CORNWALL, Conn.—The Cornwall Library will host an illustrated talk by John Tauranac, whose new nonfiction book, “New York’s Scoundrels, Scalawags, and Scrappers,” captures the story of New York City at the end of the Gay Nineties.
The program will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. at the 30 Pine St. library.
Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner used the term “the Gay Nineties” to describe the period that spanned the time between the end of the Civil War through the beginning of the Progressive Era in 1900. An era of rapid industrial growth, technological innovation and wealth creation, there was also widespread corruption, economic inequality and poor living conditions for a large underclass.
“Gilded” suggests a thin layer of gold covering vast social problems.
Tauranac is well known as a social and architectural historian. He begins each chapter using a different building of the era as a stage for the corresponding social history.
As he recounts his stories, the 1890s in New York materialize as a time of great inequality accompanied by opportunity for those who did not play by the rules—”the managements of some businesses and some administrations of the municipality who… gamed the system to their advantage. They are New York’s scoundrels, scalawags, and scrappers,” in the words of the author.
“As these meticulously recaptured events unfold chapter by chapter, an uncanny resemblance between then and now emerges,” comments writer Tony Hiss.
Tauranac has taught New York’s architectural history for many years at NYU’s School of Professional Studies. He lectures on the city, gives tours and designs maps. His many books include “The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark.”
He and his wife, Jane Bevans, an artist and lawyer, live on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and in Cornwall. They are both native New Yorkers.
Attendance is in-person only, and registration is required. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.