Author Rick Hutto: Questions and Answers

1. Several books have been written about the Jekyll Island Club, what was your intention in creating Their Gilded Cage ?

So many people have heard about the famous names who were members of the Club - Astor, Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer - but there were many other members who also led fascinating lives.  Some were productive, others were frivolous, but all were interesting!

2. How did you research the biographies?

I spoke and corresponded with many descendants of members, researched the archives at Jekyll, and made great use of the New York Times.  I also found some wonderful photographs at the Library of Congress and even some original drawings done at Jekyll by Mrs. J. P. Morgan, Jr., at the Morgan Library. They were used as the endcovers of the book.

3. What intrigued you most in the process?

I was fascinated by the inter-locking relationships of members both in business and in their personal lives. The members not only opened their corporations to one another but their families as well - there were lots of inter-marriages among the members.

4. On the day you finished the book, what went through your mind?

Let's just say it was not unlike being present at the birth of my two wonderful children.

5. Who were your three favorite members and why?

Lillie Bliss, whose art collection established the Museum of Modern Art; Eugene Higgins who inherited $50 million and made no pretense of ever working but spent his life entertaining friends on his yacht; and John Stewart Kennedy who was the greatest philanthropist of his day but wouldn't allow anything to be named for him.

6. How does the Jekyll Island Club live on today?

The Clubhouse and two of the best mansions have been beautifully restored and you can stay where the members did and eat lavish meals in the same dining room where they sat every night.

7. What was it about this rustic, out-of-the-way island that attracted the very top echelons of American power and influence?

Protection and seclusion. Like today's ad about Las Vegas, "what happened at Jekyll stayed at Jekyll."