Gilded: How DID Newport Become America’s Richest Resort?

“And is it, still?” Newport Seen asked of author Deborah Davis at a recent book talk at Barnes & Noble in Middletown. Ms. Davis answered an unqualified “yes,” although in the 21st century Palm Beach, Dubai and the Cayman Islands are certainly in the running, and may boast more assets. But there are always the intangibles: social history, regal architecture, and the fabled Newport names.

It is “an enchanted place,” according to Ms. Davis. In her quirky, engaging, and anecdotal presentation, Ms. Davis, author of Gilded: How Newport Became America’s Richest Resort, told amusing, improbable, and downright hilarious stories about the social history of Newport, read passages from her book, and delighted the audience with her knowledge, research, and skill at weaving history with mystery.

“Newport was always a resort. Southerners brought money in the l850’s, and that lasted until the Civil War,” she noted. In the latter part of the l9th century, real estate “one upsmanship” was the sport, as "out Vanderbuilding” (a reference to Cornelius Vanderbilt's The Breakers) by the neighbors resulted in such cottages as Marble House, Ochre Court, and Belcourt Castle.

Newport became a “giant club for the very rich,” according to Davis, and was like a gated community. “It took seven summers to gain entrance to the social strata commanded by Alva Vanderbilt, Mamie Fish and Tessie Oelrich,” she said. The doyennes gave silly and enjoyable parties and entertainments, even an exclusive dog party for seven favored pooches and poodles.

Author Deborah Davis speaking at Barnes & Noble

Ms. Davis follows Newport’s rise-fall-rise to the post World War II years, and described the fabled Tiffany Ball of 1957, with Jack and Jackie Kennedy in attendance. The fabulous event was covered in Life Magazine’s "Life goes to a Party."

The rapt audience at Barnes & Noble

“We wanted an aristocracy” according to the author, and the famillies who built the Bellevue Avenue mansions were happy to oblige. Even today, “Newport is magic,” she said. At Barnes & Noble, She signed books for attendees Judy Chace, Laurence and Judy Cutler, Rico Santi, Annamarie Ringheim, Sharon Cameron Lawn, and other book lovers.

Laurence & Judy Cutler with Deborah Davis

Deborah Davis made four more appearances in Newport, three at the Preservation Society bookstores (“the one at the Breakers bookstore was lively, and we met the most interesting people,” the author said,) and one at an elegant private Sunday afternoon reception at Swift-Morris Interiors on Mill Street, hosted by interior designer Carol Swift, and attended by Nuala Pell, Hugh D. (Yusha) Auchincloss, Michael Murray, John MacGowan, and Lucie-Ann Dionne-Thomas.

Standing in line for an autographed copy

Deborah Davis is also the author of Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X; Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and his Black and White Ball; and The Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry.