Who is Maud Beaton on ‘The Gilded Age’ Again? All About Nicole Brydon Bloom’s Con Artist Queen Turned Haymarket Hooker

Guess who’s back on The Gilded Age!? None other than Maud Beaton (Nicole Brydon Bloom), the scheming beauty who conned Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) out of his family fortune last season! Yes, Maud Beaton makes her return to the HBO hit this week, but there’s a twist. You see, she’s not living it up in the lap of luxury, nor is she even going by the name Maud Beaton anymore…

**Spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 5 “A Different World,” now streaming on HBO MAX**

About halfway through The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 5 “A Different World,” Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) invites business partner Jack Trotter (Ben Ahlers) out to dinner so they can celebrate all their recent good news. Not only did Larry and Jack just sell the alarm clock for an astonishing $600,000 (or $20 million in today’s dollars), but Larry is newly engaged to Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson).

However, Larry does not take Jack to Delmonico’s for steaks. Instead, the boys go to the Haymarket, a club that was like the Moulin Rouge of New York City at this time. There, the lads can drink, joke, gamble, watch ladies box, and hire sex workers to entertain them for the night. While they’re there, one particular prostitute catches Larry’s eye, only not in the way you might think.

Larry recognizes Maud Beaton at the Haymarket. He confronts her and she immediately freezes up before playing dumb. She says she doesn’t know who Maud Beaton even is. She’s just Dolly Trent. Then, her client for the night pulls her away. Still, the damage is done. Larry has found Maud Beaton and even brings this news to Oscar the next day.

So what does this all mean? Who is Maud Beaton again? Why is she now working as a sex worker called “Dolly Trent”? What was the real historic Haymarket? Here’s everything you need to know about this latest plot development on HBO’s The Gilded Age…

Who is Maud Beaton on The Gilded Age?

Can’t remember what went down with Maud Beaton and Oscar van Rhijn last season? No worries. We got you!

To make a long story short, Maud Beaton was introduced as a fabulously beautiful socialite in The Gilded Age Season 2. The closeted Oscar van Rhijn found himself attracted to her because she was so effortlessly charming and because she was rumored to be Jay Gould’s illegitimate daughter. When Maud tells Oscar that she’s invested her money (to great success) with a Mr. Crowther (Mark Boyett), he invests his own family’s money in the same scheme.

Just as Oscar is preparing to propose to Maud, he discovers to his absolute horror that the whole thing was a scam. Maud Beaton was a honeypot designed to lure him into con man Crowther’s clutches. Oscar has not only lost all of his money in the grift, but his mother’s money, too.

The implication last season was that Maud ran away with the van Rhijn money and was probably living a privileged life somewhere far away. So it’s a shock when Larry Russell recognizes her working as a lowly prostitute at the Haymarket.

So did she spend all of Oscar’s money already? Did she lose it? Is there a bigger story here? Is her name really Maud Beaton or Dolly Trent? Those are mysteries for the next episodes of The Gilded Age to delve into…

Maud Beaton is played by Nicole Brydon Bloom, who also stars on Emmy-nominated Hulu hit Paradise. In real life, she is married to Justin Theroux and you can follow her on Instagram @n.brydonbloom.

What Was The Haymarket in Gilded Age New York?

Much like Delmonico’s is a real restaurant*, founded in 1827 and still operating (albeit under different management) at 56 Beaver Street in Manhattan, the Haymarket was also a real historic club in Gilded Age New York.

The Haymarket was a club that operated out of 66 W 30th Street from 1878 to 1911. It was notorious for its female patrons, who were, yes, prostitutes and can-can dancers. So The Gilded Age got it about right.

*The steaks are actually pretty good and the ambiance is very cool. Just saying.