A Well-Behaved Woman - A Novel of the Vanderbilts

The principal character in Therese Anne Fowler's A Well-Behaved Woman - A Novel of the Vanderbilts (#824) is Alva Smith Vanderbilt.  I found it interesting as I was reading Ms. Fowler's introduction to her novel that she did not initially like or want to write about Alva Vanderbilt based on contemporary comments on her.  This happened to be in the middle of the 2016 presidential campaign when Hilary Clinton was being pilloried by the press.  Ms. Fowler said it occurred to her that the same thing might have happened to Alva Vanderbilt, and that actions that would have been admired, even applauded by society and the popular press had they been done by men were heaped with scorn simply because Alva was a woman.  That changed the focus of her novel, and in her A Well-Behaved Woman, she gives us an Alva Vanderbilt worth reading about.

Alva came from a Southern family ruined by the Civil War, and it became imperative for her to marry well in order to support her invalid father and three unmarried sisters.  With the help of her wealthy friend Consuelo Yzanga, Alva succeeded in winning a proposal from William K. Vanderbilt, the boyishly charming scion of the wealthy Vanderbilts.  What the Vanderbilts did not possess was an entry into the closed circle of New York Society.  Alva could provide that with her pedigree.  Just how she accomplished this and rose to the top of the social pecking order makes for a fascinating tale.  Her success certainly did not come without a steep price tag, but Alva was willing to pay it to advance the interests of her family and ultimately, American women through her dedication to the cause of Suffrage, although that is a tale for another book.

Ms. Fowler has certainly done her homework on Alva Smith Vanderbilt.  I Googled one of the portraits of Alva Vanderbilt mentioned in the book and stumbled on a treasure trove of on-line portraits of Alva and her family, and in particular, contemporary descriptions and photos of a spectacular Costume Ball thrown by Alva in their new Fifth Avenue home.  To see the costumes and people described attending the ball made me feel like one of the hoi polloi standing outside the mansion the night of the ball, trying to catch a glimpse of the cream of society entering the Vanderbilt home.

I also particularly liked the cover design of this book; the design cleverly incorporated the Vanderbilt "V" with a photo which I suspect was of a model much more attractive than the real life Alva.  It certainly was enough to make me pick up this book, and I'm glad I did; I found it a thoroughly enjoyable read about how the "1%" lives.