The Gilded Age, by Mark Twain

September 22, 2025 — audio books, books, history

The phrase gilded age came from the title of a humorous novel written by America’s undisputed king of wit. It was written with fellow author Charles Dudley Warner to satirize the state of affairs after the Civil War.

We are listening to the audio book, produced as a radio play, using different voices for the characters. The book comes alive as the actors portray well defined parts in a well told tale of high comedy in a historic setting. The descriptions of daily lives are vivid enough to make the listener part of the action. The dialog defines each player to the T.

I’m writing this before finishing the book (Twain and Warner wrote in the forward that they expected to have the book reviewed without being read). It is a perfect book for our times. The writing reminds us that history repeats itself with regularly. I highly recommend reading it now, for insight and lots of laughs.