Gilded: How Newport Became America's Richest Resort Review

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(More customer reviews)For someone who was completely unfamiliar with Newport, except in passing, Gilded was illuminating. On some level, I was expecting Gilded to be an unadorned distillation of Newport's history, but I was mistaken. The book was peppered with humorous anecdotes that read especially well.
From reading, we see that the ultra-wealthy aren't without their problems--they just suffer from a different set of problems than the rest of us. Coupling was often a strategic gambit to ascend the socioeconomic ladder rather than for love. As one can imagine, such a need for status would often lead to scandalous, depraved, and cunning behaviour, especially on the part of the women. But the men weren't without blame.
The most interesting sections for me personally were the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Old money snubbing new money. New money trying to buy their way into the exclusive clubs. "Vanderbuilding" to one up each other. Adultery. Divorce. Scandal. The list seems almost endless.
In a few areas, however, the book suffered from disjointed segues from one section in history to the next and relating certain familial connections and marriages became convoluted. These sections required a double reading in order to sort out. Ultimately, it was a matter of trying to fit too much information into too short a book, but it was still a charming (and quick) read; Gilded has whetted my appetite for further study on Newport (and its outspoken residents) and has thankfully provided a number of resources for additional research.

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