Is The Gilded Age based on a true story? Fiction vs Reality explored

The Gilded Age is a television series airing on HBO and Max. The series is running its second season currently. The period drama is based on the nineteenth-century changes in American society and the cultural kaleidoscope of New York City as old money met new money and the nouveau rich started to find a foothold in the elite society.

While The Gilded Age is a fictional drama, creator Julian Fellowes has maintained an atmosphere very close to the realities of the time period. It is deeply rooted in historical events, and some of the well-known families and names have been dropped as well as woven into the plot.

The second season depicts the social tussle between Mrs. Caroline Astor and Mrs. Bertha Russell as the latter starts taking more footage of the social events and buys her way up the social ladder.

Some of the events, such as the establishment of the Metropolitan Opera House, are part of the plot, making it seem more authentic.

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How much of The Gilded Age is based on the true story?

The show is inspired by real-live people and events (Image via HBO)

The plot of The Gilded Age has been cleverly created by Fellowes to represent the era accurately. While the lead characters of George and Bertha Russell are fictional, they are based on the real-life Vanderbilts or the Gould family.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was a robber baron who amassed his huge wealth through the shipping and railroad industries. He wanted an entry into the elite society.

Another name that came to mind was that of robber baron Jay Gould. Gould was a family man and a ruthless businessman who was disliked by the real Mrs. Astor.

George Russell’s character may be based on Cornelius since he is also new money from the railroad industry. However, George is a loving family man like Jay Gould. Bertha Russell’s character.

On the other hand, it seems to have been fashioned close to Alva Vanderbilt, the social climber wife of Cornelius’s grandson.

Many of the families presented in The Gilded Age, such as the Astors, the Fish, the Roosevelts and the Livingstons, are real families of the period.

Of those, the most prominently covered is Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, played by Donna Murphy, a gatekeeper to the New York High Society. Along with her is Ward McAllister, played by Nathan Lane, another snob devoted to preserving elegance and tradition.

Other historical figures presented in The Gilded Age are American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, played by Linda Emond, and black journalist T Thomas Fortune, played by Sullivan Jones.

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Does the Astor family have wealth?

John Jacob Astor was the most prominent among the members of the Astor family to have accumulated the massive wealth that the family is known for.

Dealing with fur trading and horse breeding, the family became one of the richest American families in the nineteenth century.

However, in the twentieth century, the number of American Astors declined, even though large businesses and estates were held by the family.

The successive generations went into philanthropy, and large donations were made to various government projects and non-government organizations.

One of the prominent names of the last known member of the American Astor family was Brooke Astor, who gave away most of her wealth to various trusts before her death in 2007.

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What year is The Gilded Age set in?

The storyline of The Gilded Age starts in 1882 and follows into 1883 in season 2. Going by the various historical events depicted in the show, the elaborate costumes, and the names of historical figures, the show is clearly based in the late nineteenth century.

Watch out for The Gilded Age season 2, which will air episode 6 on December 3, 2023, on HBO and Max.