Elizabeth Wharton Drexel was a quintessential ingenue of the Gilded Age. Eventual heiress to the Drexel banking fortune, elegant and sophisticated, Elizabeth married but was widowed unexpectedly. But she married again, this time to Harry Symes Lehr, a bon vivant and social playboy.

But she soon learned her life was to become a reality far from what she ever expected.

This episode tells the story of Elizabeth Drexel and Harry Lehr along with the world in which they lived. In 1935, after Harry's death, Elizabeth wrote what we would perhaps today call a "tell all" memoir -- King Lehr and the Gilded Age -- recounting the challenges of her marriage but also the frivolity and froth of the Gilded Age from her own observances as an up-close participant.

Her observances are some of the most acute and incisive we have on the period.

Visit the Gilded Gentleman website for more information and episodes

This episode was edted by Kieran Gannon

Just the name "Tiffany" evokes the glamour and elegance of the Gilded Age. But there is much more to the story than just the eponymous retailer who continues to sell fine jewelry and decorative objects today.

Carl is joined by Lindsy R. Parrott, the Executive Director of The Neustadt Collection, one of the country's most important collections of Tiffany glass and archival materials, to discuss the two Tiffanys - Charles Lewis Tiffany who began the original retail silver and jewelry and his son Louis Comfort Tiffany who created revolutionary designs in stained glass.

It’s nearly the end of the summer but there's still time for one more visit to the seashore and, in particular, one place that was so very popular in the Gilded Age -- Coney Island.

Join Carl and guest Esther Crain for an encore presentation of “In the Good Old Summertime: Where the Gilded Age Played.”

And coming soon -- Esther will be joining Carl this fall for a brand new episode – “Children of the Gilded Age: Seen and Not Heard (Until Now).”

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As New York continued its march up the island of Manhattan, there were few places where New Yorkers that couldn’t escape to Newport could find somewhere to relax, play, stroll, and find some shade. The development of the great Central Park provided some much-needed relief but it took some time for it to become a place that was accessible and viable for all of New York’s social classes.

Out on the far coast of Brooklyn, the resort of Coney Island developed rapidly and became a truly great escape with its famous amusement parks where one could find adventure and perhaps a bit of romance. Esther takes us on a journey to visit these spots and spaces where Gilded Age New Yorkers could cool off, forget the realities of life for just a bit and have a really good time.

More about Carl's special guest:

— Esther Crain, an author, historian, and native New Yorker. In 2008 she launched the website Ephemeral New York, where she writes and publishes stories every week that chronicle Gotham’s past through old photos, newspaper archives, vintage artwork, and other artifacts.