Alva, That Vanderbilt-Belmont Woman

Rating:
Summary: The Indomitable or Abominable Alva?
Review: Rector joins the legion of writers who have perpetuated the myth of Alva Belmont as the wave, not the float. This myth is a gross exaggeration. The author doesn't grasp that Alva Belmont's lack of scruples did put Caroline Astor, a woman of principle, at a disadvantage in the social arena. I did enjoy the book as semifiction.

Rating:
Summary: The Indomitable or Abominable Alva?
Review: Rector joins the legion of writers who have perpetuated the myth of Alva Belmont as the wave, not the float. This myth is a gross exaggeration. The author doesn't grasp that Alva Belmont's lack of scruples did put Caroline Astor, a woman of principle, at a disadvantage in the social arena. I did enjoy the book as semifiction.

Rating:
Summary: Glosses over Alva Belmont's racism
Review: The book is not well written, but it is written. The book doesn't develop the role Alva Belmont's racism played in shaping her dictatorial attitude. Try to get a copy of Alva Belmont's autobiography to compare with Rector's book. Alva Belmont, the daughter of an Alabama cotton planter, was a brazen racist. "I was a natural dictator," she wrote of herself. "I enjoyed nothing so much as tyrannizing over the little slave children on my father's cotton plantation."

Rating:
Summary: Glosses over Alva Belmont's racism
Review: The book is not well written, but it is written. The book doesn't develop the role Alva Belmont's racism played in shaping her dictatorial attitude. Try to get a copy of Alva Belmont's autobiography to compare with Rector's book. Alva Belmont, the daughter of an Alabama cotton planter, was a brazen racist. "I was a natural dictator," she wrote of herself. "I enjoyed nothing so much as tyrannizing over the little slave children on my father's cotton plantation."

Rating:
Summary: Over the Top
Review: This book is a biography, written as though it was an autobiography. An interesting idea, but not fully developed. Books should casually relay information to readers, and not always force-feed through dialog such as "Mother, remember that time when..." I was annoyed by that, but perhaps this is because I've read quite a bit about the vanderbilts already. Ms. Rector's attempts to inform were sometimes insulting because of this. She did quite a lot of research, however. I find the book is not enjoyable to read, but I come away with a different picture of Mrs. William K Vanderbilt (whose husband was a grandson of the commodore). She didn't describe Alva's daughter Consuelo correctly, and because of this, I do doubt some of the other information. I read Consuelo's book beforehand, and her opinions and descriptions of events were changed for Ms. Rector's version. It's one thing to make it seem as if Alva THOUGHT a certain way, but Ms. Rector wrote as if it WAS the way things happened. Hmmm dubious.
If you read the book with a grain of salt, accept that everything is over the top, but walk away with a better understanding of Alva's life and times, then this will have been a successful purchase. Do visit Alva's 'Marble House' in Newport, RI. It's immense and beautiful!

Rating:
Summary: Over the Top
Review: This book is a biography, written as though it was an autobiography. An interesting idea, but not fully developed. Books should casually relay information to readers, and not always force-feed through dialog such as "Mother, remember that time when..." I was annoyed by that, but perhaps this is because I've read quite a bit about the vanderbilts already. Ms. Rector's attempts to inform were sometimes insulting because of this. She did quite a lot of research, however. I find the book is not enjoyable to read, but I come away with a different picture of Mrs. William K Vanderbilt (whose husband was a grandson of the commodore). She didn't describe Alva's daughter Consuelo correctly, and because of this, I do doubt some of the other information. I read Consuelo's book beforehand, and her opinions and descriptions of events were changed for Ms. Rector's version. It's one thing to make it seem as if Alva THOUGHT a certain way, but Ms. Rector wrote as if it WAS the way things happened. Hmmm dubious.
If you read the book with a grain of salt, accept that everything is over the top, but walk away with a better understanding of Alva's life and times, then this will have been a successful purchase. Do visit Alva's 'Marble House' in Newport, RI. It's immense and beautiful!