A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts

Full of wit, this book is a captivating read, capturing mmomy attention and holding it throughout. I found it hard to put down. Very much like other accounts I've read about Alva Vanderbilt but also quite different in key ways; after all, it is a work of historical fiction.

Purchased this for our book club. Great insight into the privileged world of the Vanderbilts.

I bought this book because I have a fascination with the Gilded Age. After all, who doesn’t like a good story about excessive wealth and unbridled corruption. So I added it to books on my Kindle, eager to finish the one I was reading and get started on this Amazon -recommended masterpiece.My mistake. First, a novel has to have a story, not just a well-known family name that has a story. I’m not sure what this book is about, so if there is some semblance of plot, it’s hidden behind one of Alva’s massive mansions. Second, readers expect well-honed characters, and this book is lacking again. Alva, the main Vanderbilt character, begins the story as a poor girl sympathetic to the plight of those less fortunate than she. So one might think that after she becomes a member of the wealthiest family in America, she would use this consciousness of society to tackle the ills of poverty. Not so- she is much too busy building grand palaces and a reputation that allows her to travel in the finest circles. Readers have no real clue about what she believes or who she is. Unfortunately, Alva is the only character the author attempts to develop: the rest are just shadows of dull people that circle the selfish world of Alva.Finally, all good novels should have a point- something resembling a theme or at least the attempt at one. Not so with this book. I have no idea what the author was attempting to say to the reader: the vanity of the Gilded Age? the vapidness of Alva? the evilness that money can buy? No clue, because no theme was developed.Skip this one, unless you’re looking for a late-summer beach read and don’t care if you lose a chapter or two to waves of salty sea water.

This enlightening book about Alva Vanderbilt opened a window into a past I had read little about. I love books with both history and a strong female lead so it was a great pleasure to find this book. I recommend it highly!

Writing novels about protagonists who are bored by a declining society and their family relationships is not an easy task. There is always a risk of the work getting boring itself despite intrigues and passion, or else of affairs getting too complicated. It takes psychological insight, sensitivity and great literary craft(wo)manship to keep the reader compelled and alert throughout the whole book. Therese Ann Fowler obviously possesses those talents. “A Well-Educated Woman” develops convincing characters before the background of an America that is still recovering from a shattering Civil War and gradually slipping into the merciless fangs of uninhibited capitalism. Fowler’s book is never boring and - in a good way - produces the same thrills and dynamics that made Downton Abbey such a great success on TV. Where Downton Abbey draws an elaborate picture of old societal structures falling apart in post WW 1 England, Fowler takes the reader into the Gilded Age of the United States where old class lines have begun to solidify again. In more than one way, “A Well-Educated Woman” may remind the reader of the social paintings of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Last Tycoon” , Evelyn Waugh’s “A Handful Of Dust”, Turgenev’s “Rudin” or even Tolstoj’s “Anna Karenina”. Thus, it is no wonder that even the Russian empress Katerina II finds mentioning in Fowler’s novel. And yet, Fowler’s novel is much more than just a social analysis. It reflects much of the vivid New York spirit tlike John Dos Passos captures in his “Manhattan Transfer” kaleidoscope. “A Well-Educated woman” is a real novel, not just another book. It deserves to receive a prominent place among the great social novels of our time. It is genuine literature.

Hamstrung by convention and pending penury, Alva connives to marry wealth. She succeeds beyond her wildest dreams but finds herself in a loveless situation of marital rape. While attracted to another man, she maintains a moral distance and focuses on buildings and her children. The confession of her best friend to adultery with her husband sets her free to take the unconventional path of divorce. Her eventual happiness with her long admirer is cut short but she then is able to support women’s suffrage. Fairly well-written; however, it was hard while reading the heroine’s “personal thoughts” to constantly think, “I wonder what she really thought?”

This is a somewhat interesting but unimaginative book and while it piqued my curiosity about the Vanderbilts, I found Alva Vanderbilt, the main character, to be a rather unappealing woman known mainly as a wealthy socialite intent on building mansions that outdid her rivals.Much of the book clearly is fabricated such as the sexual act and relationship between Alva and William. My research showed Alva became very involved in women's suffrage movement but the book gives little space at the end to her impact. I finished the book so it was good enough.

I was interested in this book initially because I had been to the Newport home of Alva Vanderbilt and was aware of her work to allow women to vote. She was an intelligent woman who was ahead of her time. She played the New York society game, was in a marriage and society that left her unfulfilled. But because she had a daughter she had to secure her place in the world. This was a time that women were owned by their husbands, marrying for love not a real option and if your husband no longer wanted you, you were left with less than nothing. And, you were not expected to be think or have a mind of your own. So she was a well behaved woman, until she wasn’t. She went on to be a champion for women’s rights and the rights of the underprivileged. A great book and one that would invite a lot of discussion.

Therese Anne Fowler does a fabulous job of bringing us the life of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont. Born into a good but impoverished family, Alva and her three sisters are hungrily impecunious. With encouragement from her friend Consuelo Yznaga, Alva marries William Vanderbilt, an aimiable, if rather useless scion of the rich but socially unacceptable Vanderbilt family. One hundred million dollars goes a long way now. In the 1880’s, it was unimaginable wealth. Alva promptly set about getting the family accepted by the likes of the Astors and other wealthy families of the Gilded Age. A big fan of architecture, one of the paths to her success was the design and outfitting of various beautiful mansions. She could also throw a fantastic ball.After three children, Alva was more than dismayed to discover that her husband had betrayed her with her best friend. She had the gumption to insist on a divorce and ended up marrying Oliver Belmont, the love of her life. In later life, she became a big champion of women’s rights, including - unusually for the time - African American women. Fowler brings great intelligence and insight to the lives of this fascinating woman, her relatives, her friends and the era in which she lived. The pages hum with interest. There are absolutely no boring bits. Next, I’ll read Z, Fowler’s story of Zelda Fitzgerald.

I love to read books with strong female characters in the lead. It is even better when it is a story, fiction or non-fiction, about a real woman who has made a meaningful contribution to women and the common good. I am delighted to have 'met' Alva Smith Benton.

This novel takes the story of Alva Vanderbilt and gives it a feminist slant. The gilded age is fascinating and the trappings of wealth also intriguing. The writing is ok, but rather more romantic fiction than hard hitting,

Fantastic insight into the world of the uber wealthy Vanderbilts of the 19th century

If I had known that Alva was involved in the suffrage movement I would have been more interested, as it was a bit shallow.