Hello and Welcome to Robert Brighton’s All That Glitters!
As you may have guessed, I’m Robert Brighton, and I’m a full-time author. Now, if that sounds a little precious, please know that I’ve done a lot of other things in my life, too, from starting and running businesses to owning a herd of bison. Some might even say (though they’d be unkind) that I’ve changed careers more than some people change their underwear, but a) I’ve had a lot of fun and success along the way and b) I’ve always come back to writing.
I’ve written most everything—speeches, articles, editorials, advertisements, short stories, and five novels—and yet I feel I’m just getting started.
Over the years, so many people have asked me ‘how do you do it?’ that I thought it was long past time to collect and share everything I’ve learned. Which was the hard way—because I became a writer on my own, without really any qualifications beyond a burning desire to write and write well. In fact, the only formal training I’ve had in writing was Freshman English in college (and even that taught me three bad habits that most every aspiring writer has to break). I am living proof that it can be done!
So here there’s none of that. Here your creativity will be nourished, whether as a reader or as my student, whether for free or (if you like what you see) for a very small membership fee. In either case, I won’t waste your time or money. I don’t like people who do that to me, and I’ll bet you don’t either.
In fact . . . I guarantee that in a single year, in an hour a week, you can learn everything about writing (and reading) that it took me twenty-five years of trial and error to acquire on my own. And I guarantee that these perspectives are fresh and practical, not academic BS.
So if you came here to be entertained by good writing, historical tidbits, and interesting videos—wonderful. And if you want to go deeper, and save yourself twenty-five years, so much the better. Either way, every week you’ll learn something new, have a few laughs, and never find yourself for lack of conversation at your next dinner party.
Welcome, then, to All That Glitters.
Yours very sincerely,
About Robert Brighton - The Official Version
Robert Brighton is an authority on the Gilded Age and a great believer that the Victorian era was anything but stuffy. On the contrary, in his books Brighton exposes the gritty realities of the time against a backdrop of meticulous research. His Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries—in a category Brighton calls “immersive historical fiction”—have earned multiple awards for fiction.
When he is not sniffing out unsolved mysteries, Brighton is an adventurer. He has traveled in more than 56 countries around the world, usually on only a few dollars a day, throwing himself into every situation his characters will face—from underground ruins to opium dens—and (so far) living to tell about it.
A graduate of the Sorbonne, Brighton is an avid student of early twentieth century history and literature, a relentless investigator, and an admirer of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison. Currently he lives in Virginia with his wife and their two cats.
What You’ll Find Here:
We welcome our FREE SUBSCRIBERS, who’ll find interesting, useful, and enlightening content on All That Glitters:
Unique content, including videos for visual learners (where available) and posts, limited modules of The Brighton Method and more;
Blog posts, articles, and interviews—all in one place here on All That Glitters;
Opportunity to schedule a free Discovery call and 1:1 Consultations with Robert to discuss any topic that addresses your goals and objectives;
Participation with the casual Notes format; and
Referral program with rewards at multiple levels.
MEMBERS are the VIPs of All That Glitters, and are rewarded with more frequent content, interactions, and other valuable benefits that far exceed the modest Membership fee.
Members receive all of the benefits of the basic Subscription, plus:
Access to each and every bit of content on All That Glitters, with more frequent and varied new content available to Members;
Priority access for a free Discovery call and 1:1 Consultations with Robert (and discounts for booking multiple 1:1 sessions);
Short stories (for those who are not yet Members, those short stories will be available for purchase online at all bookseller sites);
Cutting Room Floor selections (and learnings) from Robert’s writing that didn’t make it into his finished works;
Ask Robert Anything (AMAs) events, with advance notice;
Audio versions of selected posts (when possible);
Curated lifestyle recommendations, referrals, and opportunities to elevate every day (no affiliate links or sponsorships, so you can be confident that you are receiving uniquely valuable tips with no strings attached);
Interactive functionality and features including Chat, direct access to Robert, all community invitations, podcasts (coming soon) and opportunities to connect with others;
Opportunities to suggest topics, features, and ideas to Robert; and
Early news, sneak peeks, cover reveals, and insider information.
1:1 CLIENTS work directly with Robert, an acclaimed author, experienced instructor, and seasoned communicator. These 1:1 sessions bring to life—customized for you—the learnings you’ll find on All That Glitters and beyond.
Learn More in a Free Discovery Call!
You’re invited to schedule a free 15-minute Discovery Call with Robert to determine if you and Robert are a great fit together. During this initial call, you and Robert will discuss your interests and your goals, and map out the next steps that are most beneficial for you. It’s free, with no obligations, so if you’re even considering working directly with Robert, this is for you.
Rise to the Top with 1:1 Consultations:
Schedule your 1:1 Consultations with Robert, and you’ll benefit from as many sessions as you’d like to explore any topic you wish. You could work with Robert for one or more sessions on a particular topic, task, or goal, continue to hone your skills and build on everything you’re taking in, or learn The Brighton Method one-on-one with its creator.
Discounts are available for pre-paid purchases of multiple sessions, so this fits into any budget (and may be tax-deductible, so check with your tax preparer). Moreover, you’ll find that you will be more successful, more quickly, and enjoy the process more than you can imagine.
Robert’s Books
Here on All That Glitters, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about each of Robert’s books, backstories, and explore extra book club resources. The library includes the following titles:
The Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries (which can be read in any order):
The Unsealing
A Murder in Ashwood
Current of Darkness
Two standalone novels that you’ll find compelling:
The Phantom of Forest Lawn
The Buffalo Butcher
A new novel, publishing Fall 2025:
Winter in the High Sierra
Why Is This Called “All That Glitters”?
We all are familiar with the old saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’, and since I’m a student of the Gilded Age, it’s a phrase that has special significance to me—and it gave this website its name.
You see, it was Mark Twain (photo) who coined the phrase ‘Gilded Age’ in his 1873 book, The Gilded Age—A Tale of Today. These days—after a hundred years of movies and television depicting grand balls in Newport and lives of the vastly wealthy—we tend to confuse ‘gilded age’ with ‘golden age’. That’s not what Twain meant by his unforgettable phrase, though.
He did not mean it as a compliment.
‘Gilding’ is a process by which a minutely thin layer of real gold is overlaid atop some much more common base material, usually plaster, cheap metal, or wood. If you scratch away the gilding with a fingernail, you quickly see that all that glitters is most definitely not gold. But what is underneath is the structure that makes that little bit of gold possible.
So when I first got interested in the Gilded Age, I found myself unmoved by the stories of Morgans and Vanderbilts, Astors, and Jeromes. Everything I read and watched seemed like so much celebrity worship, so I set out to tell extraordinary stories about ordinary people—and give regular folk a much-deserved moment of recognition.
I began to ask myself: How did real people in the Gilded Age think? How did they live their lives? What were their hopes and dreams, loves and losses, successes and failure? As I dug deeper, I found these people to be not only far more interesting than the one-tenth-of-one-percent, but also more instructive.
In this curated collection of content, no matter what the topic, I promise you that you won’t find the superficial, the glittering surface that already attracts so much attention. I promise instead that you and I will scratch away the gilding to reveal what is real—the structure of history and language and nature . . . and of humanity itself.
I’m delighted that you’ve read this far, and welcome to Robert Brighton’s All That Glitters!
