Inside the Real Gilded Age of Newport

The social-climbers, scandalmongers and suffragettes who made it a time to remember in New England’s favorite oceanfront enclave.

Edited by Lauren Clem with contributions by Jamie Coelho and Kaitlyn Murray

Ah, the Gilded Age: that bygone era of lavish parties and larger-than-life mansions, when no expense was too great for interior decorating and money was practically poured into the sea. Before inventions like the income tax recaptured a little cash for the rest of us, society’s finest indulged with abandon, and Newport was their undisputed playground, with everyone from shopkeepers to shoemakers riding high on the extravagant spending of the elite. So why has this era so utterly captured our imagination? Its nineteenth century mansions remain the jewel of Newport, and HBO’s hit show “The Gilded Age” replays their occupants’ every move for our imaginations (with season two due out this year!). Perhaps it’s the pull of wealth, the dream that someday we could find ourselves in this luxurious lifestyle; or maybe we prefer to read about their tumultuous lives and laugh a little at the occaasional faux pas. Either way, the Gilded Age offers up no shortage of daydream material, and we took a dive into what life was really like during Newport’s famous era. So buckle up, grab a glass of Dom Pérignon, and take a ride with us down Bellevue Avenue (carriages and limousines acceptable).