Before the Gilded Age: W. W. Corcoran and the Rise of American Capital and Culture

Before the Gilded Age reveals the extraordinary ways in which W. W. Corcoran shaped the emerging cultural elite and changed the capital and the country both for better and for worse. A complex and controversial character, Corcoran influenced banking and finance, art and American culture, philanthropy, and the nation’s capital.

Based on extensive archival research, Before the Gilded Age examines the fascinating l...