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TheNew York TimesandUSA Todaybestseller The riveting novel of iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded-Age New York, written byTherese Anne Fowler, a New York Timesbestselling author ofZ: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Alva Smith, her southern family destitute after the Civil War, married into one of America's great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York's old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designed and built nine mansions, hosted grand balls, and arranged for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, in A Well-Behaved Woman Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. Meet Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, living proof that history is made by those who know the rulesâ??and how to break them.… (more)
BookshelfMonstrosity: In these fictional biographies, ambitious women marry high-profile men and are flung into the public eye. Full of vivid period detail, these novels span decades and shed light on the social issues of the time.
Sparked by a trip to Asheville, I found this an intriguing peek at NYC society, unfathomable wealth, and the early years of suffrage. A lengthy read, but worth it. ( )
A biographical novel about socialite Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, A Well-Behaved Woman paints her in a little better light than American Duchess(about her daughter Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill Balsan). As with that book, I had a hard time getting interested in the first world problems of the incredibly wealthy. Late in life, Alva is involved in the women's suffrage movement, but the book ends at that point. ( )
A WELL-BEHAVED WOMAN is a story about the notorious Alva Vanderbilt who married a rich man to save herself and her sisters from destitution. Once Alva Smith lived a prosperous life, but that was until their fortune was lost. She has to wed really well and she catches the eye of William Vanderbilt from the very rich, but socially outcast Vanderbilts. Alva is hell-bent on getting herself and the Vanderbilts everything they want, no matter the cost. But, can all the money in the world buy her the happiness she wants?
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!( )
Very interesting to see a more fleshed out picture of Alva, when so often historians try to reduce women like her to tiny bits of off-color details. She was much more than someone who married her daughter Consuelo off and "forced" her to wear braces for her posture. She was presented with an impossible choice to marry William in order to save her family. Alva deserved better.
By the reviews of this book, we are led to believe that Alva Vanderbilt is a fascinating woman, ahead of her time, making a difference in the world. No. I found her to be a self-absorbed society wife, only concerned about improving her position and acquiring more luxurious goods with which to surround herself. She dabbled in architecture, but if this was truly an important interest in her life, the author doesn't make that clear. The way these people lived in the Gilded Age of the 1800s was obnoxious, and they are just as obnoxious - privileged and entitled snobs who inherited a lot of money and didn't seem to do much good with it. It was only later in her life that Alva apparently grew a social conscience and got involved in the women's suffrage movement, but the book ends there and we don't find out much about it. If you want to read a full and rich biography of this woman, look elsewhere. ( )
A woman's lot is made for her by the love she accepts. - George Eliot
Her eye of light is the diamond bright. Her innocence the pearl; And those are ever the bridal gems That are worn by the American girl.
Dedication
To John, for all the reasons
First words
When they asked her about the Vanderbilts and Belmonts, about their celebrations and depredations, the mansions and balls, the lawsuits, the betrayals, the rifts - when they asked why she did the extreme things she'd done, Alva said it all began quite simply: Once there was desperate young woman whose mother was dead and whose father was dying almost as quickly as his money was running out.
TheNew York TimesandUSA Todaybestseller The riveting novel of iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded-Age New York, written byTherese Anne Fowler, a New York Timesbestselling author ofZ: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Alva Smith, her southern family destitute after the Civil War, married into one of America's great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York's old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designed and built nine mansions, hosted grand balls, and arranged for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, in A Well-Behaved Woman Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. Meet Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, living proof that history is made by those who know the rulesâ??and how to break them.
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