VOLUME VII / ISSUE XII / DECEMBER 2023
REVELING IN THE GILDED AGE:
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LUXURY HOTELS WHERE AMERICA’S GLORIOUS PAST IS STILL PRESENT
ANS OF HBO’S PERIOD DRAMA, THE GILDED AGE, WAITED WITH ANTICIPATION FOR THE RELEASE OF THE SHOW’S SECOND SEASON. WILL MRS. RUSSELL FINALLY FEEL VALIDATED AS SHE SCHEMES HER WAY INTO SOCIETY? 90
Will Mrs. Astor find utility in assisting her in her scheming? Will sweet Marian find love and meaning under the confines of her rigidly patrician Aunt Agnes? Will bumbling Oscar Van Rhijn be able to manage his pursuit for stature and wealth through an appropriate marriage alongside his grudging devotion to the dashingly handsome Claybourne?
Stay tuned viewers as the eight-episode season wraps up on December 17th. Yet, the inventive and colorful story lines are but one reason for the show’s success. Another, and perhaps the real drama at the heart of the The Gilded Age, is the era of elegance, opulence, and excess that comes alive in each and every episode. This recreation of a lost and conflicted pe-
BY WILLIAM SMITH / COPY EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTOR