Poems of Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan
by Pessie Hershfeld Pomerantz

It’s been my fate now several times
to listen to the play of your waves,
to behold the rhythm of your ancient tide;
I am a splinter, just a vestige
of a tree full with branches;
I sit here at your sandy shores
thinking of young, hopeful times
with longing in my lonely silence.
My fate is to see once again
the shimmer of your waves
now blue, now green, now spectral gray,
to watch a sailboat on your back adrift
and see how your shoulders shrug, lift,
Lake Michigan, my young friend!

Picnic Boat
by Carl Sandburg

Sunday night and the park policemen tell each other it
is dark as a stack of black cats on Lake Michigan.
A big picnic boat comes home to Chicago from the peach
farms of Saugatuck.
Hundreds of electric bulbs break the night's darkness, a
flock of red and yellow birds with wings at a standstill.
Running along the deck railings are festoons and leaping
in curves are loops of light from prow and stern
to the tall smokestacks.
Over the hoarse crunch of waves at my pier comes a
hoarse answer in the rhythmic oompa of the brasses
playing a Polish folk-song for the home-comers.

Tideless Lake
by Mae stier

You move as though the moon
pulls you, but its sway is nominal
when compared to the wind,
the atmospheric pressure,
the will of your waves
to creep up the shore
and caress the dunes,
reminding me I do not need
a moon to move.

August on Lake Michigan

by Joe Neely, August 14, 2023

August is Lake Michigan’s way

of clearing boats from her bays
and bonfires from her beaches,
the month when cottage owners
give up the idea of staining the deck
and call local painters who promise
to look at the job after Labor Day –
a comfortable, necessary fiction
understood by painter and owner alike.


“How much longer ‘ya up here?”
is the talk at August gatherings,
while glum shopkeepers
post signs proclaiming
END OF SEASON SALE!
and lower prices to full retail.


August’s big waves and wind
chase off all but the fortunate few
and now the lake can rest.
Now she gathers her strength
to face November’s roar.

- JN

I published this poem last year during August, but it bears repeating. I have always loved August on Lake Michigan, whether it was riding big waves with best friends in Grand Haven or, as an adult, savoring the last days of summer at the cottage in Good Hart. My mother loved August on the Big Lake, too; August and summer-ripe tomatoes. God Bless us all. (If you have spent time in Lake Michigan resort towns, I hope you got a chuckle out of the lines about local tradespeople and shopkeepers.)

Lake Michigan
by David Watters

On the banks of Lake Michigan I found my true loves soul
tired and twisted in a wreckage of folded metal resembling avant garde sculptures

nameless, senseless, and cold I drug her from the wreckage while the sky was painted red and black

now with the moon in my eyes I breathe life into her mouth but each breathe given means each breathe taken

as the sun begins to rise i see visions of a former life—forgotten life when we once loved each other—

when we were children dancing in the spring rain
warm and wet we embrace under endless rainbows saturated with everything under the sun

we become spring rain, we become one

now with the coming of the day I say farewell to past love, I say farewell to past life
where I'm going no man can follow

I'm going to the sun so I can stay warm.

Copyright © David Watters | Year Posted 2005

Lake Michigan
by Art Wielgus

Just as mirror of the sea,
Lake Michigan’s shinning big.
Boats are passing with the sails –
summer has refreshing air.

Ideal shallow to swim water –
heated, crystal air vibrates,
at trees people sit in shades,
some are playing on fine sand.

Shining with the crystal sparks,
spacious beaches - waterfront
and the Downtown stands afar.

Reddish setting sun with lure,
sky has color of vast water –
pleasant air descents cool.

Copyright © Art Wielgus | Year Posted 2016

Spring On Lake Michigan

by Jon Jones

I look upon the water glittering and bright, white caps flashing, dancing diamonds in the light

The breeze is strong, crisp and clear. Boats abound jibing sails dotted far and near
A flash of white and screeching cry, seagulls appear racing through the sky
Sun on my face fills me with cheer, for finally spring is here

The coast before me melds into cityscape, buildings spiraling high. Glass and steel glimmer bright in the light, stretching far before my sight

People hurry by hither and thither, and I wonder if any take a pause to consider
The beauty of this place, this breath in time, spring is here truly a moment divine

Copyright © Jon Jones | Year Posted 2015

Ode To the Mighty Great Lakes

by Robert Trezise Jr.

