The Gilded Age was a rich time in American literature. In this podcast episode, we explore a few of the more prominent and popular authors of the era who were writing about everyday life and the lived experiences of women, people of color, and many others during this time period. Exploring their work and activities in the 1880s gives us a more well-rounded view of what was actually happening in the U.S. at the time of the Gilded Age.
What inspired this episode?
Fictional Peggy Scott has been trying to get her work published in a magazine or other publication, but she has faced challenges along the way despite her obvious talent. We started to wonder what writers were prominent in the time, with a particular focus on women and black women like Peggy.
What we discovered was a rich body of American literature that was being written at this time. We couldn’t feature all of the most popular Gilded Age authors, but we did have a chance to talk about some of the authors who were especially impactful, including Ida B. Wells, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Sarah Orne Jewett, and many others.
About “The Gilded Age” Episode 4: A Long Ladder
Continuing to pursue her dream of becoming a published writer, Peggy meets with New York Globe editor T. Thomas Fortune – more about him in a moment. He hires her to write an article about politics.
When the van Rhijn’s English butler, Bannister, visits the Russell house to pick up Ada’s runaway lap-dog Pumpkin, he throws the Russell’s butler, Church, off kilter when he lightly mocks the culinary choices and table settings at the Russell house.
Sylvia Chamberlain, a widow tarnished by rumors that she was her late husband’s mistress, attempts to befriend Marian.
Bertha’s ladies’ maid Turner unsuccessfully attempts to seduce George by showing up in his room in the middle of the night. He adamantly refuses her, casts her out of his room, though surprisingly does not fire her on the spot, citing the fact that she is valued by his wife.
While visiting her parents in Brooklyn for her mom’s birthday, viewers quickly see that Peggy’s parents are, as expected, fairly well-off, with a nice house and a staff of their own. Peggy and her father get into an argument. They’re interrupted when Marian drops by unexpectedly. She wrongly assumed that the Scotts were poor, and so she arrives with a pair of used shoes to donate to them, which offends the family.
After the Aldermen agree to reinstate the law that will allow the station to be built, George offers to help Alderman Fane recover further from the incident with the stocks if his wife, Aurora, could help introduce Bertha into society. Cue… Aurora and Bertha’s slow rise to BFFs. Aurora agrees to take Bertha under her wing, arranges for Bertha to attend a luncheon that Ward McAllister is attending. He is a close friend and ally of Lina Astor, the “queen bee” of NY society, ringleader of the “old money” circles she’s having a hard time breaking into.
Aurora also invites Bertha and Marian to a show at the Academy of Music. At the concert, Marian runs into Tom Raikes and she sees that he’s attending the opera as a guest of an old money, wealthy New York family. When he chats with her, Marian tells Tom that he needs to win over her aunts before they can take their relationship further.
Sources Consulted
The following materials were cited or referenced in the creation of this podcast episode. (Not all authors or works mentioned are available for free online, unfortunately, but I linked the ones that are below)
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