America's Castles showcases the fabulous homes built during the Gilded Age by the legends of wealth. Blending architectural, cultural, and biographical commentary, your private tour includes the grand estates of the Vanderbilts, Jay Gould, Henry Flagler, John Ringling and William Randolph Hearst. America's Castles would be useful for classes on American History, The Second Industrial Revolution, and American Culture. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

• aesthetic
• allegorical
• augment
• boudoir
• connoisseur
• cunning
• echelon
• eclectic
• edifices
• embellish
• embittered
• entourage
• exquisite
• grandeur
• illustrious
• innovation
• irrepressible
• kiosk
• lamented
• livery
• mélange
• nouveaux riche
• obligatory
• opulence
• ornate
• ostensibly
• passé
• polemics
• prevalent
• prodigious
• promenade
• sumptuous

1. Castles are a large part of European history. What was the purpose of castles in Europe? Why did royalty and the nobility invest so much time, effort and money into their castles?

2. Because America has no royalty or nobility, America does not have castles in the European fashion. But America does have mansions that house the rich and famous. What is the role of mansions in America today and in America's past?

3. What do mansions provide for America and American history?

4. Author and humorist Mark Twain dubbed the late eighteenth century the "Gilded Age."What does this phrase mean? Was it truly a "Gilded Age?"

5. Alva Vanderbilt built a Japanese style teahouse on her estate, The Breakers. This teahouse played a significant role in American women's history. What was that role?

6. New York's social elite during the Gilded Age were called "the four hundred." Why were they called this? What did this title mean?

7. The Breakers was an architectural marvel for its time and had many innovations that were a departure from the building practices of its time. What were some of these innovations?

8. What is meant by the term "social ritual?" How are the houses in Newport, Rhode Island, designed to accommodate "social ritual?"

9. There was no such thing as personal income tax during the Gilded Age. How did this absence of personal income tax help establish the massive fortunes of the Gilded Age?

10. Why was the marble in Jay Gould's estate called "Sing-Sing marble?"

1. Imagine that you are a society page writer for a newspaper, and your assignment is to write an account of a social event at The Breakers or Marble House. Write a column for your newspaper that describes not only the event, but also the house and the grounds, and the people in attendance.

2. Design your own dream house or mansion. How would your design reflect your personality and your tastes?

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