History Series / TheGildedAge

* GrandDame: Agnes van Rhijn, Marian's formidable aunt who is a stalwart guardian of the supremacy of Old New York over the New.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Schermerhorn_Astor Caroline Schermerhorn Astor]] is referred at the beginning of the series as Mrs. Astor, but that only became her formal address after the death of her sister-in-law Charlotte Augusta Gibbes, who as the wife of Caroline's husband's elder brother was formally ''the'' Mrs. Astor, in 1887. In 1882, she would still be known as Mrs. William Astor.

* AnachronismStew: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Schermerhorn_Astor Caroline Schermerhorn Astor]] is referred at the beginning of the series as Mrs. Astor, but that only became her formal address after the death of her sister-in-law Charlotte Augusta Gibbes, who as the wife of Caroline's husband's elder brother was formally ''the'' Mrs. Astor, in 1887. In 1882, she would still be known as Mrs. William Astor.
* BigFancyHouse: The newly constructed "palace" for the Russells at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 61st street. Most of old money New York considered it a garish eyesore, and are just barely able to hide their contempt for it in Mrs. Russell's presence, but Marian is suitably impressed by it.
** The effect was deliberately [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by Mrs. Russell, who wanted the house to be as grand as possible to draw the rest of New York in, but discovers there are very few takers.

* ConspicuousConsumption: The Russells are literally made of this, their new Beaux-Arts mansion is built of bright limestone walls, elaborate gilding and marble in every room, and furniture from every court in Europe or an exact replica thereof. Even their footman are dressed in elaborate blue and gold livery that seems out of place everywhere they go.

* DamnedByFaintPraise: When Larry Russell discovers that Oscar van Rhijn's mother is cross street neighbours to his family, he asks if his mother has mentioned his parents at all.
--->'''Oscar:''' Yes, but not as acquaintances.
* {{Expy}}: Given the immense popularity of Series/DowntonAbbey, it's a given that there would be parallels between the two series. Most obvious is that Agnes van Rhijn is one for the Dowager Countess, as the resident GrandDame DeadpanSnarker.

* TheGildedAge: Obviously as the series begins in 1882, with the Russells being among the newest arrivals on Fifth Avenue.

** Averted in the case of John Adams, despite being stated to be John Quincy Adams's great-grandson; there was a John Adams, great-grandson to John Quincy, but he was born in 1875, and therefore far too young to be the same man portrayed here.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: The Brook sisters, Ada and Agnes, fell out with their brother, Marian's father, for having squandered their family's fortune, leaving them with nothing, and Marian is shocked to discover that not only were her father's investments worthless, he left her nothing more than the $30 dollars [[labelnote:*]]A little over $800 in today's money[[/labelnote]] in his bank account after his death.

* MyBelovedSmother: Bertha to Gladys, she's at an age where she should have already had her debut, but Mrs. Russell keeps delaying until she can be sure to fill the ballroom with New York's finest. Whenever Gladys seeks to express herself, her mother is always quick to talk over her.

When Marian Brook (Creator/LouisaJacobson) of Pennsylvania finds herself penniless following the death of her father, General Henry Brook, she has no choice, but to move in with her estranged paternal aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Creator/ChristineBaranski) and Ada Brook (Creator/CynthiaNixon) of New York City. On the journey, she befriends Peggy Scott ([[Creator/DeneeBenton Denée Benton]]), an aspiring African-American writer, whose kindness is repaid when she is hired to become Agnes's secretary. When she arrives, she struggles to live under her Aunt Agnes's strict rules and views on what is suitable for a member of Old New York, and seeks to make her own way in New York society.

* {{Expy}}: Given the immense popularity of Series/DowntonAbbey, it's a given that there would be parallels between the two series. Most common is that Agnes van Rhijn is one for the Dowager Countess, as the resident GrandDame DeadpanSnarker.

* MarriageOfConvenience: After having been left destitute by their brother, Agnes felt she had no choice but to marry her late husband, Mr. van Rhign, to support herself and Ada. By all accounts it was not a happy marriage.

