Alva, That Vanderbilt-Belmont Woman

by Margaret Rector

Alva, That Vanderbilt-Belmont Woman.Copyright 1992 by Margaret Rector with 324 pages.

Genres: Historical Fiction

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Karen Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Historical fiction written about Alva Vanderbilt Belmont. The subject was interesting, but the writing was not engaging. Could not finish.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

During a visit to Newport RI I was inspired by the story of Alva and her push for the suffrage movement. I purchased this book to get more information. This biography is cleverly written as if Alva herself was telling the story of her life. Brings the emotional elements to historical events and it made it very interesting. I really enjoyed this book and learning how a strong woman can push boundaries and make a difference.

[Brooke Haynes Gallucci · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trite. Terribly written.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alva Erskine Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1853. She came from a pretty wealthy and well-connected family. Being that she was from a Southern family with some means, her family did own slaves prior to the Civil War. The time in which she lived, the location in which she lived, and the attitudes of her family members really helped shape her racist attitudes. She is notorious for making all kinds of awful comments about all ethnicities, which was viewed as acceptable behavior at the time. She married William K. Vanderbilt in 1875, and became famous for her lavish parties and fancy dress. They had three children, who were each successful in their own right. She divorced her husband, shocking everyone, but went on to be very active for women's rights. She remarried, becoming a Belmont, and continued her parties, suffrage, and interest in architecture.

I am so disappointed in this book. This book was very poorly written, making it an absolute chore to read. I was very close to not finishing it and throwing it my laundry basket to trade for store credit prematurely. This book did not go into why she held some of the viewpoints that she did, which was disappointing and a missed opportunity. I would have loved to have learned more about her interests than this book gave. I would not recommend reading this at all, it is truly a waste of time. There are many other biographies about Alva Vanderbilt Belmont out there that would give a deep dive into her life and activities, without skipping the unsavory parts and being as dull as dishwater. This is by far the worst book I have read in a good while.

[K]

I expected so much more from this as the premise seemed interesting but after 60+ pages in I couldn't find myself to be interested anymore to finish it. As someone who knows the general historical facts about Alva it was just hard to believe the author's point of view for me. This may be a good book for someone who doesn't know as much about Alva to read first before delving into historical accounts.

[Tammy Terpenning · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting!

[Meg Koch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chick lit meets biography. Wish there was less "who wore what where" and more on Alva's work with the National Women's Party.

[Barbara Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it. It was written in 1st person which was a little strange at first but I got used to it. Nice look at a bit of history of this VERY wealthy family.

[Michael Rutkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of an amazing woman.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun one to read. I love learning about the Vanderbilt family- well-written and pretty captivating. Mostly true with a little poetic license taken by the author.

[Blaire]

I discovered this book at the Biltmore estate and I loved it.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

later

[Karen Fiandaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tale about this woman - who knew! Lots of archectural stuff - unusual format - well written.