Ward McAllister lived in the mid-to-late nineteenth century USA. This audiobook encompasses his commentary on the parties held by the elite in the USA and Europe during that time.

Well-connected and well-traveled, McAllister describes the habits, trends, and wealth of the upper classes of society. As the author testifies, it was a time of transformative, unprecedented extravagance through the emergence of new technology and new prosperity.

The location of the social gathering in which McAllister attended during this time isn't limited to the USA, but encompasses much of Europe as well.