See and Be Seen: Saratoga in the Victorian Era

by Dr. Hollis A. Palmer

“Saratoga, in the Victorian Era, was not just a place; it was a state of mind. Every portion of every day, of every guest’s entire stay, was about See and Be Seen. Visitors went to the springs in the morning to mingle with America’s most beautiful, most famous, and wealthiest people. In the afternoon guests of the grand hotels would sit on the piazzas where they could overhear discussions between the political and financial elite, while those at the cheaper hotels listened to complaints about how much everything cost. Everywhere everyday there was the inevitable gossip. Even the early evening stroll on Broadway was more about seeing who was available than what was obtainable. It was, however, at the evening balls where the best and worst in everyone boiled to the surface. Here women, dressed in their best toilettes, danced, flirted, and ignored the men who were inevitably portraying themselves as more than they were at home.
This book examines what it was like to live and visit Saratoga between 1856 and 1906. Author Hollis Palmer has always maintained that history is not just about events but rather about the people behind what happened. In See and Be Seen Hollis focuses on the people, the politics, the economics, and the changes in social expectations in an effort to tell the story of Saratoga during this tumultuous period.”

317 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2010