Gilded society in New York

The House of Mirth

Edith Wharton

When the Astors Owned New York

Justin Kaplan

Vast wealth, scandals, lavish parties – no this is not an episode of Real Housewives. It is New York at the height of emerging global dominance, of oil, steel, and real estate titans, competing to show off their immense wealth and emulate the high societies of old Europe.

Follow the life of beautiful Lily Bart, an orphaned not-so-young 29-year-old socialite whose only means to not live a life of “dinginess” and relative poverty was to marry the wealthiest, highest-ranked man in society. She had been presented in society for many years and had multiple suitors who checked all the boxes but was determined to not only find wealth but also love and passion.

While the novel at the outset seems to be a frivolous portrayal of high society and unscrupulous spending, it expertly threads by the precise hand of Edith Wharton an almost autobiographical theme of women’s narrow choices in life under the patriarchal society of the early 20th century. It is fun to read about extravagance, luxury, and restrictive social conventions but you will find a deeper connection to its social relevance to that of the modern day.

Of course, Wharton is also one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, there are passages where the reader is overtaken and hypnotized by the magician of words, and only when brought back to their senses, do they wonder “how did she do it?!”

Seating herself on the upper step of the terrace, Lily leaned her head against the honeysuckles wreathing the balustrade. The fragrance of the late blossoms seemed an emanation of the tranquil scene, a landscape tutored to the last degree of rural elegance. In the foreground glowed the warm tints of the gardens. Beyond the lawn, with its pyramidal pale gold maples and velvety first, sloped pastures dotted with cattle; and through a long glade, the river widened like a lake under the silver light of September.

Fiction is invariably enriched when read alongside nonfiction of the same period and theme. The book When the Astors Owned New York fulfills this beautifully, a well-written, entertaining book that chronicles the Astor’s rise, prominence, and influence on New York. While it is about one famous family’s fortunes, it portrays the same social conventions of the time in The House of Mirth, making real-life accounts indistinguishable from fiction.

The Astor’s biography reports on the social-climbing, newly minted millionaires and old moneyed families alike as they one-upped each other showing off their wealth. One of the strategies in this competition was to host the most extravagant costume balls in one of the fabulous New York hotels built by the rivaling Astor brothers. At one of the most lavish parties of its day hosted by the socially prominent Bradley-Martins at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, guests showed up as famous characters from the 16-18th century as Mary Antoinette, Louis XV, Catherine the Great, sheiks, and even Pocahontas. The guests dined, drank, and danced into the early morning and were reported to have drunk sixty cases of Moet Chandon and cost the host half a million dollars. It is not hard to imagine Lily Bart at this soiree a perfect place to show off her beauty and catch the eye of a young wealthy heir cloaked in a King Louis XV brocaded silk suit.