The Gilded Age
Written by Mark Twain
Narrated by LibriVox Community
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
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)
Mark Twain
Mark Twain, who was born Samuel L. Clemens in Missouri in 1835, wrote some of the most enduring works of literature in the English language, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was his last completed book—and, by his own estimate, his best. Its acquisition by Harper & Brothers allowed Twain to stave off bankruptcy. He died in 1910.
More audiobooks from Mark Twain
A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Gilded Age
Related audiobooks
Pudd'nhead Wilson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gilded Age Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson (Version 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Theodore Roosevelt: an Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memoirs and Letters of Dolly Madison Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gilded Age, A Tale of Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life on the Mississippi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prince and the Pauper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tramp Abroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Humorous Short Stories of Mark Twain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Innocents Abroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Woman of No Importance Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Roughing It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Moon and Sixpence: Based on the Life of Paul Gauguin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (version 2) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kim Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tolstoy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoon and Sixpence (version 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adventures of Tom Sawyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Education of Henry Adams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tom Sawyer, Detective Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5War and Peace, Book 03: 1805 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story of My Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tale of Two Cities (version 2) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Benjamin Franklin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Mysterious Stranger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of the Seven Gables Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Romance For You
Twisted Games Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When He Was Wicked Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Idea of You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Silver Flames Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Duke and I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twisted Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Milk and Honey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Touch of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Prejudice: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Never King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bared to You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Last Stop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ugly Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Mystic Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maybe Someday Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One True Loves: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Your Perfects: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The "Good Parts" Version) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Winter Garden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slammed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Water for Elephants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Merit: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Gilded Age
2 ratings0 reviews