One Of America’s Most Influential Women Was Plagued By A Series Of Uncomfortable Scandals
Do you know who Miriam Leslie is? You should! She was a true pioneer in Gilded Age America, heading up a huge company for years when women were scarcely found in positions of power. But while she achieved an awful lot, Miriam still had to weather plenty of gossip. Hers was in fact a life riddled with scandal and intrigue.d
Back in the Gilded Age
But then the Gilded Age itself was a strange time in U.S. history. Though there was prosperity and an economic upturn, this golden veneer disguised the fact that millions remained in terrible poverty. That didn’t escape the notice of Mark Twain. Written alongside Charles Dudley Warner, his novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today cannily sends up the era’s excesses.
Robber barons
The Gilded Age was driven by a boom in industry, and the folks who made the most of this became tremendously wealthy. But these so-called “captains of industry” — or, less flatteringly, “robber barons” — didn’t always play fair. They often cornered the market with their companies. And as people were left with no option but to use these businesses, the entrepreneurs got richer and richer.
A boys’ club
Given the times, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that most successful robber barons were men. Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller all did unfathomably well during the Gilded Age. But to a lesser extent, Miriam Leslie did, too.
Walking contradiction
Miriam herself was something of a contradiction. In public, she worked on conservative magazines. Behind closed doors, however, she was far from prim and proper. And she seemingly wasn’t one to worry about breaking taboos.
