Gilded Age
The Rapid Urbanization and Development in 19th Century USA

[Still need to add the end notes. But here is the actual review] The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) is a novel Mark Twain co-wrote with Charles Dudley Warner. The title came to define the period in American history occurring "from about the 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Rec......more

I had always wanted to read this book, thinking it was a different sort of novel, perhaps from the point of the wealthy. Also, I had no idea that The Gilded Age was such a serious work. Oh, Mark Twain's humor comes across frequently, especially in the sections taking place in Washington. Unfortunate......more

This is the first book I assigned in my Modern Novels class because it set the stage for the period of self-proclaimed Modernity by exposing the seedy underbelly behind American "Progress." This is also Mark Twain's first novel which is clear because he has not quite mastered narrative and structure......more

In this book Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner heap scathing criticism on the US congress, the justice system , the press and society in general.. It’s a tale of greed, corruption, influence peddling, lobbying, vote buying, seat buying, bribery, blackmail, hypocrisy, etc. etc. In this aspect this......more