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A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line

Howard Blair

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Published in Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale Of Love And Deception Across The Color Line

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In the Gilded Age, a time of great economic and social change, a forbidden love affair between a white man and a black woman scandalized society. The couple, Stanford White and Mamie Fish, were from different worlds: White was a prominent architect, while Fish was a former slave. Their relationship was kept secret for years, but it was eventually exposed in a sensational trial that gripped the nation.

Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line

by Martha A. Sandweiss

4.3 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1758 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	403 pages

White was born in New York City in 1853. He was the son of a wealthy lawyer and attended Columbia University. After graduating, he studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Upon his return to the United States, he quickly became one of the most successful architects in the country. He designed some of the most iconic buildings in New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Washington Square Arch, and the Vanderbilt Mansion.

Fish was born into slavery in Virginia in 1848. After the Civil War, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a domestic servant. She met White in 1877, and they began a secret relationship. Fish was beautiful and intelligent, and White was smitten with her. However, their relationship was forbidden by society. Interracial marriage was illegal in most states, and it was considered scandalous for a white man to be in a relationship with a black woman.

White and Fish kept their relationship a secret for years. They met in secret at White's studio, and they communicated through letters. However, their relationship was eventually exposed in 1893. A jealous former lover of White's leaked their love letters to the press. The scandal was huge. White was ostracized by society, and his career was ruined. Fish was forced to return to Virginia, where she lived in obscurity until her death in 1932.

The story of Stanford White and Mamie Fish is a tragic one. It is a story of love, deception, and the power of prejudice. It is a reminder of the challenges that interracial couples faced in the past, and it is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.