Elegant parties, lush homes, and expansive railroads are the images often summoned when imagining the economic boom that was the Gilded Age. Nestled between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era in United States history, the rapid growth in wealth was, however, undercut by political corruption, whether in the form of the spoils system or bribery. Additionally, a growing inequality marked this period, especially in the South, and the high concentration of wealth became readily visible.
Yet, running alongside this time, there was a surge in literature that not only reflected the luxury but also explored themes of social change, economic disparity, and women’s independence. Through a more realist lens, authors on this list, including Edith Wharton and Henry James, offered a window into the lives of the wealthy, while also portraying the realities of a civilization experiencing unmediated growth.
With a touch of romance and buckets of scandal, these novels depict what it was like to be involved in (as well as on the outside of) New York society’s “aristocracy.”
The Age of Innocence
The 1921 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows Newland Archer as he prepares to marry the lovely-but-dull May Welland in Gilded Age New York. But the return of the enchanting Countess Ellen Olenska after what turned out to be a catastrophic marriage flips Newland’s world upside down.
Now, Archer must decide whether to follow his heart, which leads him to Ellen, or adhere to his duty and the promises he made to May. The choice will define the rest of his life, and, if not navigated properly, condemn him to ruin.
The Financier
Heralded as a master of literary naturalism, Dreiser paints the shifting dynamics of the financial world during the Civil War, to the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire-fuelled stock-market panic. Following the corrupt, ruthless broker Frank Cowperwood as he acquires wealth through less than reputable means, Dreiser depicts a searing portrait of the economic landscape of the Gilded Age.
The Turnbulls
In Victorian England, John Turnbull is the son of a wealthy English merchant, preparing to become a gentleman, with his soon-to-be wife by his side. But one night changes everything, and he is forced to sail away to America and begin again.
Soon, he falls in with the wrong crowd—moving contraband through the Southern blockade and capitalizing on the opium trade—with the crooked businessman Mr. Wilkins by his side. As Turnbull builds a fortune, enemies abound, though he doesn’t expect the greatest threat to be of his own kin.
Murder on Millionaires' Row
Rose Gallagher lives in her dream home, a luxurious Fifth Avenue brownstone, albeit in the basement. Working as a housemaid to Mr. Thomas Wiltshire, she is content enough, that is, until her boss mysteriously goes missing.
Certain of foul play, Rose takes it upon herself to search for her charming young employer, even though the police dismiss the case and expect him to return home shortly from a night of debauchery. Scouring the palaces of Fifth Avenue to the seedy alleyways of Five Points, Rose comes to realize that the place of her dreams is not at all what it seems.
Washington Square
Much to her father’s disapproval, kind and innocent heiress Catherine Sloper, falls in love with charming opportunist Morris Townsend. Dr. Sloper is sure he wants a piece of Catherine’s fortune and gives her an ultimatum: it's either the money or the man she has bestowed with her heart.
In what Cynthia Ozick in the introduction calls Henry James’s “most American fiction,” with “every line” serving as “an engine of irony,” this one-of-a-kind novel is a rich encapsulation of New York in the mid-nineteenth century.
The Gilded Lily
Elegant and enchanting, Nina De Bonnard marches to the beat of her own drum—engaging in many a fling along the way. Whether gliding through a Fifth Avenue party or summering at an out-of-town mansion, Nina always puts fun first in this enticing adventure.
Gramercy Park
Celebrated tenor of the Metropolitan Opera, Mario Aliferi, is searching for a refuge from the babel of society and the women who follow him. When he buys a gorgeous mansion at Gramercy Park, previously belonging to the recently deceased Henry Ogden Slade, he believes he has found it.
But the house comes with a ghost in the form of Clara Adler, Slade’s former ward, who still lives there, lonely and depressed. Aliferi wonders why Slade left her with nothing upon his death, and why she has chosen to stay in the mansion. Over two decades, he becomes entangled in the life of this mysterious woman—and the scandals that follow her.
The Millionaire's Daughter
Made from the union of a newly rich American and a declining socialite, Christabel Spencer is determined to carve her own path in this world. An American debuting in the lush ballrooms of Paris and London, Chrissie is familiar with the hierarchy of princes and lords—and although they are enchanted with her, she is not bothered.
Rather than making her father’s dream come true of having an English aristocrat for a son, Chrissie is determined to look beyond social status and do the impossible—find a love match.
The House of Mirth
The sophisticated and smart Lily Bart is treated with respect by the “old money” class and is routinely courted by those with new riches. But she is a woman nearing thirty with extravagant taste and a lack of funds to support her lifestyle.
She needs to marry to preserve her reputation, yet something is preventing her from going forward with a socially acceptable match. In a daring tale that shocked the New York society it mimicked, Lily will attempt to claim her independence without the limiting factors of a husband.
The Turquoise
Named after her hometown, Santa Fe Cameron is the child of a Spanish mother and a Scottish father. From them she inherited a psychic perception, which Natany, a Native American, deciphers, and, as such, gifts the orphan a turquoise amulet with special powers.
Leaving the mountains of New Mexico, Santa Fe Cameron heads north to 1870s New York, with the decadent offerings of the Astors, and eventually to a cell in the Tombs. She will search for happiness in the wrong places—only to realize it was within her all along.
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