Brian Burns, will speak about his book Gilded Age Richmond: Gaiety, Greed & Lost Cause Mania Thursday, Nov. 2, from 4-5 pm. at James Branch Cabell Library.

The talk in the Mapp Room, on the fourth floor, will be followed by a book sale and signing. The presentation is free and open to all but seating is limited. Please register

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Richmond entered the Gilded Age seeking bright prospects and prosperity while struggling to overcome its past. During a labor convention in conservative Richmond, white supremacists prepared to enforce segregation at gunpoint. Progressives attempted to wrest political power by unveiling a wondrous new marvel: Richmond’s first electric streetcar. After Jefferson Davis’s death in 1889, elites launched an ambitious campaign to memorialize the Confederacy through erecting monuments. But they had more passion than money.

Author Brian Burns’ overview of Richmond heading into the 20th century promises to be especially timely given current public discussion about the meaning of monuments and how the past informs the future.    

The author is a native of Chapel Hill, N.C. He graduated in 1983 from the School of Design at North Carolina State University. He worked as art director for several advertising agencies, including the Martin Agency in Richmond. He was co-producer of The Rainbow Minute, a radio series on LGBTQ history, heard on WRIR-FM community radio in Richmond. His first book, Lewis Ginter: Richmond’s Gilded Age Icon, was published by The History Press in 2011.