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Key Points:
The term, the Gilded Age, was coined by Mark Twain in 1873, and it was not a compliment.
Something that's solid gold is solid gold, and something that is gilded is covered with a very, very thin microscopic layer of gold.
All that you find here will be solid gold, not just the thin layer of gilt.
Quick Transcript:
Hello everybody, this is Robert Brighton, and welcome to ALL THAT GLITTERS.
Now, you might wonder why I chose the name All the Glitters. A couple things. One is, I'm fascinated with the Gilded Age. And the term, the Gilded Age, was coined by Mark Twain, famous novelist, in 1873. It was not a compliment.
A lot of people today think the Gilded Age is a golden age. But it wasn't a golden age, it was a gilded age. And the difference is this. Something that's solid gold is solid gold, and something that is gilded is covered with a very, very thin microscopic layer of gold. Underneath that layer It's something usually very common, like plaster or wood or metal or some base metal, you name it.
So, when Mark Twain coined the term, the Gilded Age, as I said, it was not a compliment. He was saying that his society looked beautiful and shiny on the outside, and then, when you scraped away that outer layer, that little outer layer, what was underneath it was not so pretty. And so I guess that's what got me fascinated about the Gilded Age, because I'm much more interested in real life than I am the glittering lives of the less, far less than 1%.
Those are interesting, I suppose, yet as a writer, I'm interested in bringing to life real people, and not just the very upper crust, which is usually the treatment the Gilded Age has got. So, I named this All That Glitters because I think you're going to find some things here that are solid gold.
But at the same time, I want you to approach this, as with everything else, with appropriate skepticism. Challenge me. Ask me questions. Because I would never want to give you something that's only gilt. I want to make sure that whatever you find that glitters here is solid gold. So thank you for joining.
There's a lot of information here. I think you're going to enjoy it. We'll have some fun, and I appreciate you coming by today.
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