Edith Wharton

The customs and social codes of the Gilded Age were portrayed by Edith Wharton (1862–1937) who drew on her firsthand knowledge of upper-class society. Born in 1862, she was the daughter of George Frederic Jones, whose wealthy family is said to have inspired the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses.” Beginning in 1880, Wharton became an active participant in New York high society. She closely observed its rituals and later wove them into her novels and stories. Among these traditions were lavish formal dinners, where menus served as markers of social standing and symbols of sophistication and pride. The following quotations from Wharton’s novels are paired with small menu cards from private residences in the late nineteenth century. Together, they offer a window into this now-vanished world. (Scroll over images for descriptions of the menus.)