For Richer, for Poorer

by Edward Stewart

In 1922, Kitty, poverty-stricken and pregnant, vows vengeance on the man she believes responsible for her lover's death

492 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1983

About the author

Edward Stewart grew up in New York City and Cuba. His first novel, Orpheus on Top, was published in 1966. He wrote thirteen more novels, including the bestselling Vince Cardozo thrillers Privileged Lives, Jury Double, Mortal Grace, and Deadly Rich. He died in Manhattan at the age of 58.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You will have a son, Tyrone. Your son will live. I swear it".

For Richer, For Poorer by Edward Stewart

This book is an epic. I first read it at a very young age but have done rereads. It's pretty fantastic.

At the heart of the story, is Kitty. Kitty from a young age is idealilistic. That ends early on however.


When Kitty's husband is killed in a violent strike against an Oil dynasty, a bitter Kitty marries into the family she hates.

She has two sons, one who she loves and the other she feels nothing for. This story follows her and her family.

Historical Fiction meets Politics meets Epic Family Saga. I found this to be a fully satisfying and great read. It is filled with tragedy and some things strain belief but I never felt like needed to be convinced.

The journey in this story also follows the two sons. If you choose to read this, you will love one of the sons, loathe the other. But I do not want to give too much away.

At heart, this is a family saga. Kitty is a very bitter woman and unfortunetly she lets that bitterness touch everything and everybody she comes in contact with. But she's not BAD.

It is easy to make judgments in this book and assume she is. I felt a lot toward Kitty..anger, dislike, but also pity, empathy..she is a complicated character.

Since it's historical fiction, it touches on many different things and events. all of which mold and shape the characters. There are a few characters who do not make their entrance right away whom you may at first like -- or dislike -- only to have your feelings change as the story goes on. That is the great thing about the book. There are no cookie cutter characters. All of them produce different emotions. I really enjoyed reading this.

Overall this was a well written engaging five star read that I would recommend to anyone interested in any of the above mentioned genres.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grief, bitterness, revenge, money, determination, calculation, more money, more greed for revenge ... it all makes for interesting reading.
I very much enjoyed this book - you got to give it to Kitty,
she went through hellfire to get what she set out to get. But at what price in the end?

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never a dull moment!

Binge read it! Characters were fascinating! The way Kitty manipulated everyone in her life was kind boggling. Couldn't put it down.

[Toni's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

So for Richer, for Poorer…. My supervisor gave me this book to read once she realized I love to read books. It’s not anything I would normally read and if it wasn’t given to me and I felt obligated to read it, it still wouldn’t be on my list of books to read. However, It wasn’t bad.

So this books follows Kitty Kellogg, a poor girl that grew up in Bartonville seeking revenge for the death of her (forced/ married on death bed) husband Tyrone Duncannon. Tyrone was killed during a massacre in which the oil workers went on strike against their employer John Stokes Sr. This massacre left 9 dead including a burned infant, 58 wounded, and thousands beaten. Kitty vowing to take revenge on the Stoke’s for the death of Tyrone and for the sake of the child she carries and gets a job as a laundress in the Stokes household.

Overall it was an ok book. I felt Kitty lost her thirst for revenge once she got a taste of the rich life. She cut off her father never really speaking to him again and I believe her goal changed from killing to living when she marries John Stokes Jr. She passes off Tyrone’s son (naming him Jay) as John’s and manipulates her way to the top. Kitty turns into the epitome of buying and blackmailing people to get what she wanted and that is something I dislike. She does have a child by John (Bart) and treats this child as the afterbirth of life. Any trouble Jay gets into she fixes it and buys his way out of it while Bart just suffer the consequences. In her quest to have Jay at the top of the food chain of the United States she forgot to realize that he had his own life to live and goals to pursue. I guess in the end Kitty got her revenge but either directly or indirectly she caused the death of so many people and the son who came out on top was the one she never thought would in the end.

So in my eyes Kitty is a manipulative horrible person that has no redeemable qualities at all.

[Happpy Flower · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dynastic novel. Entertaining. No basis in reality. Could be a made for TV movie.