Vanderbilt Women: Dynasty of Wealth, Glamour, and Tragedy

From Publishers Weekly
Many biographers of the rich have not been sympathetic, and they have been particularly ungenerous to the females in such families, dismissing them as social butterflies, suggests Stasz ( American Dreamers ). That the Vanderbilt women by and large must be taken seriously is convincingly proved by this lively scholarly account of the social/financial dynasty from 1650 to the present, with the emphasis on the last century. Of special interest are discussions of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942), a sculptor, who recovered from a singularly unhappy marriage by dedicating herself to a series of male and female lovers and by establishing Manhattan's Whitney Museum of American Art; Alva Smith Vanderbilt (1853-1933), who put aside her frenetic efforts to become New York City's social arbiter to play a significant role in the women's suffrage movement; and today's Gloria, "the Poor Little Rich Girl," subjected to a vicious custody battle as a child, who found contentment in her fourth marriage and a successful business career. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Lucius Beebe said that "The nearest thing to a royal family that has ever appeared on the American scene was the Vanderbilts … their vendettas, their armies of servitors, partisans and sycophants, their love affairs, scandals, and shortcomings, all were the stuff of an imperial routine."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Lucius Beebe said that "The nearest thing to a royal family that has ever appeared on the American scene was the Vanderbilts ... their vendettas, their armies of servitors, partisans and sycophants, their love affairs, scandals, and shortcomings, all were the stuff of an imperial routine."Stasz reveals new facts and insights into the fascinating lives of three generations of Vanderbilt women who dominated New York society from the middle of the eighteenth century through the twentieth. Of special interest are the discovery of unpublished letters and a pseudonymous lesbian novel that shed light on the complex character of the most currently famous Vanderbilt woman, Gloria Vanderbilt.

SYNOPSIS

Stasz reveals new facts and insights into the fascinating lives of three generations of Vanderbilt women who dominated New York society from the middle of the eighteenth century through the twentieth.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly