The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is a satirical novel co-written by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, published in 1873. It follows families and ambitious characters chasing quick fortunes through speculation and political schemes in post-Civil War America. It is worth listening to for Twain's humor and its portrait of the era.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
THE GILDED AGE A Tale of Today By Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner 1873 Part 1. Frontpiece.jpg (96K)
CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Squire Hawkins and His Tennessee Land—He Decides to Remove to Missouri CHAPTER II. He Meets With and Adopts the Boy Clay CHAPTER III Uncle Daniel’s Apparition and PrayeR CHAPTER IV The Steamboat Explosion CHAPTER V Adoption of the Little Girl Laura—Arrival at Missouri— Reception by Colonel Beriah Sellers CHAPTER VI Trouble and Darkness in the Hawkins Family—Proposed Sale of the Tennessee Land CHAPTER VII Colonel Sellers at Home—His Wonderful Clock and Cure for Rheumatism CHAPTER VIII Colonel Sellers Makes Known His Magnificent Speculation Schemes and Astonishes Washington Hawkins CHAPTER IX Death of Judge Hawkins CHAPTER X Laura Hawkins Discovers a Mystery in Her Parentage and Grows Morbid Under the Village Gossip CHAPTER XI A Dinner with Col Sellers—Wonderful Effects of Raw Turnips CHAPTER XII Philip Sterling and Henry Brierly—Arrangements to Go West as Engineers
CHAPTER XIII Rail—Road Contractors and Party Traveling—Philip and Harry form the Acquaintance of Col Sellers CHAPTER XIV Ruth Bolton and Her Parents CHAPTER XV Visitors of the Boltons—Mr Bigler “Sees the Legislature”— Ruth Bolton Commences Medical Studies CHAPTER XVI The Engineers Detained at St Louis—Off for Camp—Reception by Jeff CHAPTER XVII The Engineer Corps Arrive at Stone’s Landing CHAPTER XVIII Laura and Her Marriage to Colonel Selby—Deserted and Returns to Hawkeye CHAPTER XIX Harry Brierly Infatuated With Laura and Proposes She Visit Washington CHAPTER XX Senator Abner Dilwortliy Visits Hawkeye—Addresses the People and Makes the Acquaintance of Laura 186 CHAPTER XXI Ruth Bolton at Fallkill Seminary—The Montagues—Ruth Becomes Quite Gay—Alice Montague CHAPTER XXII Philip and Harry Visit Fallkill—Harry Does the Agreeable to Ruth CHAPTER XXIII Harry at Washington Lobbying For An Appropriation For Stone’s Landing —Philip in New York Studying Engineering CHAPTER XXIV
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