“Overcoming Tragedies: Real Life in Lenox’s Gilded Era Country Houses.”

It is easy to imagine that the lives of grand families in Lenox’s Gilded Age were spent coddled in complacency and security.

Drawing from research on her next book, local historian Cornelia Brook Gilder explodes this myth with lively accounts of tragic love stories, defiant elopements, terrifying burglaries, financial ruin, and the constant specter of contagious diseases.

Join us for a Friday Morning Diversion to hear how these families responded to crises of their own era.

Ventfort Hall has a strict no-refund policy and tickets are nontransferable. Please ensure you have a strong internet connection and access to Zoom before purchasing tickets.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as an important partner of the Lenox Cultural District, one of the five such Berkshire County districts, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum was built in 1893 for George and Sarah Morgan, the sister of legendary financier J. Pierpont Morgan. Tours of the historic mansion are offered daily, as well as Tea & Talks, such exhibitions as the Bellefontaine Collection, concerts, theater and other programs. This elegant Jacobean-Revival Berkshire “cottage” is open to the public year-round and is available for private rental. Ventfort Hall, also an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures program sponsored by The White House, has undergone substantial restoration, which continues.