Just as Staatsburgh is a time-capsule of the Gilded Age, the literature from the era provides a lasting insight into the period. In fact, the term 'Gilded Age' comes from the title of an 1873 Mark Twain novel of the
same name. Beyond this literary association, the decades following the Civil War produced some of the most famous American authors, including Henry James, W.E.B. Du Bois, Hellen Keller, and Upton Sinclair. Works still widely read today, such as
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900),
White Fang (1906),
Tarzan of the Apes (1912), and
O Pioneers! (1913) were all written during the height of the Gilded Age. However, one author over all others truly captures of the essence of Gilded Age American society: Edith Wharton.