* {{Expy}}: Given the immense popularity of Series/DowntonAbbey, it's a given that there would be parallels between the two series. Most common is that Agnes van Rhijn is one for the Dowager Countess, as the resident OldGuard DeadpanSnarker.

* SocialClimber: Bertha Russell in spades, not just for herself but also to give her children the best possible prospects in New York society. She has even delayed her daughter Gladys's debut until she is sure she can fill their ballroom. She is therefore understandably upset when her at-home party turned out to be such a bust with very low attendance.

* AnachronismStew: [[[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Schermerhorn_Astor Caroline Schermerhorn Astor]] is referred at the beginning of the series as Mrs. Astor, but that only became her formal address after the death of her sister-in-law Charlotte Augusta Gibbes, who as the wife of Caroline's husband's elder brother was formally ''the'' Mrs. Astor, in 1887. In 1882, she would still be known as Mrs. William Astor.

** For New York high society, no one's approval is more sought after than that of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Schermerhorn_Astor Mrs. Astor,]] mother of John Jacob Astor IV, the richest passenger on the [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic RMS]] ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]''.

** Averted in the case of John Adams, despite being stated to be John Quincy Adams's great-grandson; there was a John Adams, great-grandson to John Quincy, but he was born in 1875, and therefore far too young to the same man portrayed here.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Plenty of New York's vaunted [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Hundred_(Gilded_Age) Four Hundred]] have plenty of representation in the series, Mrs. Astor and social arbiter Ward [=McAllister=] chief among them.

** For New York high society, no one's approval is more sought after than that of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Schermerhorn_Astor Mrs. Astor,]] mother of John Jacob Astor IV, the richest passenger on the ''UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic''.

When Marian Brook (Creator/LouisaJacobson) of Pennsylvania finds herself penniless following the death of her father, General Henry Brook, she finds herself with no choice, but to move in with her estranged paternal aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Creator/ChristineBaranski) and Ada Brook (Creator/CynthiaNixon) of New York City. On the journey, she befriends Peggy Scott ([[Creator/DeneeBenton Denée Benton]]), an aspiring African-American writer, whose kindness is repaid when she is hired to become Agnes's secretary. When she arrives, she struggles to live under her Aunt Agnes's strict rules and views on what is suitable for a member of Old New York, and seeks to make her own way in New York society.

* ConspicuousConsumption: The Russells are literally made of this, their new Beaux-Arts house is built of bright limestone walls, elaborate gilding and marble in every room, and furniture from every court in Europe or an exact replica thereof. Even their footman are dressed in elaborate blue and gold livery that seems out of place everywhere they go.

* {{Foil}}: The van Rhijns and the Russells, made more apparent by their being cross street neighbours. The Russell house is large, spacious and opulent, built in bright white stone, while the van Rhijns live in a much smaller house of red sandstone and brick.

* HaughtyHelp: Mrs. Russell's lady's maid Ms. Turner is not optimistic of her mistress's efforts of breaking into high society and compares her unfavorably to her last employer, who was OldMoney. She also clearly has designs on George.

* HaughtyHelp: Mrs. Russell's lady's maid Ms. Turner is not optimistic of her mistress's efforts of breaking into high society.

* ImpoverishedPatrician: The Brooks sisters, Ada and Agnes, fell out with their brother, Marian's father, for having squandered their family's fortune, leaving them with nothing, and Marian is shocked to discover that not only were her father's investments worthless, he left her nothing more than the $30 dollars [[labelnote:*]]A little over $800 in today's money[[/labelnote]] in his bank account after his death.

* OldMoney: The van Rhijns and the Brookses, with the van Rhijns being an old Dutch-American family in New York, and the Brookses being from Pennsylvania with links to the Livingstons, another old New York family.

* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: The Brook sisters, Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook are in the words of their niece:

** For New York high society, no one's approval is more sought after than that of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Schermerhorn_Astor Mrs. Astor,]] mother of John Jacob Astor IV, the richest passenger on UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic.
* HappilyMarried: George and Bertha Russell have a very affectionate and intimate marriage, with George indulging in Bertha's efforts to break into high society out of love for her.

