It’s our final podcast episode of our first season, and we of course go into the famous Vanderbilt ball that very clearly inspired events in the finale episode of The Gilded Age’s season 1. (This ball made such an impact in the 1880s, it was still being talked about 60 years later!) To wrap up our own first season of the podcast, we look into the prominent individuals and families of the Gilded Age who featured in the series, including the Vanderbilts, the Astors, Jay Gould, JP Morgan, and others. We also give our thoughts about what stood out to us while researching and recording this podcast season, and whether we could learn anything that might apply to today from our foray into America’s gilded past.
What inspired this episode?
The series finale of The Gilded Age season 1 revolves around the show’s fictional wannabe socialite, Bertha Russell, and her attempt to get the queen bee of New York society, Lina Astor, to attend her daughter’s debutante ball. Afraid of being snubbed again by the frigid Mrs. Astor, Bertha hatches a plan to get Lina’s daughter, Carrie (who on the show is a friend of Bertha’s daughter Gladys,) to convince her mother to attend the ball. This storyline parallels the real-life ball that social climber and “new money” Alva Vanderbilt threw, a party so anticipated, so talked-about, so grand that the “old money” Astors had no choice but to attend.
Thank you so much for joining us for this first season of the Gilded Hour Podcast. We really enjoyed making these episodes for you. Please follow us on our social media accounts as we will provide updates on when this podcast will continue!
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