Gilded: How Newport Became America's Richest Resort

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 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.

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.

Review :
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)