The book “Mrs. Astor’s New York”; is a historical picture of the city of New York, probably one of the best accounts that could be given by an observer of New York scenes. The main author of this book is a professor at the English University of East Anglia; who has also written ‘the historical atlas of New York’. From the above description it is clear that the author portrays an informed picture of the city of New York; accounting for the complex relationship between the upper-class, money, and the rule of this city that they imagined was under their control. The author talks of the after-civil war era; in which more money was within the control of the populace of New York, making the rich perpetuate distinctiveness over the rest within the society. However, the author further accounts that the fame and popularity they gained; played the role of fashioning the subject for their vagaries just like all other celebrity figures within societies. The increased fame further played the role of limiting their independence and freedom within the public sphere. The book further covers the spheres of money and control over resources; for which the upper-class tried to keep a distinctive border and identity between them and the lower class group. The book relates with the gilded age in that the rapid population and economic expansion; are what provided the top-class individuals with pride, extravagance, and elegance for their wealth (Homberger et al. 5-200).
The book’s general organization and format is certainly one which is outstanding from the way the author presents the ideas contained therein; as he uses examples and live scenes that are intriguing and personalized to make the reader have a succinct picture of how the phenomena and order of events must have been. From the character of Mrs. Aster; the author portrays the prestige embraced by the elite in making and creating social nobility signified by extravagance and exclusivity. The format and organization used to utilize a chronological instance of events; as an effort to shed new light on the origins, competitiveness, and lifestyle of the nobility from a vigorous; dynamic perspective applicable to the reader’s imagination. The author further plays the role of portraying the role played by the new wave of wealth after the new world war; showing a cause-effect relationship that accounts for the concepts being explained. The author uses the concepts of conflict to bring out the new traits of visibility, which brought about the reality of first America’s celebrities. He does this through employing a tactful organization and format; which helps reflect the chronological, cause-effect relationship between events and phenomena. The book further uses a self-explanatory background and model of the ‘New Amsterdam’ in explaining the developments and beginnings of the city; which is a clear picture of how the work is planned (Homberger et al. 5-200).
The author’s point of view from this literature is that the high-class members of the then society led to the development of social aristocracy; characterized by extravagance and distinctiveness. The author’s point of view is that the new wave of wealth, money, and power play an instrumental role in creating the aristocratic model evident from the account; and the reorganization to realize the new celebrities of the time. The author also adopts the point of view that the new aristocracy was socialized through phenomena like dances, food, and flowers. In general, the author employs the point of view that the phenomena of aristocracy, wealth, and money led to the development of each other on a causal-effect basis (Homberger et al. 5-200).
The author supports his thesis very effectively by providing a case study of one of the high-class individuals Mrs. Astor; who forms a central point of the whole process towards the development of the new celebrities and aristocracy (Homberger et al. 5-200).
The book is very convincing as it compares the development of aristocracy and New York in general; to the development of the ‘new Amsterdam another urban area. The author further compares the constraint on freedom due to the development of the higher class people’s becoming celebrities; like is the case in the current society. The author gives the work a socialized feeling that enables a reader to feel exactly what the author means (Homberger et al. 5-200).
The author uses sources of information that are real within the society to support his ideas. Some of these include the development of ‘New Amsterdam’, whose development he compares to that of New York. The author further uses a photo of the then New York and famous aristocrats; to give an impression of how the city was before the 1800’s tear down. The examples of people and places he uses in the book are real; depicting the legitimacy of the sources used that included publications among others (Homberger et al. 5-200).
In my opinion, the book is a lustrous piece of literature; though the title of the book is a little misleading as it does not focus on Mrs. Aster alone; but rather on what she meant as a symbol, icon, and inspiration (Homberger et al. 5-200).
The Gilded ages in the U.S refer to the period of speedy growth in population and economic stability. The book further relates and explains this increased wealth as the source of elegance, extravagance, and display of the wealth; which formed a core aspect of aristocracy and the gilded ages (Homberger et al. 5-200).
Work cited
Homberger, Eric. & Homberger, Eric. Dr. “Mrs. Astor’s New York”: Money and power in a gilded age. New Haven: Yale University Press. (2002): 5-200