** Averted in the case of John Adams, despite being stated to be John Quincy Adams's great-grandson, there was a John Adams great-grandson to John Quincy, but he was born in 1875, and therefore far too young to the same man portrayed here.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: The Brooks, Ada and Agnes fell out with their brother, Marian's father, for having squandered their family's fortune, leaving them with nothing, and Marian is shocked to discover, not only were her father's investments worthless, but that he left her nothing more than the $30 dollars [[labelnote:*]]A little over $800 in today's money[[/labelnote]] in his bank account after his death.
* InterclassFriendship: Marian and Peggy, who after Marian's purse was stolen at the train station helps make her way to New York, which Marian repays by asking her aunt Agnes to let Peggy stay at least for the night in the van Rhijn house when they arrive in New York during a rainstorm.

* MeetCute: Marian Brook and Larry Russell meet when Marian's dog breaks his leash and is rescued by Larry before being run over by a passing carriage.
* NouveauRiche: The Russells, who despite being among the richest families in New York, is looked down upon by high society, who are yet also desperate for their money.
* OldMoney: The van Rhijns and the Brooks, with the van Rhijns being an old Dutch-American family in New York, and the Brooks being from Pennsylvania who have links to Livingstons, another old New York family.
* ProductionThrowback: The opening scene of the pilot is very similar to the opening scene of Series/DowntonAbbey, a letter about the death of a relative arrives at the house, and the footman wanders through the servant's quarters to deliver it for the butler to take upstairs.
* SocialClimber: Bertha Russell in spades, not so much for herself, but to give her children the best possible prospects in New York society. She has even delayed her daughter Gladys's debut until she is sure she can fill their ballroom. She is therefore understandably upset when her at home party turned out to be such a bust.

* ConspicuousConsumption: The Russells are literally made of this, their new Beaux-Arts house is built of bright limestone walls, elaborate marble in every room, and furniture from every court in Europe or an exact replica thereof. Even their footman are dressed in elaborate blue and gold livery that seems out of place everywhere they go.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Plenty of New York's vaunted [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Hundred_(Gilded_Age) Four Hundred]] have plenty of representation in the series, Mrs. Astor and social arbiter Ward McAllister chief among them.

* NouveauRiche: The Russells, who despite being among the richest families in New York, is looked down upon by high society, who are yet also desperate for their money. Bertha especially, wants to use her wealth to break into New York high society, by force if necessary.

* ProductionThrowback: The opening scene of the pilot is identical to the opening scene of Series/DowntonAbbey, a letter about the death of a relative arrives at the house, and the footman wanders through the servant's quarters to deliver it for the butler to take upstairs.

* MaidenAunt: Ada Brook, who lives by her sister's Agnes's charity.

* ImpoverishedPatrician: The Brooks, Ada and Agnes fell out with their brother, Marian's father, for having squandered their family's fortune, leaving them with nothing, and Marian is shocked to discover, not only were her father's investments worthless, but that he left her nothing more than the $30 dollars in his bank account after his death.

--->'''Agnes:''' You were allowed the pure and tranquil life of a spinster, I was not.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Agnes and Ada takes a shine to Peggy when she discovers that she was a student of a school in Pennsylvania that was patronized by their father.

* HappilyMarried: George and Bertha have a very affectionate and intimate marriage, with George indulging in Bertha's efforts to break into high society out of love for her.

* NouveauRiche: The Russells, who despite being among the richest families in New York, is looked down upon by high society, yet are also desperate for their money. Bertha especially, wants to use her wealth to break into New York high society, by force if necessary.

''The Gilded Age'' is an [[Creator/HBO]] series by [[Creator/JulianFellowes]] of Series/DowntonAbbey fame. It follows the lives of two [[TheGildedAge Gilded Age]] families, [[NouveauRiche the Russells]] and the [[OldMoney van Rhijns/Brooks]].