’t just fun; they were feminist acts of rebellion.
- A rollicking dive into how one woman turned champagne and elephants into political currency.
- For fans of The Gilded Age and The Great Gatsby, this book reveals the real power behind the glitter.
- Wright proves history’s ‘funny women’ deserve serious attention—Fish’s legacy is as sharp as her wit.

Acknowledgments
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing an advance review copy. Wright’s work is a testament to their commitment to bold, genre-defying history.

Conclusion
Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time is a triumph of pop-inflected scholarship, perfect for historians and casual readers alike. Wright resurrects Mamie Fish as a proto-influencer whose extravagance masked shrewd ambition—a timely reminder that “frivolity” is often anything but.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) — A sparkling blend of rigor and revelry, with minor gaps in visual storytelling.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mamie Fish is an east coast woman who lived a fanciful life during the Gilded Age. Many people have never heard of her but the impact she made on high society has reverberated to today. The first half of the book lays the historical groundwork for the story. When Mamie Fish is fully introduced the reader has better understanding how she fits into history and provides the context on how she became popular. To sum up the impact she made "She made weirdness and glamour compatible."

[Zehava (Joyce) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been finding non-fiction so boring these days and unfortunately this book is more of the same. I’m a sucker for a juicy gilded age story but this story wasn’t very juicy. It was basically a retread of every other history of the Astors and Vanderbilts I’ve ever read just with Mamie Fish as the central character, and Mamie Fish was just not that interesting. She’s more the main character of one chapter than the main character of an entire book. Good audiobook.

[Jennifer Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I picked this book up because I enjoy the character Mamie Fish on the Gilded Age. I listened to the audio version because it was read by Ashlie Atkinson, the actress who plays Fish on the Gilded Age. And her narration was the most enjoyable part.

It simply was not a good book.

There was no story or theme. There were some interesting tidbits and I am glad that I read it for those. But there were large sections with copious details of party after party and many of those parties were not even Mamie Fish’s nor was she at them. The author would tenuously tie together some detail of Mamie to connect why she was continuously veering off of Mamie‘s life.

I’m not sure what the thesis of the author was other than just stringing together details of parties that Mamie threw and her quest to always stay on top socially. Mamie was a very unlikable character and it’s hard to reconcile how the Gilded Age TV show has portrayed Mamie from the vapid, rude, self-centered woman in this book. It just did not provide complexity or nuance or any understanding to how she operated.

You’re to draw your own conclusions of her influence and why there was a book written about her other than she threw creative parties and as a result rewrote many social rules that allowed her to be rude and cutting.

I have read many historical fiction novels of different characters from that time and I have enjoyed all of those. This was just an unfortunate extra long Wikipedia entry with random commentary from the author. It took me quite a while to finish this book and I fell asleep countless times. I typically read a book in one to two days.

[Debbie Appelbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of the HBO series The Gilded Age or just those fascinated by the history of the time, this book is a delightful romp made all the more fun by its writing style and narrator for the audio book. A cross between Lady Whistledown from the Bridgerton series and the actor who brought Mrs. Fish to life in the Gilded Age series, she was the epitome of fun as we learned about the ways a woman in that time period could gain power, set trends, and bring life to a group of individuals and how we are impacted by her still to this day. Although I am sure it would be fun to read; I highly recommend this as an audio book choice.

[Kennedy Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read a lot of nonfiction and this was me trying it out. Even though it took me a while to get through, I really enjoyed this book. It felt like sitting down with someone who knew all of the hot gossip (in a good way) and it was very funny and entertaining. I love some of the witty quip’s the author came up with, and I think Mamie Fish would’ve loved them too.

[Molly Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this was a nonfiction book that read like your best friend sending you a voice note. It was very funny and I thought it had some astute observations. It really made me wish the Gilded age showed this sense of humor that was clearly in the ether at this time. It makes me interested in reading more of this author’s works

[Janevonslain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer Wright does it again! I learned so much and I cried a single tear when I finished the audiobook because it was over and I wanted more!

[SUSAN *Nevertheless,she persisted* · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of HBO's "Gilded Age",you will enjoy this book. It will provide some backstory and insight into the historical characters in the show.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

“It is heartbreaking at these parties took place before the age of Instagram. Everything Mamie did seemed to positively sparkle, and she would have dominated social media.”

That’s essentially the thesis (derogatory)

[Book Buying With Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75. It was entertaining and well-wriiten, but I'm just not sure this is the year that this book needed to be published. Love Jennifer Wright, but you can skip this one.

