Ward McAllister’s Society As I Have Found It Explained

August 5, 2025

3

Warning: SPOILERS For The Gilded Age Season 3, Episode 7 – “Ex-Communicated.”

The Gilded Age has always included some real historical people and events, with season 3, episode 7, introducing Ward McAllister’s tell-all book about New York’s high society. Ward McAllister has been in the series since season 1, helping The Gilded Age‘s characters maintain and grow their power and social status.

The Gilded Age season 3 has already seen Bertha Russell’s secrets revealed in the news, but episode 7 just expanded that in a big way. Ward McAllister’s book in The Gilded Age season 3, episode 7, upsets the social balance and causes a scandal, and this was drawn from its real-life publication.

Ward McCallister’s Real Tell-All Book In The Gilded Age Explained

Mr. McAllister Released Society As I Have Found It In 1890

Society as I have found it book gilded age

The Gilded Age season 3, episode 7 begins with the publication and immediate popularity of Ward McAllister’s book, Society as I Have Found It, a tell-all memoir in which the arbiter of Gilded Age society shared personal details about many of his friends. While the series takes place in 1884, the real-life book was actually released in 1890.

As outlined in The Gilded Age, Society as I Have Found It is composed of stories both from McAllister’s early life and (mostly) stories from New York society. Similar to Nathan Lane’s character in The Gilded Age, Ward McAllister’s real book makes it clear that much of his time was spent instructing others to have good taste.

Within the book, this takes the form of both anecdotes of him helping wealthy elites throw balls and banquets and him directly including advice in the book (via Project Gutenberg). Strangely, McAllister even includes several chapters on the best wines, particularly Madeira, and highlights some New York elites who have good wine cellars.

Society as I Have Found It includes plenty of these extraneous details, but it also includes the many stories that upset The Gilded Age‘s characters. The real book name-drops some famous New Yorkers that would have made him look good to his contemporaries, but it also highlights the extravagance of the group.

What Happened To Ward McAllister After His Tell-All Book Was Published

Looking at the book today, nothing that McAllister said feels particularly scandalous. He recounts the details and prices of events and a few minorly-embarrassing-for-their-subject anecdotes. Likewise, he even removes the names of many of the people discussed, making it difficult to know who he is referring to, but that was not the case for contemporary readers.

Interestingly, despite removing the names of certain people, McAllister still gave identifying details within his stories (such as the street the person lived on or an aspect of their appearance). As a result, it does make sense why The Gilded Age‘s characters and their real-life counterparts were upset by its publication.

The Gilded Age season 3 finale “My Mind Is Made Up” will premiere on HBO Max on August 10, 2025, at 9 pm EST.

As seen in The Gilded Age season 3, episode 7, after the publication of Society as I Have Found It, Ward McAllister was shunned by his elite former friends in real life. The book was seen as a betrayal of their trust, and Mr. McAllister was never able to recover the popularity he previously enjoyed before his death in 1895.

Source: Project Gutenberg