The Gilded Age: Edith Wharton and Her Contemporaries

by Eleanor Dwight

The Gilded Age tells the fascinating story of a dynamic era in America, from the 1870s to the early years of the twentieth century, when enormous fortunes were made and lost overnight. This dazzling book provides a glimpse into the period that has left us a legacy of art and architecture derived from European culture.

Excerpts from the writings of America's brilliant author Edith Wharton and her contemporaries including Henry James and Mark Twain, coupled with beautiful reproductions of paintings by John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, and others, make this a charming souvenir of the time. The writers' critical and amusing descriptions of the competitive building of mansions, art collecting, and social rituals provide a lively commentary of a time in which such fascinating personalities as J.P. Morgan, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor played an important role.

Genres: Nonfiction

80 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 1996

About the author

Eleanor Dwight was the author of several biographies on women.

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This "mini" coffee table book was written using the interesting format of period paintings along with historical commentaries to depict the Old New York society of Edith Wharton, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE. Wharton's circle included wealthy patrician families, as well as "super stars" in the realms of art, landscaping, design and literature. I would not look to the book for in depth biographical information about Edith Wharton. Rather, I see it as the story of Wharton's Old New York, a unique time in American history, through artists' depictions. I enjoyed the book very much.

[Kay Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor Dwight writes a good interdisciplinary overview of arts and culture in the Gilded Age in just 75 pages. She outlines the key players in American and European art, architecture, and literature.

The paintings are well-chosen and include Fernand Lungren's "Washington Square North, New York City," John Singer Sargent's "In the Luxembourg Gardens," Ralph Curtis's "Drifting on the Lagoon, Venice," and George Wesley Bellows's "Tennis at Newport."

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[dianne b. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rudimentary glance at the Gilded Age. i did appreciate the inclusion of many reproductions of paintings done during that period; many are of the characters most remembered (Edith Wharton,Consuelo Vanderbilt aka Duchess of Marlborough, Isabella Stewart Gardner, etc) and many now in private collections.