What Would Mrs. Astor Do?

What Would Mrs. Astor Do?: 

The Essential Guide to the Manners and Mores of the Gilded Age
by Cecelia Tichi
352 pages
NonFiction

This book explores the lifestyles of the rich in the Gilded Age, which includes a large dose of manners and etiquette. One of my guilty pleasures is reading about rich people in society and I'm also passionate about etiquette. This book was heaven to me! It brought so much joy into my life. I was able to rest in the rarified air of the time period. It was well written and an easy read. It contained so much fascinating historical detail about high society during the Gilded Age!

There were frequent references to other interesting sounding books from the period. I noted several additional titles that I want to read in the future. These include: "Society as I Have Found It" by Ward McAllister, "This Was My Newport" by Maud Howe Elliott & "What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other" by William Graham Sumner.

There were also frequent references to Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth" which I just happen to have read recently. I enjoyed this book much more than HoM! But if you are going to read HoM, this is a great companion piece.

One critique is that there were section breaks, but no page breaks, for chapters. The continuous text made the writing feel endless. Not in a good way.

A few other disappointments: In the section discussing religion and charitable endeavors, the author adopts Edith Wharton's tone which is distrustful of religion (seeing it often as empty and hypocritical). The author also writes with a tinge of modern class warfare. And, she cheered when the Gilded Age began welcoming divorce and treated it as a great improvement to the age.

Overall, I got so much enjoyment from this book! It was a gift to my life. I discovered it randomly through the public library. Libraries are amazing.

RECOMMENDED FOR: People interested in the Gilded Age, lifestyles of the rich, and etiquette.