Gilded: How Newport Became America's Richest Resort

by Deborah Davis

Overview

A beautifully written history of high society in Newport, Rhode Island, from the acclaimed author of Party of the Century

Newport is the legendary and beautiful home of American aristocracy and the sheltered super-rich. Many of the country's most famous blueblood families-the closest thing we have to royalty-have lived and summered in Newport since the nineteenth century. The Astors, the Vanderbilts, Edith Wharton, JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Doris Duke, and Claus and Sunny von Bulow are just a few of the many names who have called the city home. Gilded takes you along as you explore the fascinating heritage of the Newport elite, from its first colonists to the newest of its new millennium millionaires, showing the evolution of a town intent on living in its own world. Through a narrative filled with engrossing characters and lively tales of untold extravagance, Davis brings the resort to life and uncovers the difference between rich and Newport rich along the way.

• An engrossing multigenerational saga that tells the real story of the rich and famous in Newport
• Vibrant, praiseworthy writing: "[Davis] brings splendidly colorful behind-the-scenes action and players up front" (the New York Times on Party of the Century)
• 34 evocative black-and-white photographs

Written with insight and dramatic flair, Gilded gives you a rare peek into the cloistered coastal playground of America's moneyed elite.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118014011
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	145,200
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Deborah Davis is the author of the acclaimed Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball and Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X. She is a film executive who has worked as a story editor and a story analyst for several major film companies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1 The Season—1913.

2 The Isle of Peace.

3 Reversal of Fortune.

4 The New Newport.

"The" Mrs. Astor.

5 Calculated Moves.

Alva.

6 The Cottage Wars.

Mamie.

7 Upstairs and Downstairs.

Tessie.

8 Members Only.

9 Ladies First.

Edith.

10 Fast Times.

11 A Very Good Year.

Beatrice.

12 That Sinking Feeling.

13 The Binds That Tie.

Eileen.

14 There Goes the Neighborhood.

15 Enemies and Eyesores.

16 Fire Sale.

17 Self-Preservation.

18 All That Jazz.

Jackie.

19 What a Swell Party This Is.

20 The Changing of the Guard.

Minnie.

21 Anything Goes.

Doris.

22 Tourist Attractions.

23 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

24 Everything Old Is New Again.

25 The Season—2008.

Afterword.

Bibliography.

Photo Credits.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

The grand mansions of Newport didn't just happen. Over several eventful decades, the seaside Rhode Island town gradually evolved from a relatively modest summer retreat into the most opulent resort of America's Gilded Age. In Gilded, Deborah Davis escorts us like a seasoned tour guide through the development of an affluent community where the Astors and the Vanderbilts mingled.

As a child in Rhode Island, Davis viewed Newport as “an enchanted place.” Here she traces its growth as a popular resort—as far back as 1844—with the influx of tourists prompting “enormous hotels.” On the heels of developers came mansions and elaborate garden parties, along with the smart set, literati and social climbers. (Caroline Astor established Newport as the Gilded Age's blueblood summer resort.) Examining power, privilege and upstairs/downstairs protocols, Davis (Party of the Century) looks at the town's tastemakers, loveless marriages, outrageous costume balls and extravagant dinner parties, along with social humiliations. Bringing Newport up to recent years, Davis details exclusive clubs, feuding neighbors, ostentatious socialites, controversial figures (Claus von Bülow, Doris Duke) and such eccentrics as reclusive Beatrice Turner, who secretly painted hundreds of portraits of herself. Closing chapters recount the launch of the Newport Jazz Festival and the mission of the Preservation Society to maintain historic Newport even as a “younger and hipper” crowd made changes. This light, entertaining history also displays portraitist and fashion illustrator René Bouché's superb sketches for Vogue of iconic Newporters in their signature settings. 34 b&w photos. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

* As a child in Rhode Island, Davis viewed Newport as “an enchanted place.” Here she traces its growth as a popular resort—as far back as 1844—with the influx of tourists prompting “enormous hotels.” On the heels of developers came mansions and elaborate garden parties, along with the smart set, literati and social climbers. (Caroline Astor established Newport as the Gilded Age's blueblood summer resort.) Examining power, privilege and upstairs/downstairs protocols, Davis (Party of the Century) looks at the town's tastemakers, loveless marriages, outrageous costume balls and extravagant dinner parties, along with social humiliations. Bringing Newport up to recent years, Davis details exclusive clubs, feuding neighbors, ostentatious socialites, controversial figures (Claus von Bülow, Doris Duke) and such eccentrics as reclusive Beatrice Turner, who secretly painted hundreds of portraits of herself. Closing chapters recount the launch of the Newport Jazz Festival and the mission of the Preservation Society to maintain historic Newport even as a “younger and hipper” crowd made changes. This light, entertaining history also displays portraitist and fashion illustrator René Bouché's superb sketches for Vogue of iconic Newporters in their signature settings. 34 b&w photos. (Nov.) (Publishers Weekly, September 8, 2009)

From the Publisher