During the 19th century celebrations began to evolve from the once more popular New Year's Day to the beginnings of the Christmas celebrations we know today.

In author Becky Diamond's new book "The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook", Becky shares recipes, stories and historical notes to add glitter and sparkle to today's Christmas festivities. Becky discusses the origins of many of our favorite traditions, which were brought to America by waves of immigrants arriving during the 19th century.

And for modern readers and cooks, she shares some easy-to-make recipes for very special dishes of the Gilded Age that will be a treat for our modern holiday celebrations.

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Willa Cather, the beloved American novelist who lived during the height of America's Gilded Age, is perhaps best known for her insightful passionate writing about life on the Nebraska Plains where she spent her childhood.

But Cather's writing and life included much more than that. She spent a significant part of her adult life in Pittsburgh before coming to New York and establishing her life with her partner Edith Lewis in bohemian Greenwich Village. Her work is set in an astonishing array of locations from New York to London to the American Southwest. Cather's characters span the broad range of humanity and are deeply universal in their passions as well as their struggles.

Historian and educator Peter Cipkowski joins The Gilded Gentleman to share his insight on the work and life of the extraordinary and fearless American writer of the early 20th century.

For more information, please visit the National WIlla Cather Center.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon

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As New York grew throughout the 19th century so too did crime grow within the burgeoning population. In the early years, there was little in the way of law enforcement except some constables and night watchmen.

By mid-century, the city saw the evolution of TWO police forces, a later the force grew from a loose organization dictated by corruption and cronyism to a professional force led by Theodore Roosevelt in the 1890s.

Esther Crain, guest author and historian and creator of Ephemeral New York, returns to the show to delve deeply into this world of police, crimes and criminals of the Gilded Age.

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