The Gilded Gentleman

In 2013, John Cooper, an expert on Oscar Wilde, made a surprising discovery. While researching aspects of Wilde's famous 1882 American lecture tour, he came upon a lengthy article written and copyrighted by Wilde in 1885 on his philosophies of dress.  What made this unique was that this significant piece of writing by Oscar had seemingly been forgotten or lost to history.  This episode marks the publication of a new edition of John's book Oscar Wilde on Dress which includes the original essay, as well as extensive background and supplemental material to put not only the essay but also Oscar's life into perspective. Wilde was passionate about the dress reform movement in the late 19th century, which sought to liberate women from the constraints of a male-dominated society. This fascinating essay, along with John's commentary and additional resources, sheds new light on how Oscar thought not only about dress, but about larger issues of beauty, freedom, and gender. Find more about John Cooper's book "Oscar Wilde on Dress" This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ulysses S. Grant, one of the most important and consequential presidents, is also one of the most misunderstood.  Ulysses Dietz, Grant's great-great grandson, joins The Gilded Gentleman to share his perspective on the lives of Grant and his wife Julia. Ulysses discusses how the couple approached the beginnings of the Gilded Age from both a social and politicial standpoint, expounding upon the story from Grants’ transformation of the White House to establishing their lives in the ballrooms of the Vanderbitls in New York City. This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the new feature film Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale opens worldwide, we see for the final time the elegant, glamorous and always dramatic world of Lord and Lady Grantham and their family.  We also have a chance to look back at the evolving fashion and hairstyles of Downton's characters as they have evolved from the series debut set in 1912 up to this final film set in 1930.  Joining The Gilded Gentleman table to trace this fashion history is listener favorite Dr. Elizabeth L. Block, who takes us from the high Edwardian style we saw with Violet, the Dowager Countess, to the body hugging slinky styles of Coco Chanel we see on Lady Mary in this latest film. We also explore the flapper look, the influence of war years on fashion and how the great cultural forces such as the Ballets Russes all influence the styles of the Crawley sisters. And we even take a look downstairs and talk about how styles for domestic staff were shifting as well. This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Butlers, it seems, know everything. They are privy to the goings-on above and below stairs, and, of course, they keep it  - mostly  - to themselves. Agnes van Rhijn's very British butler Bannister has become a show favorite as he manages the downstairs staff and to a certain degree life above stairs as well. Simon Jones, who plays the role of Bannister, is a veteran actor with an astonishingly impressive list of credits from stage, film and television. Jones has played roles in such productions as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Brideshead Revisited and Downton Abbey.  His past co-stars include Sir Laurence Olivier, Dame Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Lauren Bacall, among so many others.In this special episode, Simon Jones sits with Carl to talk about those roles, and of course that of Bannister on The Gilded Age.  This interview first ran in December of 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the most anxiously followed storylines in HBO's "The Gilded Age" has been the love story between Oscar van Rhijn and John Adams. Adams (Claybourne Elder), who was born into a prestigious New York family as the descendant of a Founding Father, became a fan favorite as the couple navigated their complex relationship out of society's glaring view. Following the dramatic events of Season 3, actor Claybourne Elder joins The Gilded Gentleman, along with Greg Young of the Bowery Boys Podcast, to discuss his role and character, what filming the series was like and what the life of a gay man in the Gilded Age might have been like.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ever since the premiere episode of HBO's "The Gilded Age", viewers and historians have discussed just how close the fictitious character of Bertha Russell (played by Carrie Coon) may be to the real-life socialite steamroller Alva Vanderbilt.  There certainly seems to be similarities from Bertha and Alva's mutual unrelenting drive to claw a place in society - and then there was, after all, the fact that both women married their daughters off to British dukes. The Gilded Gentleman takes a look at Alva's own story -- we have so far, been given little of Bertha's -- in an attempt to understand just why she made the choices and had the attitudes to social structure that she did.  Alva Vanderbilt was complex, complicated, conflicted and endlessly fascinating as she navigated her life from a loveless marriage to a new role as a divorced woman and suffragette. Join us for this look at Alva's early life to see how it all began. An earlier version of this show ran in early 2022. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We all have our favorite characters on HBO's "The Gilded Age," and one fan favorite is certainly the maid-turned-social climber, the former Enid Turner -- now Mrs. Joshua Winterton. It's hard to forget her great entrance in Season 2 when she arrives on the arm of her much older (and very wealthy) husband to Bertha's jaw dropping disbelief.  Actor Kelley Curran, who plays the role of Mrs. Winterton, joins The Gilded Gentleman to talk about how she created the role of Enid, what her backstory likely could be, and what it was like filming some of Enid's most dramatic scenes. This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Some called him the Gilded Age's biggest snob. Others thought he was a genius of social protocol and maneuvering through aristocratic circles.  Most famously, he acted as Mrs. Astor's right hand in sorting, selecting and assembling a group of New York's elite he was credited (erroneously) as naming "the 400".  Nonetheless his influence on who got in and who stayed out was significant - but just exactly who was HE?  