Coast to Coast

The sun ascends over the Great Lakes

Settles back into the indigo depths
Flight of a copper swan shore to shore
With her sweeping wing tips skimming

Commanding

The azure locks of eternity to open
Gather her iron-ore souls from the cliffs
That lift along the turquoise bays
Arise

Our northern Holy Ghost.
These drinkable oceans are graves to glaciers
Tombs for freighters

Limestone crypts

Where condemned sailors still dance and drink
A thousand clicks amidst the ancient glow
Below Moon boulders like mobiles of suspended fish.

It’s as if Michigan’s peninsulas
Was its own sliding green continents
Fitting together pieces of a new planet

Waves bellow a dare to all the apocalyptic surfers
Come sail these giant breaking swells.

Though you’re a dipped hand
Waving to outer space
It’s your down-to-Earth bare cold caress
That we count on for dousing the summer steam
From our steely brow.

Michiganians

Plant your bare feet into the hot tops
Of the Sand Dunes of Sleeping Bear

Prepare an avalanche slide
From the side of your hand
A child pushing away the world’s troubles

Throw out your hard chest
Reveal your beautiful breasts
Like the goddesses and gods that you are.

Gaze out from these colossal pink shores
To the horizon that bends like a violin
Under the chin of a setting sun.

Michiganians
You are the everlasting Keepers
Of the Mighty Mighty Great Lakes.

Copyright © Robert Trezise Jr. | Year Posted 2018

Eternal Summer at the Lake
A poem about Lake Michigan and my family
by Jessica Archuleta

I want to spend
every moment I can
watching you
swim
play in the sand
laugh when the waves hit you
all at Lake Michigan.

My burdens are lifted
seeing each of you
smiling,
being free,
toes sunk deep
in the sand,
sun shining gently
on your faces,
laughing,
chasing and teasing
dragging, tossing
one another
into the lake,
burying bodies in sand
up to the face,
attempting the world’s
largest sand fortress,
shouting loudly
when the waters rise up
washing it away.

If only
summer days
could live on
never end,
blocking cold out
stopping you all
from growing up,
I’d live all my days
with you at the lake.

We’d never grow old
never be bored,
sailboats gliding by
kites flying high
capturing our
imaginations,
taco truck
snack shop
ice cream truck
quick run to the store
refilling the cooler
and picnic basket,
all would provide
our food,
a roaring hot fire
at night
to stay warm,
start fresh at sunrise
ready to swim
happy to play
never packing up
staying always
together
on the shores
of Lake Michigan.

At Burt Lake
by Tom Andrews

To disappear into the right words
and to be their meanings. . .

October dusk.
Pink scraps of clouds, a plum-colored sky.
The sycamore tree spills a few leaves.
The cold focuses like a lens. . .

Now night falls, its hair
caught in the lake's eye.

Such clarity of things. Already
I've said too much. . .

Lord,
language must happen to you
the way this black pane of water,
chipped and blistered with stars,
happens to me.

Poets of the Gilded Age

POETS OF THE GILDED AGE

1870-1900

Compiled by R.E. Slater

The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

- EL

AI Overview

Among the most prominent American poets writing during the Gilded Age (roughly 1870–1900) were Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. While some poets embraced traditional forms, others experimented with new styles and techniques to reflect the rapid social, economic, and industrial changes of the era.

Major Gilded Age poets

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886): Dickinson, one of America's most innovative and profound poets, created a unique body of work from her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. Although her unconventional poetry explored themes of death, nature, and immortality, it was not widely published or recognized until after her death. poems by Emily Dickinson

Walt Whitman (1819–1892): Whitman's free-verse epic, Leaves of Grass, bridged the Transcendentalist and Realist periods. His poetry celebrated the democratic spirit of the American people, while also providing a "counter-balance to the materialism" that began to define the Gilded Age. poems by Walt Whitman

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906): As one of the first African American poets to achieve national recognition, Dunbar's poetry offered a vital perspective on the Black experience in 19th-century America. His work incorporated dialect and lyricism to explore themes of identity, social injustice, and the human spirit. poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Sympathy
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
    When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

And the river flows like a stream of glass;

    When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,

And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—

I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing
    Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
    And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
    When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
    But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings

- PLD

Sidney Lanier (1842–1881): Lanier, a Southern-born poet and musician, was often noted for his musicality and complex rhythms. Disturbed by the social changes of the era, he explored his fears and doubts in poems like "The Symphony" and "The Marshes of Glynn".

