Gilded : How Newport Became America's Richest Resort

by Davis, Deborah

• ISBN13: 9781118014011
• ISBN10: 1118014014
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-12
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

A beautifully written history of high society in Newport, Rhode Island, from the acclaimed author of Party of the CenturyNewport 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 Klaus 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 city 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.

Author Biography

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	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Season-1913	p. 7
The Isle of Peace	p. 11
Reversal of Fortune	p. 18
The New Newport	p. 26
ôTheö Mrs. Astor	p. 33
Calculated Moves	p. 36
Alva	p. 40
The Cottage Wars	p. 44
Mamie	p. 52
Upstairs and Downstairs	p. 55
Jessie	p. 65
Members Only	p. 68
Ladies First	p. 76
Edith	p. 85
Fast Times	p. 88
A Very Good Year	p. 104
Beatrice	p. 115
That Sinking Feeling	p. 117
The Binds That Tie	p. 130
Eileen	p. 138
There Goes the Neighborhood	p. 145
Enemies and Eyesores	p. 152
Fire Sale	p. 162
Self-Preservation	p. 170
All That Jazz	p. 179
Jackie	p. 186
What a Swell Party This Is	p. 189
The Changing of the Guard	p. 204
Minnie	p. 217
Anything Goes	p. 220
Doris	p. 229
Tourist Attractions	p. 233
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?	p. 247
Everything Old Is New Again	p. 256
The Season-2008	p. 269
Afterword	p. 280
Bibliography	p. 283
Photo Credits	p. 293
Index	p. 295
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