[Maddy Newquist]

please picture me reading this on an Oregon coast beach at sunset wearing the most bedazzled sunglasses of all time that say "I Do Crew" on them (because that is what happened)

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not normally my brand of history, but this tale was told glibly with fun. Reminded me of Sarah Vowell’s snark and commentary.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The outrageous woman who gave the Gilded Age its glamour

Mark Twain satirized the period as the Gilded Age, suggesting that an overlay of gold plating hid the seamy reality underneath. Later, historians fixed the term to the years from the late 1870s to the late 1890s. Then, America emerged from the devastation of the Civil War to become the world’s preeminent industrial power. And a few prominent men held most of the great wealth generated by this growth. They possessed private fortunes surpassed only by today’s high tech billionaires.

Meanwhile, their wives, circumscribed by the sexist conventions of the Victorian era, rarely played any role in the economy. Instead, they held their own competitions for power and acclaim by building grand houses and holding parties. Journalist Jennifer Wright tells the story of one of the most acclaimed of these women in Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time. It’s a biography of the Gilded Age itself.

Prominence based on genealogy and wealth

Wright’s subject is Marion Graves Anthon Fish (1853-1915), known to her friends as Mamie Fish or Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish. The Fish family (who called themselves “the Fish”) did not possess great wealth. Their prominence rested on their genealogies. The Fish traced their ancestry back to the Dutch colony that preceded English settlement in New York. Mamie’s husband, Stuyvesant Fish (1851-1923), was the son of Hamilton Fish (1808-93), formerly Secretary of State, President Ulysses Grant’s most trusted advisor, and in turn the son of Alexander Hamilton’s best friend.

However, the Fish were far from poor. Later in life, Mamie claimed that the family’s fortune never exceeded $3 million. In 1890 dollars, that was the equivalent of just over $100 million today. But the context suggests that Mamie was low-balling the claim. Even so, the family’s net worth paled beside the wealth of such men as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. But Mamie didn’t need hundreds of millions to “party her way to power,” as Wright suggests.

Chatty style with lots of exclamation marks

I don’t read gossip columns or celebrity stories in women’s magazines. But I imagine that readers of such things will find Jennifer Wright’s style in Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time to be familiar. It’s casual, often chatty, and features liberal use of exclamation marks.

Wright prefaces Mamie’s story with a brief history of party-giving. This approach makes for an eminently readable story. But if you’re looking for a feminist angle on the Gilded Age, which was filled with consequential developments in America’s economic and political history and marked advances for women, you won’t find it here. This is Mamie Fish’s story. It’s about parties. The palatial homes where they were held. What people wore. What they ate. And what they thought about Mamie and Mrs. Astor and Ward McAllister and the other movers and shakers in Mamie’s social circle.

In fairness, Wright pays lip service from time to time to the contrast between the ostentatious (and obnoxious) display of wealth by the uber-rich and the abject poverty of millions of workers. She freely acknowledges the desperation of so many Americans in thrall to the winner-take-all economics of the Gilded Age. And she rightly pays special attention in these brief digressions into the suffering of the young women who powered so many of the wealth-generating factories owned by her subjects. But it’s not enough. Not nearly enough.

A kinder review of this book by artificial intelligence

Most reviewers of Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time were kinder than I was. That’s reflected in the following review by Claude-AI Sonnet 4, because it’s based on those other reviews as well as any available online summaries of the book. With the exception of one subhead I’ve inserted to break up the text, what follows is word-for-word what the AI wrote.

A Sparkling Biography of the Gilded Age’s Ultimate Hostess
Jennifer Wright’s “Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power” is a delightfully entertaining dive into the life of one of America’s most fascinating forgotten figures. Marion Graves Anthon Fish, known as “Mamie” and “The Fun-Maker,” threw the most epic parties in American history, and Wright brings her extraordinary story to vivid life.

Wright, acclaimed author of “Madame Restell” and “Get Well Soon,” demonstrates her signature ability to transform historical research into compulsively readable narrative. Rather than presenting Mamie Fish as merely a frivolous society hostess, Wright reveals how this remarkable woman wielded social gatherings as tools of influence and power during the Gilded Age. The book brilliantly illustrates how parties became political statements and how entertainment served as a form of female empowerment in an era when women had few other avenues to authority.

Witty, accessible prose
What makes this biography particularly engaging is Wright’s witty, accessible prose that captures both the absurdity and the strategic brilliance of Fish’s approach to society. The author doesn’t shy away from the contradictions of the era—the extreme wealth alongside social inequality, the liberation and limitations faced by even privileged women. Through meticulous research, Wright paints a complex portrait of a woman who understood that in a world where she couldn’t vote or hold office, she could still shape society through her drawing room.

The book succeeds as both historical scholarship and pure entertainment. Wright’s narrative sparkles with the same energy that must have animated Fish’s legendary gatherings, making readers feel as though they’re receiving coveted invitations to the most exclusive parties of the 1890s. This is social history at its most engaging—serious enough to illuminate important themes about gender, power, and American society, yet light enough to be thoroughly enjoyable. Wright has crafted a biography that would make Mamie Fish herself proud: substantive, surprising, and undeniably fun.