Emma Lazarus (1849–1887): Lazarus, a poet and activist, is best known for her sonnet "The New Colossus," written in 1883. It was later inscribed on a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, and its words—"Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"—continue to define the American immigrant experience.

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935): Robinson is known for his short, ironic character studies of ordinary individuals in the fictional Tilbury Town. Poems like "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" often depict lives of quiet desperation and the darker side of the American dream.

Richard Cory
by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

- EAR

American westward expansion is idealized in Emanuel Leutze’s painting “Westward the Course
of Empire Takes Its Way” (1861). The title, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase
often quoted in the era of manifest destiny.

Characteristics of Gilded Age poetry

Poetry from this period reflected the profound social and economic upheavals of the time, leading to a wide range of styles and themes.

Realism and satire: Just as Mark Twain's novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today satirized the era's materialism, many poets used realism to portray both the glittering wealth and the underlying corruption and injustice of the period.

Diverse perspectives: Poets such as Paul Laurence Dunbar and Emma Lazarus addressed social issues and inequality from the viewpoint of marginalized communities, adding crucial new voices to the literary landscape.

Experiments in form: Some poets, like Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, challenged traditional poetic structures, paving the way for 20th-century modernism. Their unconventional uses of punctuation, meter, and free verse broke away from the more formal styles of the past.

Figure 20.16 This image of Coxey’s Army marching on Washington to ask for jobs may have helped
inspire L. Frank Baum’s story of Dorothy and her friends seeking help from the Wizard of Oz.

Traditionalism (the "Genteel Tradition"): A group of influential, often Harvard-educated poets known as the Boston Brahmins (including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell) continued to produce poetry in more conventional, European-oriented forms. Their work was broadly popular but sometimes viewed as conservative and out of touch with America's rapidly changing society.

Regionalism: Some poets focused on capturing the unique character of specific American regions and dialects, similar to other Gilded Age writers. This was partly a response to the rapid changes brought by industrialization and urbanization.

While Regionalism as a distinct movement flourished later, in the early 20th century, poets associated with the Gilded Age who explored regional themes include Edgar Lee Masters, known for the Midwestern focus of his Spoon River Anthology, and the Midwestern poets of the Chicago School, such as Carl Sandburg and Vachel Lindsay, who championed realism and depicted ordinary life in the American interior before World War I. 

By Carl Wilhelm Hahn - Own work, Wm pearl, Public Domain

Here are some examples and key figures:

Edgar Lee Masters: A Midwestern poet who, along with Sandburg and Lindsay, was part of the Chicago School and focused on the lives of ordinary people in his region. His work, like Spoon River Anthology, explored the lives of rural residents.

Carl Sandburg: Another central figure in the Chicago School, his poetry captured the sounds and spirit of the Midwest, particularly Chicago, and challenged the East Coast literary establishment.

Vachel Lindsay: Also a prominent Midwestern poet, Lindsay shared Sandburg's interest in ordinary Midwesterners and used realist techniques to reach a broader audience.

Paul Laurence Dunbar: While known for his work that depicted African American culture and dialect, much of Dunbar's work also captured the essence of rural American life, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

These poets, though sometimes associated with the broader movement of Regionalism that gained steam in the early 1900s, are considered precursors to it, with their Gilded Age works showcasing a growing interest in depicting specific American regions and their diverse populations.

Richard Bone

by Edgar Lee Masters

When I first came to Spoon River
I did not know whether what they told me
Was true or false.
They would bring me an epitaph
And stand around the shop while I worked
And say "He was so kind," "He was wonderful,"
"She was the sweetest woman," "He was a consistent Christian."
And I chiseled for them whatever they wished,
All in ignorance of its truth.
But later, as I lived among the people here,
I knew how near to the life
Were the epitaphs that were ordered for them when they died.
But still I chiseled whatever they paid me to chisel
And made myself party to the false chronicles
Of the stones,
Even as the historian does who writes
Without knowing the truth,
Or because he is influenced to hide it.

- ELM

Chicago

by Carl Sandburg

        Hog Butcher for the World,
        Tool maker, Stacker of Wheat,
        Player with Railroads and the Nation's
             Freight Handler;
        Stormy, husky, brawling,
        City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
            Bareheaded,
            Shoveling,
            Wrecking,
            Planning,
            Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,
            Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight

by Vachel Lindsay

It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down.

Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.

A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.

He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us: — as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.

His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.

The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.

