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First published in 1873, The Gilded Age is both a biting satire and a revealing portrait of post-Civil War America - an age of corruption when crooked land speculators, ruthless bankers, and dishonest politicians voraciously took advantage of the nation's peacetime optimism. With his characteristic wit and perception, Mark Twain and his collaborator, Charles Dudley Warner, attack the greed, lust, and naiveté of their own time in a work that endures as a valuable social document and one of America's most important satirical novels.

Welcome to the era of true marriages of convenience. Discover the reality of trading someone’s hand in marriage, such as an American heiress, in exchange for money, power, or political clout through compelling history lectures. Showcased in novels such as Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence and in present day pop culture through works like Downtown Abbey, the Gilded Age was an era of contradictions. Life on both sides of the Atlantic was grimy and glamorous, prosperous and impoverished, traditional and revolutionary.

One of the first major American novels to satirize the political milieu of Washington, and the wild speculation schemes that exploded across the nation in the years that followed the Civil War, The Gilded Age gave this remarkable era its name. This rollicking novel is rife with unscrupulous politicians, colourful plutocrats, and blindly optimistic speculators caught up in a frenzy of romance, murder, and surefire deals gone bust.

The Gilded Age is the collaborative work of Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirized the era that followed the Civil War. This period is often referred to as the “Gilded Age” because of this book. The corruption and greed that was typical of the time is exemplified through two fictional narratives: one, of the Hawkins, a poor family from Tennessee that tries to persuade the government to purchase their seventy-five thousand acres of unimproved land.

Countess Ellen Olenska, separated from her European husband, returns to old New York society. She bears with her an independence and an awareness of life which stirs the educated sensitivity of the charming Newland Archer, engaged to be married to her cousin, May Welland. Though he accepts the society's standards and rules he is acutely aware of their limitations. He knows May will assure him a conventional future but Ellen, scandalously separated from her husband, forces Archer to question his values and beliefs.

A podcast about inequality with hosts Walker Bragman and Mark Colangelo. Full episodes are available to recurring donors to the OptOut Media Foundation. Subscribe at https://originals.optout.news/#/portal/signup

Step beyond the lamplight and into the gilded darkness of a vanished world. Ghost Stories from the Gilded Age is a classic ghost story anthology featuring eerie tales by female authors who defied convention—Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, and more. Narrated by an all-star ensemble of Audie, SOVAS, and One Voice award winners and nominees, this haunting audiobook collection blends Gothic elegance with supernatural unease.

The Gilded Age (c. 1870–1900) was an era of explosive growth and stark inequality in the United States. Lucas and Luna unpack the fortunes of industrial titans like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan, whose steel, oil, and banking empires reshaped the nation. They explore the dark side of progress: the corruption of city bosses like New York's Boss Tweed, the brutal labor struggles at Homestead and Pullman, and the plight of millions of immigrants flooding through Ellis Island. The show also examines the era's cultural upheavals — the rise of vaudeville, the birth of the...

The Gilded Age A Tale of Today, co-authored by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in 1873, offers a sharp satire of the greed and political corruption that permeated post-Civil War America. The term Gilded Age, which has become synonymous with this era, derives from the title of this novel, inspired by Shakespeares King John (1595) To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess. This phrase highlights the absurdity of embellishing something already beautiful, a fitting metaphor for the excesses of the time. The title also suggests a stark contrast between an ...

Originally published in 1873, The Gilded Age A Tale of Today stands as Mark Twains only co-authored novel, crafted alongside his close friend C.D. Warner. This collaboration ignited from a playful challenge posed by their wives. The title The Gilded Age has since become a powerful symbol of graft, materialism, and corruption in public life, themes that resonate profoundly in todays society. Twains keen observations and character-driven narratives draw from real-life events and relatives, a connection he later revealed in his 2011 Autobiography. Join us as we explore this timeless reflection of...

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America. The term gilded age, commonly given to the era, comes from the title of this book. Twain and Warner got the name from Shakespeare's King John (1595): "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess." Gilding a lily, which is already beautiful and not in need of further adornment, is excessive and wasteful, characteristics of the age Twain and Warner wrote about in their novel. Another interpretation of ...

In the middle of the night on March eleventh, 1980, the phone rang in Julia Reed’s Georgetown dorm. It was her boss at Newsweek, where she was an intern. He told her to get in her car and drive to her alma mater, the Madeira School. Her former headmistress, Jean Harris, had just shot Dr. Herman Tarnower, The Scarsdale Diet Doctor. Julia didn’t flinch. She dressed, drove to Madeira, got the story—and her first byline—and the new American Gilded Age was off and running.

"Millionaire" had just entered the American lexicon and Cassie Chadwick was front page news, becoming a media sensation before mass media, even eclipsing President Roosevelt’s inauguration. Using these newspaper articles, Hazelgrove tells the story of one of the greatest cons in American history.

America stands at a dramatic crossroads: Massive corporations wield disturbing power. The huge income gap between the one percent and the other 99 percent grows wider. Astounding new technologies are changing American lives.

Katherine Schneider’s life as a dentist in 1913 New York is upended when a patient reveals details of a deadly plot while under the influence of laughing gas. As she is plunged into danger, she seeks help from the dashing Lieutenant Jonathan Birch, a police officer she has long admired from afar.

May 1890: As NYU Law School finally agrees to admit female law students, Judge MacKenzie's daughter, Prudence, weighs her choices carefully. Chief among her concerns is how her decision would affect the Hunter and MacKenzie Investigative Law agency and her professional and personal relationship with the partner who is currently recuperating from a near fatal shooting. 

This docuseries re-examines the infamous Lizzie Borden murders through the lens of Victorian America’s social tensions, gender politics, and emerging fascination with true crime. From the violent underbelly of the Gilded Age to the birth of forensic science and sensational journalism, the series traces how one brutal case redefined American media, justice, and gender perception. Blending history, psychology, and cultural analysis, KILL Lizzie Borden - Victorian Scandal reveals how the Borden murders became not just a mystery, but a mirror reflecting the contradictions of an age obsessed with...

The Gilded Age and Progressive Era is a free podcast about the seismic transitions that took place in the United States from the 1870s to 1920s. It's for students, teachers, researchers, history buffs, and anyone who wants to learn more about how our past connects us to the present. It is hosted by Boyd Cothran, professor of U.S. and Global history at York University, and Cathleen D. Cahill, Walter L. Ferree and Helen P. Ferree Professor in Middle-American History at Penn State University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 1890: As Prudence and Geoffrey settle into the most elegant hotel in Canadian Niagara, they observe a popular tourist area torn between natural beauty and industrial power. Also attracting their attentions are the antics of daredevil Crazy Louie Whiting, determined to be the first person to navigate the falls without drowning. Crazy Louie sends a specially designed test barrel containing a sheep over the falls. But when the barrel is retrieved and opened, the battered body of a local Tuscarora Indian spills out.

Join TCM’s Alicia Malone and Tom Meyers from The Bowery Boys on HBO’s official Gilded Age podcast. After each episode, they discuss what happened on screen and the real people, places and events featured on the show. Each week they’re joined by some of the cast and crew who bring the show to life, sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and fun-filled history.