NYC Gilded Age Book Recommendations

- March 16, 2019

Updated- March 16, 2019 with books that I've read. Originally published on Feb. 9, 2017.

This is perhaps a sort of shameful confession from a mother in her thirties, but I'm quite obsessed right now with Broadway's Newsies. Last spring, I got to see the musical on tour with my siblings. Ever since, I have been listening to the music. It always makes me smile to hear the perky beats and defiant lyrics. I'm very excited this month to see the show in the movie theater, and I'm really hoping that Disney will release it on DVD this summer.

The Newsies have reawakened my interest in the Gilded Age. The time period is fascinating because of how quickly the world was changing and what those changes meant for the next century. Horses were being replaced by automobiles, factory workers were demanding their rights, and reformers were working for change. This is the era of the telephone, the railway, and the lightbulb. Immigrants were pouring into our country by the thousands, bringing with them urban problems, disease, cheap labor, and innovations. This was the time of industrial and political giants like Boss Tammany, Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, and Joseph Pulitzer. And, through all the changes and turmoil, the voices of the Newsies could be heard, peddling the banner.

Most books set in the late 1800's feature either the Wild West or Southern reconstruction. I've read plenty of books set in those places, but it's harder to find books set in NYC at that time. If you're slightly interested in the Gilded Age and/or you like to read about history, here's my recommendations of books. Enjoy!