He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come; — the shining hope of Europe free;
The league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornwall, Alp and Sea.

It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?

The Real People Behind "The Gilded Age"

The Real People Behind "The Gilded Age"

AI Overview

The Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, refers to a period in U.S. history from the 1870s to around 1900 characterized by enormous economic growth and industrial innovation, which created a visible layer of wealth and progress but also masked underlying issues of significant poverty, political corruption, and social injustice.

This era of rapid industrialization and wealth accumulation saw powerful industrialists, or "robber barons," amass fortunes while many workers faced harsh conditions, contributing to a widening gap between the rich and the poor.

Key Characteristics of the Gilded Age

Industrial Growth & Technological Advancements:

The era was defined by massive technological leaps, including the development of steel, electricity, new forms of energy, and communication technologies like the telegraph. These innovations fueled the growth of the factory system and the mass production of goods.

Economic Inequality:

While some individuals built vast fortunes through new industries, the economic disparity between the wealthy and the working class grew dramatically.

Political Corruption:

This period was marked by widespread political corruption and a general distrust in the major political parties.

Immigration:

A wave of mass immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe led to significant changes in the country's ethnic and religious makeup, with many new immigrants settling in cities.

Labor Movements & Poor Working Conditions:

Workers responded to long hours, low wages, and unsafe conditions by forming labor unions and organizing strikes to fight for better treatment.

Rise of the "Robber Barons":

Powerful industrialists and financiers created monopolies and wielded immense influence, often using harsh methods to suppress labor movements.

Social Stratification:

The era created a distinct division between the affluent and the poor, with the newly rich flaunting their wealth in lavish mansions and social events.

Why the Term "Gilded Age"?

The term "gilded" means to cover something with a thin layer of gold. Mark Twain used it to describe a time where industrial advancements and a superficial display of wealth created an illusion of prosperity, while beneath the surface lay deep issues of corruption, poverty, and social decay.

Additional References

Wikipedia - The Gilded Age

Recollections - What made The Gilded Age Gilded?

A Guide to the Real People Who

Inspired The Gilded Age Characters

article link

by Emily Burack

August 03, 2025

From the Vanderbilts to the 9th Duke of Marlborough, meet the historical socialites, aristocrats, robber barons, and more that serve as the basis for the HBO drama.

As the third season of The Gilded Age winds down, there’s still so much to look forward to - the HBO drama was just renewed for a fourth outing. Many characters in the Julian Fellowes show are either real historical figures, or inspired by real people, so history can perhaps point towards the future plotlines in the series.

This season, in particular, expanded the world of The Gilded Age to include Black elite in Newport. “It’s a community rarely seen depicted in mainstream media. Very rarely do you see Black elite wealth depicted in this time period. So it’s very important for us to make that as big and beautiful as possible,” director and executive producer Salli Richardson-Whitfield told Town & Country. “I felt a responsibility to the historical accuracy so that no one could ever say, ‘Oh, but that's not really real.’ And I think that that is why our audience, particularly our Black audience, has loved the show so much because it's true that this is how these people lived during this time period. And the Black community who loved this show had really taken great pride in that.”

Here, a guide to the historical figures who directly or indirectly inspired The Gilded Age characters:

Alva Vanderbilt as Bertha Russell  |  Getty Images; HBO

Bertha Russell, played by Carrie Coon, draws heavy inspiration from the life of Alva Vanderbilt (née Smith), later Alva Belmont. Alva was a wealthy socialite and a vocal advocate for women's suffrage, one of the co-founders of the National Women's Party.

In her lifetime, she married twice: to businessman William Vanderbilt and to banker and politician Oliver Belmont. With William, she had three children, Counselo, William Jr., and Harold.

The couple also built “Petit Chateau” on Fifth Avenue, located at 660 Fifth. Alva, like her fictional counterpart Bertha, was shunned by “old money” New York City until she threw an extravagant ball.

Read more: The War of the Vanderbilts: When Divorce Came for the Gilded Age

Consuelo Vanderbilt as Gladys Russell  | Getty Images; HBO

Alva forced her eldest daughter, Conseulo, to marry Charles Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough - a plotline that plays out in The Gilded Age as Bertha pushes Gladys (portrayed by Taissa Farmiga) to wed the Duke of Buckingham. Consuelo became the Duchess of Marlborough, but (possible spoiler alert!) they separated and divorced, and their marriage was annulled. She later married wealth French aviator and industrialist Jacques Balsan. Conseulo had two sons from her first marriage, John (the 10th Duke of Marlborough) and Ivor.

