I didn't know much about the Vanderbilts before reading this book. After reading it, I find myself searching Google to find photos of the family and their mansions. I am utterly fascinated by the main focus of this book, Alva Vanderbilt. She chooses a partner for life based on social hierarchey and that decision is the catalyst for the journey the rest of her life takes. It's amazing to learn about the social status and traditions of society in the 1880s in New York City. I loved this book's descriptions of the clothes, the architecture, the grandeur and luxurious lifestyle. But behind that curtain of opulence, there are lies, loveless marriages, blackmail and so much money that it's easy to see that nothing is as it seems. Alva Vanderbilt is determined to make a name for herself and save the social standing of her family's name, even if that means marrying a man based solely on his last name. When she and William Vanderbilt have children, her life's goal moves on from herself to focus on securing a high society lifestyle for her daughter, who she practically forces to marry someone she doesn't love for the same reasons she herself married. This observant, detailed account of the fascinating Vanderbilts swept me away and I fell in love with the family and their stories.
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