The Old New York that Edith Wharton portrayed in her writings was indeed small. It ran roughly from Madison Square down to Washington Square Park, and centered around Fifth Avenue, which was only a few city blocks wide. In this virtual tour of Wharton’s own world and that of the characters she portrayed, you’ll get a sense of the constrained and often suffocating society she portrayed so brilliantly. Writer, lecturer and tour guide Carl Raymond will share a unique view inside that world with sites past and present, including the Fifth Avenue Hotel, the Academy of Music on 14th Street, Wallack’s Theatre on Broadway just below Union Square, and Grace Church as well as several little known sites associated with Wharton’s life and work. 

Carl Raymond is a writer, lecturer, food and social historian, and licensed New York City tour guide who specializes in the work of Edith Wharton and the Gilded Age, among other subjects.