About the author

Jennifer Wright, the political editor-at-large of Harper’s Bazaar. has written seven nonfiction books over the past decade. Born in 1986, she is a graduate of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. She is married and lives with her husband in New York.

[Karen Adkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Goodreads for the free copy of the book. I'd read and enjoyed one of Wright's other books (the story of Madame Restell). But I enjoyed this book, a biography of a Gilded Age hostess, far less. Partly, I suspect it's because the book was finished hastily so as to coincide with the latest season of the HBO series. But mostly, it's because the book's story doesn't really live up to the ambition of that subtitle. Mamie Fish ends up seeming more Regina George than queen maker behind the scenes. (The "power" she wields mainly seems to be about socially punishing people who annoy here, and recruiting slightly more eccentric people into New York society.) And she's wildly inconsistent; in two adjoining chapters she veers from supporting garment strikers to throwing an anti-suffrage ball. Mostly, she seems to be interested in spectacle for spectacle's sake, which I guess makes the introduction's line about how all influencers owe a debt to Fish have a certain limited oomph. But I found myself wishing for a little Thorstein Veblen mixed in with this history; Wright takes Fish at her word whenever her actions align with rebellion today, but excuses some of her more ridiculous positions or behavior.

[Sidhant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking Glitz and Glam

This book is in the unfortunate position of trying to do too many things at once. It simultaneously attempts to provide an adequate biography of Mrs. Fish, a history of the late 19th and early 20th century elite, and an understanding of the role of high status women in society. Unfortunately it misses the mark on all three. Wright fails to give Mamie Fish an ounce of interiority, so that we are left with a portrait of a woman nondescript enough for us to project our own biases upon her. This, ultimately, is the great failing of the book. We are left to ponder about the subject without even a proper or full accounting of her environment or time. Perhaps Wright--or her editor--could have focused less on over explaining the modern connections and meanings and spent the page space on giving more content. It is apt that a book about the Gilded Age has a thin exterior masking a vacuous interior beset with problems.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If the guests at the party were being ridiculed, that is what they had come to expect from a woman who often greeted them by saying, 'Make yourself at home. No one wishes you were there more than I do.'"

I am already feeling bereft at a lack of new HBO's The Gilded Age episodes, and was thrilled to see this new book about my favorite secondary character in the show. Mamie Fish, wife to a railroad magnate and one of the most powerful women in the New York City social set in the 1880s through 1910s, was also one of the most fascinating people I've read about. Both for her time and also I think for all times she was truly an odd duck lol, throwing lavish themed parties that made newspapers literally across the country and beyond, and had a penchant for pulling pranks. She was one of the top arbiters of who was included in society and who wasn't, growing in influence as Caroline Astor's faded.

The book gives an overview of Mamie's life and some truly wild stories (she ran over a guy with a car THREE TIMES LOLOL) while also giving context about others in her circle. I am particularly interested in Ward McAllister, also featured in the HBO show, so was glad to get more information about him here. I really liked the tone of the book, it is thoroughly researched with citations throughout, but written in an accessible and even casual style, peppered with references to culture today but not too much so. It is light and fun which is perfect for a book about Mamie. I listened to the audio which is narrated by the actress who plays her in the show, and she brought the perfect amount of personality to the read, I loved it.

Mamie Fish was not a perfect person. I don't even know that she was particularly "good." She was weird, wanted to be entertained at all costs (literally and metaphorically), had a keen understanding of social dynamics, wanted to push some aspects of culture forward while also enforcing some backwards views. There is some dissonance in reading about and watching these characters displaying wealth so garishly while we sit in 2025, but it is what it is. I appreciated some of the stories in the end about Mamie's involvement in social issues, and where she misstepped for being out of touch.

I recommend Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time to fans of HBO's The Gilded Age, those interested in American history of this era, and anyone who wants an engaging nonfiction read. I definitely recommend the audio!

"So, just know that every time you go to a party with a weird theme. Every time you wander into a party that’s been decorated like an under-the-sea ball, or a flower-covered greenhouse for Valentine’s Day, or even a murder mystery party your friends host, well, Mamie’s ghost is floating around there, hoping that you will crack at least a few jokes."

