Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt

It took me a while to get through this book although the content was interesting. The lives described are so different from mine. I had heard the story about the heiress who was "sold" in marriage to a member of the British aristocracy in exchange for a share of her family's wealth. As often happens, the real story is much more complex. I had not realized that Consuelo's mother Alva was a leading suffragette. Alva was bright and determined, surviving divorce to continue to hold a top position in society. What a difficult mother she must have been. Consuelo's life after her marriage and subsequent divorce from the Duke of Marlborough was a life well lived. She survived until a ripe old age and enjoyed a second marriage to a man of her show more choice. She lived in interesting times and witnessed history from the late Victorian era to the early Kennedy years. show less

Outstanding biography. The genre itself is difficult to approach - it's not enough for the reader to be mildly curious about someone's life, you have to be interested for 500 pages. If you have only a passing interest in the lives of the rich in the Gilded Age period - which in many ways Alva and Consuelo embody - don't pick this up. If, however, your idea of bliss is a good few days spent reading about first-wave feminism, architecture and the class system, this book is a must-read. Highly readable, detailed enough to be rich and generous in its attempt to give a sense of not only two extraordinary women but also of a whole era, it's a superb account of Consuelo and Alva's lives following both of their paths with equal energy. It's show more also a story of finding your own path despite family ties - Consuelo suffered from Alva's dominating personality throughout her childhood and teenage years and yet blossomed into a loving and lovely woman with varied, current interests. I was pleasantly surprised to see the author didn't try and demonize Alva who definitely had her flaws (eccentricity and total lack of empathy being two) but was an astonishing character in her own right and I sided with many of her positions (she seemed way ahead of her times and once said that the secret to happiness is not to look back or forward but to live in your time, demonstrating a clarity of thought that's strange for her). I loved best the chapter dealing with both women's involvement with the struggle for female suffrage. Books that open new doors and leave you eager to read about different things (in my case, Winston Churchill and the suffragettes) are the best because they manage to convey marvellous scope. It's a fine balance to keep evoking a way of life that's almost completely extinct now save for the very few (and the author does take pains to explain striking differences) and focus intimately on just two figures who experienced those times but in an incomplete fashion and Stuart manages beautifully. Excellent account and beautiful photographs. Highly recommended. show less

This dual biography of American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt and her mother Alva is divided into four sections: the first deals with Consuelo’s early life and marriage to the 9th Duke of Marlborough; the second with her life as an English duchess and the collapse of her marriage. The second half of the book, parts three and four, focus on the remainder of the lives of Consuelo and Alva; their second marriages and campaigns for woman’s suffrage on both sides of the Atlantic. Consuelo and Alva is fluently written, and reads like a novel (Mackenzie Stuart has worked as a screen writer): the detailed depictions of the lives of the super-rich are interesting, the characters of the protagonists are acutely drawn. Overall, an excellent show more read, though over-long. show less

Interesting biography, a bit tedious at times, it could have used more editing; parts for it went on and on about trivial details (and in some instances pages later went on about it/them again), at other times there was only a paragraph or two on some information upon which she could/should have expounded. I was unaware of Alva's involvement in the suffrage movement and this part made interesting reading (though this was one area that did need an editor).

Interesting biography, a bit tedious at times, it could have used more editing; parts for it went on and on about trivial details (and in some instances pages later went on about it/them again), at other times there was only a paragraph or two on some information upon which she could/should have expounded. I was unaware of Alva's involvement in the suffrage movement and this part made interesting reading (though this was one area that did need an editor).

By focusing on both mother and daughter the author gives the reader a close look at life during the "Gilded Age". While Alva was a domineering and overbearing mother, she was also an active part of the suffragette movement in the United States.

The book is filled with interesting tidbits, such as Consuelo's emotional status on the day of her wedding. It's a wonderful view of social history both in the United States and England.

This book was interesting in it's description of the history and sociology of the "Golden Age", America in the 1920s. However, so much was written on Alva's involvement in the suffrage movement that I found myself burdened by all the details so I put the book away for a month. But my personal premise is to always finish a book unless i just really hate it, and I still wanted to know more about Consuela, so I did finish it and enjoyed it.