Guests examined the history of the Gilded Age through the writings of Edith Wharton, author of The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country and Ethan Frome. Wharton wrote The Age of Innocence in 1920, with the story taking place in the late 1800s in “Old New York.” Among the topics addressed were the U.S. during the turn of the century, life among “elite” society, how “old money families” of New York dealt with the “newly rich,” and America’s growing role internationally. 
The program was telecast from Mrs. Wharton’s home, The Mount, which she designed and built in Massachusetts and which featured several items relating to her life and career.