“I wish I'd known her,” her great-granddaughter Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill told T&C of Consuelo “I did meet her, but I have very little recollection. I was around six when she died, and she was mainly living in the States and in France. I do remember her coming to the house. We used to live in Lee Place, which was the Georgian house, while my grandfather was still alive. I always say it, it is thanks to Consuelo that [Blenheim] is probably still very much a family home, which is true.”

Read more: The Secret History of Gladys Russell’s Wedding Jewelry in The Gilded Age

Jay Gould as George Russell  |  Getty Images; HBO

George Russell is not based on a Vanderbilt; rather, his character draws from the life of American railroad magnate Jason Gould, according to Gilded Age creator Julian Fellowes. “I had been told that he was a little bit based on Jay Gould and [Cornelius] Vanderbilt, so I read up on those people and their biographies, to some extent. I’ve found as much first-person writing by those robber barons,” actor Morgan Spector said. Gould was known as one of the famous “robber barons” of the Gilded Age. He was married to Helen Miller; they had six children.

The 9th Duke of Marlborough as the 5th Duke of Buckingham  |  Getty Images; HBO

The Duke of Buckingham was a real person: George Villiers, a rumored lover of King James VI and I. The last holder of the dukedom, the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, died in 1889. However, The Gilded Age's Duke of Buckingham, played by Ben Lamb, is based on Charles Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough. Charles was a first cousin of Winston Churchill, a member of the Order of the Garter, and a Conservative politician. He married Consuelo Vanderbilt to save his near-bankrupt dukedom. Together, they restored Blenheim Palace.

Read more: Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill Reflects on Growing Up Inside Blenheim Palace

Caroline Schermerhorn Astor  |  Getty Images; HBO

Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astorn, known as “The Mrs. Astor,” is portrayed in the show by Donna Murphy. Mrs. Astor was a real socialite, who reigned over New York society. With husband William Astor Jr., they had five children, including John Jacob Astor IV, who died on the Titanic.

As Elizabeth Block wrote in T&C, “Caroline descended from the Schermerhorns and the Van Cortlandts, Dutch families that were among the earliest settlers in colonial North America. Considered ‘old money,’ they had earned their fortunes through mercantile businesses and real estate holdings. Nouveau-riche families strove to achieve their acceptance, and famously fueled the envy of such newcomers to New York society as Alva Smith Vanderbilt from Mobile, Alabama.”

Read more: Mrs. Caroline Astor Was the Ultimate New York Socialite

Julia C. Collins as Peggy  |  Getty Images; HBO

Denée Benton's Peggy is based on an amalgamation of famous Black women of the era. Fellows “was intentional about drawing from multiple women's lives in order to create a fictional character who embodies the spirit of the 1880s for young Black woman in the elite,” explained Erica Armstrong Dunbar, a history professor and consultant for the show. Notably, however, Peggy's storyline draws from the life and career of Julia C. Collins; Collins's 1865 novel, The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride, is widely believed to be the first novel by an African American woman.

Other inspirations for Peggy include Susan McKinney Steward, the first Black female doctor in New York; Sarah Mapps Douglass, an educator, writer, and abolitionist; and Ida B. Wells, the famous author and activist.

J.P. Morgan  |  Getty Images; HBO

Banker J.P. Morgan (full name John Pierpont Morgan Sr.) appears in the third season, portrayed by Bill Camp. Morgan was a real financier and banker of the Gilded Age, a key figure of the era. His banking firm eventually became JP Morgan Chase, which still exists today.

Read more: Did George Peabody Invent American Philanthropy?

Mamie Fish  |  Getty Images; HBO

Mamie Fish, portrayed in The Gilded Age by Ashlie Atkinson, was the “wittiest” woman of Gilded Age New York. In 1899, The Baltimore Sun wrote, “Without being a great beauty, she is irresistible. Her friends say it is because, ‘Mamie Fish has a sharp tongue, but a heart of gold.’” The reporter continued, “her enemies believe she is a witch” but “everybody knows she is always ready to do or dare anything ‘just for fun.’” Fish was married to businessman Stuyvesant Fish, and they had four children.

Read more: Who was Mamie Fish?

