It's ball season! Time to call the carriage for your visit to the Gilded Age's greatest parties. Balls were the most lavish entertainment one could attend in the Gilded Age -- from Mrs. Astor's annual Opera Ball for around 400 guests to smaller affairs for only 200 or 300 hundred.  But that ball was far more than an elegant night out. Being invited signaled that you were "in" society. Who you saw there often determined how you navigated society, and whom you could introduce your daughter to indicated possible prospects for the marriage market. Your every move was being watched, cataloged, and judged.   Venture back to the Gilded Age to revisit ball season in this classic Gilded Gentleman episode - find out what you had to wear, how you had to behave, what you had to eat, and even how to interpret the secret language of a lady's fan.  Visit the website for more images and information

Having a Ball: The Gilded Age's Most Outrageous Parties (ENCORE)

The Gilded Gentleman history podcast takes listeners on a cultural and social journey into the mansions, salons, dining rooms, libraries and theatres including the worlds above as well as below stairs of America's Gilded Age, France's Belle Epoque and late Victorian and Edwardian England. 

thegildedgentleman.com

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Carl visits the Museum of the City of New York where he's joined by Collections Manager for Costumes and Textiles Elizabeth Randolph to discuss the famous dress Alice Vanderbilt wore to her sister-in-law Alva'a ball, while inspecting the original dress itself.

The Gilded Age's Most Famous Dress: Alice Vanderbilt's "Electric Light"

Renowned historian and author Richard Jones delves deeply into one of the world's most fascinating unsolved series of murders.  True crime fans may think they know the major elements of the grisly set of Jack the Ripper murders and the resulting investigation, but this show uncovers some angles and aspects that shine a wider light into these horrors of late Victorian London.  Carl and guest Richard Jones delve into all aspects of the crimes themselves - from what happened, to what clues were and weren't at each murder site, to how the police attempted to quickly find the killer, and to how the press manipulated and were responsible for giving us the impressions of the case we have today.    Richard shares his insights and analysis on possible suspects, why these murders were unlike any others up to this point, and most importantly, offers deeply human insight into just who the victims were themselves - which may surprise you.  Don't miss this insightful look into a set of crimes that still grips the public nearly 150 years after they occurred.

Jack the Ripper: Inside the World's Most Famous Unsolved Murders

Royal historian and author Tracy Borman returns to The Gilded Gentleman following her appearance on Crown & Scepter: The Coronation Show last year.   Tracy is a noted historian and a frequent guest and commentator on the BBC as well as many documentaries and programs internationally.   Tracy's most recent book "Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter That Changed History" serves as the basis for this episode, along with Tracy's insights on the mother daughter relationships in the lives of two modern monarchs - Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.   Mother daughter relationships can be loving, supportive and at times challenging.  In this episode, Tracy Borman discusses several royal mother/daughter relationships that may have changed history.   Elizabeth I was barely three years old when her father Henry VIII ordered her mother's execution for failing to provide a royal male heir.  Tracy's revelatory new research and insight explains just how Elizabeth honored, and even emulated her mother throughout her own long reign and how she continued to dispel myths that had been created by a malicious court.  Like Elizabeth I, neither Queen Victoria nor Queen Elizabeth II ever thought that they would be queens themselves and Tracy offers additional in-depth insight as to how these women - along with their own mothers influenced the throne. 

Royal Mothers and Daughters: A conversation with Tracy Borman

Just over a year ago, as Broadway opened a revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd, The Gilded Gentleman was honored to sit down with one of the stars of the original 1979 Broadway production. Sarah Rice, who went on to a distinguished career in opera as well as leading roles in musical theatre, originated the role of Johanna playing opposite such Broadway legends as Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou.  Sarah covered how she got started in theatre, came to New York with two cats and a piano to join the cast of the original The Fantasticks, and then was cast in her career changing role as Broadway's first Johanna.  Perhaps most fascinating in Sarah's chat with Carl were her reminiscences and recollections of being directed and prepared for the role by the great masters Hal Prince and Stephen Sondhiem themselves.  Sarah ultimately became one of today's most important interpreters of Stephen  Sondheim's music.   Sarah passed away suddenly earlier this winter and her loss is a profound one for those who knew her personally and those who were touched by her beautiful voice and many appearances on stage.    As a tribute to her memory and her artistry, The Gilded Gentleman is revisiting the interview portion of last Spring's show as a tribute to her memory. 

Sweeney Todd's Original Johanna: A Tribute to Broadway's Sarah Rice

Join Carl and  British country house historian Curt DiCamillo for a look into the world of the Edwardian country house.  Audiences became fascinated in these houses through the blockbuster Julian Fellowes series "Downton Abbey" and his earlier film "Gosford Park",  with their colliding worlds of upstairs and downstairs and interlocking social dramas.  Curt discusses this fascinating period in British history and how the country house in Edwardian times brought society closer to a modern age. Curt explains how country houses as estates for the British aristocracy evolved over centuries and how they reached their height in the reign of King Edward VII, who took the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.  The country house greatly expanded during this time and some interiors reflected influences from Britain's growing empire.  Grand dinners, shooting parties, and elegant tea parties were all backdrops to great social intrigue and sometimes scandal.   In this show, Curt shares several examples of great Edwardian country houses (including one current royal estate), what they looked like, how they operated, and how they can be visited today.  The Edwardian period was a glittering one, much like America's Gilded Age, but a short one, which vanished from view as Britain and Western Europe entered a world-changing war.   Related show with Curt DiCamillo:  The British Crown Jewels: History and Mystery

Having a Ball: The Gilded Age's Most Outrageous Parties (ENCORE)

Download our free app to listen on your phone