When Town Topics magazine appeared in the 1880s, Gilded Age New Yorkers enjoyed its coverage of the arts, culture, and social scene of balls, opera, and grand parties. But there was another element in the mix—the often salacious, sensationalized, scandalous coverage of the drama of the gilded set in the publisher’s column “Saunterings.”

Using a network of informants across the city, the publisher, Colonel William D’Alton Mann, frequently printed implied gossip about "The Four Hundred" — unless, of course, he was paid to keep it out of his pages.

Town Topics became a blackmail and extortion scheme for Mann—until a dramatic sting operation involving the husband of future etiquette writer Emily Post exposed it all.

Journalist and author Joe Pompeo joins the Gilded Gentleman table to delve into Town Topics and all of its scandals and true crimes.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

For other true-crime newspaper-themed shows, listen to the recent Bowery Boys podcasts on the disappearance of Judge Crater and the Subway Vigilante shooting.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis knows about both history and mystery.

In her eight novels, Davis deftly weaves real-life historical characters and events with fiction to create fascinating tales with lots of intrigue and always a good mystery to solve along the way. And all of them are set in iconic New York City landmarks, in time periods ranging from the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age and beyond

In this show, Fiona joins the Gilded Gentleman to discuss three novels with ties to the Gilded Age,The Address, set in the fabled Dakota apartment building, The Magnolia Palace which takes place in the mansion of Henry Clay Frick (now The Frick Collection), and her most recent, The Stolen Queen set in the great Gilded Age architectural masterpiece, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fiona discusses the real history behind her novels as well as the craft of mystery writing to keep her readers reading until the inevitable fascinating conclusions.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Many fans of Edith Wharton's great novels "The Age of Innocence" and "The House of Mirth" may not realize that her very first published book was not a work of fiction at all.

In 1897, in collaboration with architect and interior designer Ogden Codman Jr, Wharton published "The Decoration of Houses", at the time, a groundbreaking work on the philosophy of interior design calling for a return to the classic European principles of balance, symmetry and proportion.

In fact when she built her own great country home The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts in 1902, she incorporated many of the French, Italian and British principles she lays out in the book.

In this episode, returning guest Dr. Emily Orlando, noted Wharton scholar and author, helps us understand just what the publication of this first book meant to Wharton and the career that was to come.

Furthermore, Dr. Orlando addresses the overriding theme of Wharton's own search for home and place that reoccurs regularly in her stories and novels. We can then understand not only Edith Wharton's concepts for classic architectural design but at least for her - what makes a house a home.

Dr. Emily Orlando is the editor of a recently published new annotated edition of "The Decoration of Houses" available wherever books are sold.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.