a small portion of the book takes place here in anderson house, for lars and isabelle anderson were characters in the imperial season. we can feast upon the setting tonight and imagine what it was like in, say, 1907 filled with guests, diplomats, women in court trains -- that means 9 feet from the shoulder to the end of the -- to the hem. black and white evening clothes, some feathered head addresses with women -- head dresses with women who had been presented in court, three feathers. and in the dining room, a servant fitted out in powdered wig and 18th century attire, flowers, champagne and music. to give some context, it was a 25-year or period historically when america first felt the thrill of international importance. isolated for so long, holding europe this contempt for so long, the promise of a world position opened doors of monetary opportunities for some. a bridge across the atlantic at last. and where more obvious for that new american power to express itself first than in a capital, washington. here and here alone in this period. america's strong voice was first heard in 1895 when

lars anderson had interest so far as to inspire him to create for himself a diplomatic uniform even knowing the commerce forbade the diplomatic uniforms. congress for a century step it took to the idea that an american diplomat should follow this title of dr. franklin to read franklin had more than a uniform as it simply was in that context. except for the photographs on display as it isn't known for certain. anderson and isabel was a wealthy background is he in cincinnati and washington and she in boston and in fact the newspaper announcement of their marriage in boston just couldn't say enough and finally they would go in and she was the girl that would never have taken account. they were hot and cold about washington and they were pretty tongue-in-cheek about the imperial city not considering his and snl was the place to be. of the magnificence of this house which they passed on to the society of cincinnati in the years to come did not eclipse all of their houses on the avenues that most of them. it was designed by the firm whiff of venerable boston architect arthur little an old man by