The Gilded Age
Mark Twain
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America. The term gilded age, commonly given to the era, comes from the title of this book. Twain and Warner got the name from Shakespeare's King John (1595): "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess." Gilding a lily, which is already beautiful and not in need of further adornment, is excessive and wasteful, characteristics of the age Twain and Warner wrote about in their novel. Another interpretation of the title, of course, is the contrast between an ideal "Golden Age," and a less worthy "Gilded Age," as gilding is only a thin layer of gold over baser metal, so the title now takes on a pejorative meaning as to the novel's time, events and people.
Although not one of Twain's more well-known works, it has appeared in more than 100 editions since its original publication in 1873. Twain and Warner originally had planned to issue the novel with illustrations by Thomas Nast. The book is remarkable for two reasons–-it is the only novel Twain wrote with a collaborator, and its title very quickly became synonymous with graft, materialism, and corruption in public life. (Description by Wikipedia)
Author - Mark Twain.
Narrator - LibriVox Community.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Description:
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America. The term gilded age, commonly given to the era, comes from the title of this book. Twain and Warner got the name from Shakespeare's King John (1595): "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess." Gilding a lily, which is already beautiful and not in need of further adornment, is excessive and wasteful, characteristics of the age Twain and Warner wrote about in their novel. Another interpretation of the title, of course, is the contrast between an ideal "Golden Age," and a less worthy "Gilded Age," as gilding is only a thin layer of gold over baser metal, so the title now takes on a pejorative meaning as to the novel's time, events and people. Although not one of Twain's more well-known works, it has appeared in more than 100 editions since its original publication in 1873. Twain and Warner originally had planned to issue the novel with illustrations by Thomas Nast. The book is remarkable for two reasons–-it is the only novel Twain wrote with a collaborator, and its title very quickly became synonymous with graft, materialism, and corruption in public life. (Description by Wikipedia) Author - Mark Twain. Narrator - LibriVox Community. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:03:04
Chapter 2
Duration:00:22:37
Chapter 3
Duration:00:07:54
Chapter 4
Duration:00:09:50
Chapter 5
Duration:00:22:29
Chapter 6
Duration:00:20:05
Chapter 7
Duration:00:24:30
Chapter 8
Duration:00:16:43
Chapter 9
Duration:00:18:52
Chapter 10
Duration:00:12:59
Chapter 11
Duration:00:18:51
Chapter 12
Duration:00:13:27
Chapter 13
Duration:00:16:50
Chapter 14
Duration:00:19:04
Chapter 15
Duration:00:14:11
Chapter 16
Duration:00:18:43
Chapter 17
Duration:00:16:14
Chapter 18
Duration:00:17:59
Chapter 19
Duration:00:18:16
Chapter 20
Duration:00:17:11
Chapter 21
Duration:00:14:54
Chapter 22
Duration:00:15:23
Chapter 23
Duration:00:19:37
Chapter 24
Duration:00:06:15
Chapter 25
Duration:00:16:24
Chapter 26
Duration:00:09:43
Chapter 27
Duration:00:15:13
Chapter 28
Duration:00:13:30
Chapter 29
Duration:00:22:08
Chapter 30
Duration:00:16:20
Chapter 31
Duration:00:06:56
Chapter 32
Duration:00:19:52
Chapter 33
Duration:00:12:45
Chapter 34
Duration:00:38:41
Chapter 35
Duration:00:11:51
Chapter 36
Duration:00:11:33
Chapter 37
Duration:00:09:06
Chapter 38
Duration:00:06:55
Chapter 39
Duration:00:17:38
Chapter 40
Duration:00:12:48
Chapter 41
Duration:00:14:20
Chapter 42
Duration:00:17:46
Chapter 43
Duration:00:33:46
Chapter 44
Duration:00:11:47
Chapter 45
Duration:00:16:06
Chapter 46
Duration:00:25:11
Chapter 47
Duration:00:21:03
Chapter 48
Duration:00:15:22
Chapter 49
Duration:00:15:15
Chapter 50
Duration:00:16:14
Chapter 51
Duration:00:16:57
Chapter 52
Duration:00:12:57
Chapter 53
Duration:00:03:53
Chapter 54
Duration:00:11:50
Chapter 55
Duration:00:20:00
Chapter 56
Duration:00:18:08
Chapter 57
Duration:00:17:16
Chapter 58
Duration:00:13:43
Chapter 59
Duration:00:17:14
Chapter 60
Duration:00:26:08
Chapter 61
Duration:00:16:21
Chapter 62
Duration:00:13:12
Chapter 63
Duration:00:11:16
Chapter 64
Duration:00:14:42