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mamie Fish and her protege, Harry Lehr, were the successors to Mrs. Astor and her protege, Ward McAllister as the people who controlled New York society. Mrs. Astor may have been the first queen of the hill. She practically invented New York high society, and Ward McAllister may have been the one who invented the Social Register and the idea of the elite 400 of New York, but Ms. Wright's take on them is that they were deadly dull. No amount of money can make stodgy people fun and the idea in the days of Mrs. Astor was to ape the Europeans, though she did so without European charm or sophistication. What New York (and the summer crowd in Newport) needed was a little bit of fun, and Mamie Fish, whose blood was not quite as blue as Mrs. Astor's, was just the person to liven things up. She gave what may have been the first puppy party. She had a party where a monkey in a tux was the guest of honor, and she once told her guests that that the tsar of all Russia was coming to her party; instead, they got Harry Lehr with a tin crown and a program of good humored mockery.

Many of her stunts would seem tame today, and it was still important to be a millionaire to get onto the guest list, but she was revolutionary for her time and was definitely moving in the right direction, a direction more in keeping with the spirit of America.

Ms. Wright's narrative voice is perfectly tuned to the story that she is telling. She is sassy and fun and makes us feel that we are all invited to the party too, even if our bank balances are missing a few of the required zeros that were needed to garner an invitation.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, @grandcentralpub, and @jenniferwright, the gifted ARC!

Rundown:
✨️biography
✨️gilded age socialite
✨️unprecedented
✨️bold
✨️power and prestige

Synopsis ✒️
This is a thoroughly researched biography of a Mamie Fish, a Guided Age socialite. She was infamous for throwing parties that people had never seen before, and people were drawn to her frank but fun behavior. Her parties challenged the social norms, as did her behavior. She used her influence to her advantage to gain power and prestige.

Thoughts 💭
How inspiring! I love seeing women buck the system and use what they had to their advantage. She was unconventional in most ways. She threw unique parties and was loud, witty, and blunt. People hung on her every word and were drawn to her light. She used all of this to her advantage to gain whatever favors she could. All aspects of her life were covered, including marriage, motherhood, and rivalries. She had a lot of depth to her. She said what she wanted, and that was very polarizing. She would offend people with her bluntness but also help a friend or relative if needed. This gave me so much background to the guided age, something I find fascinating. This is perfect for anyone who wants some insights into that opulent time period.

[Nasus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sad to say that I didn't like this book very much. I didn't appreciate the writing, which was a little snarky and casually referenced today's pop culture & politics. I understand that some people enjoyed that aspect of the writing. I also found the main protagonist, Mamie Fish, as well as many of the people around her, to be vapid and boring. This is the 2d book I have tried to read on the topic and had a similar impression. Edith Wharton's books about the gilded age are more intriguing and insightful in my view. The author also mixed up Cornelius Vanderbilt (the first one born in the 1700s) with his grandson, CV II, born in the 1800s, who was a pall bearer at Ward Macallister's funeral in 1895. And there is a passing reference to Julia Grant (Ulysses' granddaughter) and her wedding to Prince Cantacuzene in Newport, without a FN or other reference explaining who these people were and what role they played in lead up to the Russian revolution. (Julia wrote an amazing book about the revolution and how she, her husband and children escaped). Towards the end of the book there is a bit more description about how events in the wider world (e.g., WWI, shirt waist factory workers strikes), impacted the ultra rich, which I found interesting and provided the context I was looking for throughout the book.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content was worth the read- Mamie Fish, wife to Stuyvesant Fish, loved a good themed party, built Newport into the fabulousness that is was with her entertainment, created a legacy of fashion, food, party, glitz, and glam making it her full time job and occasionally stopping to do good things along the way. It's a cool little story that lives up to the title and subtitle and paints a portrait of a time and place with money as well as a grating sense of breaking out from behind European's stuffiness and properness by blazing a trail for the way Americans will do things. I loved it.

My only annoyance was the jabs and contemporary humor that was added in as "commentary" to Mamie Fish and others' life that will date it sooner than anything else and derails the content of the book. It was what I disliked in Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children. Smarmy quips and little digs that are unnecessary (and to me) detract from the awesome content of a look into the lives of famous women.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll be honest to say if I hadn’t listened to this book, I probably would not have finished it. Wright’s writing is good, as is the subject, but it’s Ashlie Atkinson’s intuitive reading and acting that made it work for me. I knew who Mamie Fish was from reading about the American Gilded Age but not her personality and lasting impact on “society” at the time. Indeed, she is a minor character portrayed as a bit of a gossipy foolish person on the HBO series The Gilded Age. I think that Julian Fellows and HBO in their haste to create another Downton Abbey missed the mark…they should have centered the series around Mamie Fish. Fish was part of the Astor and Vanderbilt set, married to millionaire railroad man StuyvesantFish. She was not a beauty, but was a character, progressive in many ways, funny, and eventually took the lead of society and made lasting changes. She is who we have to thank for what her husband called “monkey soirées” or themed balls, but also cause galas, that were inclusive and not solely for determining society status.