The Vanderbilt Women: Dynasty of Wealth, Glamour and Tragedy

by Clarice Stasz

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 Of special interest are the discovery of unpublished letters and a pseudonymous lesbian novel that shed light on the complex character of the most currently famous Vanderbilt woman, Gloria Vanderbilt.

502 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2000

Reviews

[Debra B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I find the topic fascinating, the writing and editing of the Kindle edition were mediocre.

The writing felt disjointed with the author often repeating a topic or incident already covered.

[The Real Beka Counts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the information but this book is poorly written. So many grammatical errors

[jacqueline k lindee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where were the proofreaders!

As difficult to read as it could be. I kept at it just to prove I could finish it. This is the type of reading I enjoy and was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, excessive use of the hyphen drive me to distraction! This may have been a good book - I couldn't get past the lack of proofreading to really enjoy it.

[Marilyn Lonon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The grammatical errors and other errors (1895 becomes 1985) are distracting - did no one proof this? Often boring, but I did finish it.