T. Thomas Fortune  |  Getty Images; HBO

American journalist T. Thomas Fortune, portrayed by Sullivan Jones in The Gilded Age, was the editor of The New York Age, a prominent Black newspaper of the time. He was also a close friend of Booker T. Washington. Born into slavery, after the Civil War, Fortune attended Edwin M. Stanton School then Howard University. He left school after two semesters, however, to start working as a journalist and an activist. Fortune mainly focused on the rights of Black Americans in the south. He married Carrie C. Smiley, and they had five children.

John Singer Sargent  |  HBO; Getty Images

At the start of season three, Bertha hires artist John Singer Sargent (Bobby Steggert) to paint her daughter Gladys. “There’s a moment when a young girl turns into a woman. It doesn’t last long, and I’d like it caught on canvas,” Bertha says.

John Singer Sargent was a real American painter, who spent much of his life and career in Europe, and was known for his portraits including “Portrait of Madame X” and “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.”

Read more: The Scandal That Nearly Ruined John Singer Sargent,

Gilded Age Society's Favorite Painter

Ward McAllister  |  Getty Images; HBO

Another real Gilded Age figure who appears in The Gilded Age is Ward McAllister, portrayed by Nathan Lane in the drama. “He was a former lawyer who was a distant relative of Mrs. Astor and together they decided that society in this country desperately needed some direction, and so with her help he became this self-appointed social arbiter, the gatekeeper, if you will, to elite society, whereas he said, 'You must have the three Bs - Birth, Background and Breeding,'” Lane explained to T&C. “He sounded like a condescending twit obsessed with money and power, and I’m not saying he wasn’t, but according to those who knew him well, he was also a very charming and flamboyant Southerner who was known as the life of the party. And he could throw a mean picnic in Newport.”

McAllister famously coined the phrase “The Four Hundred,” referencing how there were only 400 people in New York society who really mattered, and just as he did on-screen the real life McAllister wrote a tell-all book, Society as I Have Found It, spilling the secrets of his well-heeled friends. He was married to heiress Sarah Taintor Gibbons, and they had three children, Louise, Ward Jr., and Heyward, but eventually he was shunned from the society he chronicled. They didn't take kindly to his expose.

Read more: Nathan Lane Says Ward McAllister's Story “Is a Cautionary Tale”

Philip A. White as Arthur Scott  |  Public Domain; HBO

Peggy's father, Arthur Scott (John Douglas Thompson) is inspired by Philip Augustus White. Philip, who was born a free man, who opened his own drug store in 1847. In the show, Arthur is a formerly enslaved man who is also a successful pharmacist. He is the subject of Black Gotham, about Black elite in 19th century New York City, which Fellowes read before working on The Gilded Age.

“I had no idea, really, that there was a prosperous, upper-middle-class Black community in New York towards the end of the 19th century, based not in Harlem, but in Brooklyn,” Fellowes told the Los Angeles Times. “And these were affluent people with status and businesses and families.”

Mahlon Van Horne as Frederick Kirkland  |  New York Public Library; Audra McDonald/Instagram

Mahlon Van Horne was a Newport pastor who served in the Rhode Island General Assembly. He inspired the character of Frederick Kirland (Brian Stokes Mitchell). “He's the forerunner of Martin Luther King and the 20th century black ministers who are blending religion and social justice together in advancing equal rights,” Keith Stokes, Rhode Island’s historian laureate, told Time. “He's one of the most significant African-American leaders in America here at that time.”

In addition, Horne's son, Mathias, attended Howard and became Rhode Island's first Black dentist, similar to the character of Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica) on The Gilded Age.

Oscar Wilde  |  Getty Images; HBO

Oscar Wilde, an Irish writer and playwright, appears briefly in the second season of The Gilded Age season two, portrayed by Jordan Waller. Wilde is best known for The Picture of Dorian Gray, published in 1890, and other works including The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband.

Read more: What’s Behind Pop Culture’s Obsession with Wilde?

Clara Barton  |  Getty Images; HBO

Clara Barton, a nurse who founded the American Red Cross, appears in season one The Gilded Age, played by Linda Emond. Per the National Women's History Museum, “Barton remained with the Red Cross until 1904, attending national and international meetings, aiding with disasters, helping the people experiencing homelessness and poverty, and writing about her life and the Red Cross. She was also an ardent supporter of women’s suffrage. In 1904, she established the National First Aid Association of America, an [early FEMA-like] organization that emphasized emergency preparedness and developed first aid kits.”

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Emily Burack

Senior News Editor

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.