(The editor’s note: The following article contains some spoilers for the “The gilded age“ and actual history.)
Welcome back to “The Gilded Age,” A vague historical resale of the lavish, game-changing era of American history that followed the 19th century’s opportunity for poor people to find out how they would exploit other poor people until they finally became rich.
But what events of this drama, written by Julian Fellowes of “Downton Abbey” fame, is based in real history? And which parts consist completely? The answer is: It is complicated.
An important remark to consider when Compare the events in “The Gilded Age” TV series For the events of the gilded age in American history is that the show time line does not and will never match exactly with reality. For example, the first two episodes and Season 3 contains historical stories that actually happened in reverse -Charlotte Drayton (Neé Astor) scandal was presented in the New York Times in 1892, while the publishing of Ward McAllister’s Salaccious Book “Society as I have two years) (which” The Gilded “will” has happened two years, actually happened two years, actually happened two years previous 1890. As with most of the period’s adjustments, it is best not to get stuck on the details.
Unless the details are fun, which they often are. Let’s start.
Was it really a social death sentence in the late 1800s society?
The short answer is yes, and with an excuse to poor Mrs. Aurora -Fane, the consequences were significantly worse for different women than they were for different men. To understand why, remember that the end of the 19th century in America coincided with the Victorian era in England, and much of the moral pearl coupling associated with the Victorians was repeated directly over the pond, especially in rich circles.
Unlike invalidation, divorce was considered an avoidable and intentional resolution of familyEven in cases where the man cheated on the wife. The Technical reason for this were later described in the royal commission of the early 1900s to Investigate divorceAs flat stated that male adultery was not as bad because “the man does not matter any fucking on the wife”, which gives the whole question to a huge, social fear of being checked.
So much has not really changed, huh?
Nothing new under the sun.
What alternatives had a rich divorced woman then?
Literally move to Newport or die. Ok, maybe not die, but Newport became an archive for rich divorce then. There they stopped, forever on the outskirts of societyregardless of their previous position or power. Even women like Alva Vanderbilt, the historical inspiration for Bertha Russell, were discouraged after their divorce.
How was the Newport Fair discouraged?
Well, in Alva’s case, during the months after her very public divorce, the New York Times Society column is straight up by writing stories about all the super fun parties and balls that her sister-in-law wife Cornelius Vanderbilt threw while Alva was in exile. The July 26, 1895 edition of the column entitled “A Little Dinner at Breakers” (Breakers were Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Herrgård in Newport) could not help snore it while the married Vanderbilts was entertaining, “Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt have short out to a very large company for lunch tomorrow. ”
“Short out” as I, no confirmed RSVPs.
Wait, if Alva Vanderbilt inspired the character of Bertha Russell, wouldn’t she rather burn Newport to the ground than to leave it?
Good catch! She didn’t take it to stand down. That takes us to our next big fact versus fiction control on Season 3 of “The Gilded Age”: Gladys and the Duke of Buckingham.
Do Gilded Age Millionaires really married his daughters to British nobility in exchange for financing their goods?
Hell, yes they did. “The Gilded Age” Creator Julian Fellowes’ Former SuperHit “Downton Abbey” Tells the story of such a mating, with American heir Cora Levinson who marries the Earl from Grantham and has three half-American, half-British daughters on earth 20th century England.
The exact historical event echoed with Gladys Russell and the Duke of Buckingham are inspired by the marriage negotiations for – you guessed it – Alva Vanderbilt’s daughter and the Duke of Marlborough in 1895.
1895? But Alva divorced then!
Exactly. Unlike in “The Gilded Age”, where Bertha’s idea to set up her daughter with a Duke is portrayed as a new concept, several American heirs had already made high -profile matches with Dukes and other lower ranked members of the nobility in 1985.
One of them, a Cuban-American heir named Consuelo Yznaga, married the real Duke of Buckingham in 1876. Irl Consuelo, the Duchess of Buckingham was a friend of the Vanderbilt-Family-She-Hon.
A few weeks into her exile after divorceAlva invited Duke of Marlborough to stay And court conservation in Newport, where his arrival was a sensation that was large enough to darken the Vanderbilt -the fair. Checkmate, snobs.
Gladys does not seem glad that potentially becomes a Duchess. Is her elopement with Billy Carlton based on historical fact?
Yes, Conelo, inspiration for Gladys Russell, nor nuts about her Duke. A recently discovered letter written by the Duke of Marlborough shows that he was very aware that Conselo Vanderbilt was in love with someone else when he made her and that Conelo tried to release before her mother retired her back to compliance.
Conselo’s almost husband was Winthrop Rutherford, whose mother was a Stuyvesant. In “The Gilded Age”, Billy Carlton’s mother tries to rank at Bertha by saying that her ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence, and while no Stuyvsant signed the declaration, they were still one of the oldest and richest families in the New York Society (there is a lot of neighborhoods called after them on the eastern side of the man in the eastern side of the east.
What is all this with Mrs Astor’s daughter’s business and a possible duel?
Tied in, as this is a funny example of a historical drama that touches A Bonker’s real event And only with the most boring parts of it on the screen.
It is true that Mrs. Astor’s daughter Charlotte was married to Mr. James Drayton. It is also true that she had a deal with Hallett Alsop Borrowe. The third true is that after learning the “attention” that Borrowe paid to Charlotte, Mr Drayton challenged him to a duel with actual swords.
The duel did not occur because a Parisian layman’s jury decided that Drayton legally could not say that he was questioned by Mr. Borrowe, so Drayton instead fled from Europe by purchasing passage on the steamboat Majestic in Liverpool. It was then Mr. Borrowe, who unfortunately has not been cast for “The Gilded Age” season 3, realized that he had an opportunity to do the most fun ever.
Oh no.
He came in front of James Drayton and boarded the Steamship Majestic one day after Liverpool and caught himself on a boat with his girlfriend’s husband, just to prove that Drayton did not have the stones to actually kill him. At that time, the ship took from Liverpool to New York about five days to cross the Atlantic, so newspapers had plenty of time to speculate on what the hell happened at SS. Charlotte Astor’s murderous boyfriends, with the New York Times who sent a reporter to board the ship and publish a “Sea Duel Watch” in his paper.
When Majestic landed in New York, hundreds of people were waiting in the harbor to find out if any of the man had stabbed the other, But as it turns out that nothing violent happened on board. Drayton spent most of their time in their cabin and Borrowe, which was clearly the more fun of the two, spent his journey as hell and party in the first class. He danced on balls, hung out in The Smoking Lounge and even won Trivia one night in the state room!
How did this absolute legend not make “The Gilded Age” season 3?
Because Mrs. Astor is angry with Charlotte for two scenes is also fun.
New sections of “The Gilded Age” season 3 will be released every week and is at max.