Join Carl for this in-depth look at just who Ward McAllister (played by Nathan Lane in HBO's "The Gilded Age") was and how he climbed the social ladder - and most of all, how he committed one of Gilded Age society's greatest sins - he wrote a book and told all. Listen to other Gilded Gentleman shows tied to the HBO series including Black Newport, Playing Mamie Fish, Consuelo Vanderbilt and the Gilded Age’s Million Dollar Princesses and The Real Mrs. Astor. And listen to the Bowery Boys Podcast's Tom Meyers on the Official Gilded Age Podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Newport, Rhode Island has been an important center for the evolution of America's African heritage community. -- from its earliest days of the 18th century slave trade to the late 19th century years of the Gilded Age, Viewers of HBO Max's The Gilded Age follow the character of Peggy Scott and her family to Newport and into the center of its wealthy, thriving Black community in the late 19th century. Joining The Gilded Gentleman to trace this extraordinary history of Newport's African heritage community is Rhode Island's historian laureate Keith Stokes. Keith is a 9th generation Newporter and is descended from many of the major players that were trailblazers in civic government, education, medicine and science during Newport's Gilded Age.  The stories of the Astor and Vanderbilt families along with many others of the New York elite is only part of the story of Newport and its pivotal role in American history.  This episode hopes to reveal another.For more Gilded Age adventures, listen to the Gilded Gentleman podcast and the Bowery Boys podcast. You can also find Tom Meyers on the Official Gilded Age Podcast. This episode was edited by Keiran Gannon.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The divine Mamie Fish, the eagle-eyed, sharp tongued social arbiter that regularly appears in the HBO series The Gilded Age, was indeed a real Gilded Age socialite,known for her incisive wit and no-nonsense comments on the glittering world around her.  In this encore episode, Carl sits down with actor Ashlie Atkinson who plays Mamie in the series and listener favorite historian Keith Taillon to talk about the real Mamie Fish and both what the real and fictional Mamie are really like. Visit the website for more information and subscribe to the Gilded Gentleman podcast for more amazing stories of the Gilded Age.This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During the late 19th century, nearly 200 wealthy young American women were caught up in marriages with members of British and European nobility. The goal was to secure aristocratic titles that would create a solid social position for the American family wishing to climb through the snobbery of Gilded Age society. The European gentlemen, meanwhile, wanted the American funds to shore up crumbling wealth and in some cases quite literally repair the ancestral estate.   But many of these forced marriages ended in sadness, divorce or even tragedy although some grew into true love matches.  Join Carl for this ENCORE episode as he unravels the social politics of some of the most famous Gilded Age Million Dollar Princesses including the model for The Gilded Age's Gladys Russell herself - Consuelo Vanderbilt who became the Duchess of Marlborough with her marriage to the Duke. . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are you as bewitched and bedazzled with this season of HBO's The Gilded Age as we are? And have you been curious about how all the magic we see unfold in front of the camera actually happens?  Creative Producer Luke Harlan joins Carl for a look from the other side of the camera to explore how The Gilded Age is actually shaped, filmed and edited.  How is the script developed? How is a typical scene filmed? What is it like shooting scenes in those Newport mansions?  How do actors prepare for their roles?  Luke and Carl discuss all this and much more.Don't miss this unique look at the world of The Gilded Age from the other side of the camera.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Gilded Gentleman looks at one of the most legendary figures of the Gilded Age – Caroline Astor, or the Mrs Astor, the ruler and creator of New York’s high society in the early 1870s. Is she anything like the depiction on HBO's The Gilded Age?In collaboration with Southern social climber Ward McAllister, Mrs. Astor essentially created the rules for who was ‘acceptable’ in New York social circles.But she’s also known for her battles with family members — most notably with her nephew (and next door neighbor) William Waldorf Astor. What was behind her unusual motivations? And in what unusual way did she decide to cap her legacy at the end of her life?Carl is joined by Tom Miller, creator of the website Daytonian in Manhattan, documenting the history of New York City, one building at a time. This is a rerun of one of Carl's first episodes of the Gilded Gentleman, re-edited and re-mastered to honor her latest appearance on television.Visit the Bowery Boys website for more information and articles about New York City history. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Gilded Age was by no means simply an East Coast phenomenon. Wealth, position and social structure evolved across the country as railroads and improved technology pushed the country west. Denver, Colorado, grew from a "tavern town" at the foothills of the Rockies to an important Western center for commerce and society. Social Denver was largely ruled by the Southern-born Louise Sneed Hill whose very different and modern vision for how society could work paved a path for much more -- including new and more modern roles for women. Author Shelby Carr Neuhauser joins Carl for the fascinating look into a true Western woman of the Gilded Age.This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The life of Frederick Douglass, the great 19th century statesman, orator, writer and abolitionist, is a triumphantly American story.He was born into slavery in the early years of the 19th century and died at the very height of the Gilded Age. His tremendous talents as a leader brought him out of slavery and into the heart of the Gilded Age as a player in the political worlds of Lincoln,  Grant and Hayes.Joining Carl on this episode is scholar and author Connor Williams who traces Douglass's life from his early years in enslavement through his emancipation and travel in and outside America and his role as an abolitionist and supporter of women's suffrage.This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.Connor has also appeared on the Gilded Gentleman podcast The Adirondacks and Great Camp Sagamore: Retreating to Nature in the Gilded Age Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.