Name: Suzanna Curran's review of A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
Item: A Well-Behaved Woman
Rating: 3
Author: Suzanna Curran

Therese Anne Fowler

The riveting novel of iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded-Age New York, from the New York Times bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Alva Smith, her southern family destitute after the Civil War, married into one of America’s great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York’s old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designed and built nine mansions, hosted grand balls, and arranged for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, in A Well-Behaved Woman Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. Meet Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, living proof that history is made by those who know the rules—and how to break them.

A Novel of the Vanderbilts

A Well-Behaved Woman

Suzanna Curran

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A glittering depiction of a woman ahead of her time who absolutely refused to be second best' Red Alva Smith, her Southern family destitute after the Civil War, marries into one of America's great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York's old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designs and builds nine mansions, hosts grand balls, and arranges for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defies convention for women of the time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, bestselling author Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted with desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. 'A very lively read' Independent 'A pacy, elegant novel' Mail on Sunday 'Wholly absorbing' Stylist 'Like Gossip Girl minus more than a century' The Skimm 'Enthralling' Good Housekeeping ----------------------------------- *PRAISE FOR Z: A NOVEL OF ZELDA FITZGERALD, A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* 'Brilliant. Read it, read it, read it' Daily Mail 'Superb' Independent on Sunday 'Utterly compulsive reading' Stylist 'A treat' Sunday Times

the New York Times bestselling novel of the Gilded Age

Pam Sartain

A Well-Behaved Woman is a fictionalised version of the events of Alva Vanderbilt's life, from her humble beginnings, her marriage to William Vanderbilt, to her support of Suffragettes.

It was amazing how many houses I wanted to look at when reading this, as Therese Anne Fowler describes the buildings so well, and I kept wanting to see what they looked like today! Sadly, the ones in New York don't survive, but still lovely to look at online!

I did also look up characters on Wikipedia, and was interested in how Alva's daughter Consuelo wrote about her mother in her autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold, and yes, I want to read that now! 

All in all, this was a really enjoyable read, and made me interested in American history!

This was written by the same person who wrote Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, which Amazon then made into a series called Z: The Beginning of Everything, starring Christina Ricci, and having read A Well-Behaved Woman, I now want to read Z! 

A Well-Behaved Woman was published on 24th January this year, and is available on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press (the publishers) for this book.

Jan Talkington

Ms Fowler in a soft, quiet way brought Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont to life. I felt transported back in time and could picture the people, dress, opulence and need. A nice read.

Renee Blankenship

Thank you to St. Martins Press for my free copy!

I went into A Well Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler with little to no information about the Vanderbilt family. Other than a brief visit to The Biltmore in North Carolina when I was in high school, and knowing they had something to do with....railroads? I didn't know much else. What I DID know was that I simply adored Fowler's first book. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. I loved how she delivered Zelda's story, separate and alongside her husband's famous name and image. I flew through that book and will forever have a special place in my heart when it comes to Zelda Fitzgerald, the woman.

What took me by surprise with this story, however, was how very much I did not like Alva Vanderbilt at the beginning (or honestly, almost the first half). I found a lot of what was happening slightly off-putting. A poor woman with no prospects on the horizon vying for the attentions of a young man from a wealthy family, so her own sisters will live comfortably. So she herself will be settled. Worrying about the effects names and titles have on society and what the other women thought of her. New money versus old money. Fancy homes and clothes and trips. All of it just seemed so hard for me to grasp and what little I was learning about Alva at the beginning of the story really wasn't endearing me to her.

As Alva grew up a little, with children and responsibilities and her husband and his family grew wealthier and wealthier I started to see more of the true Alva emerge. A woman who questioned why society was so adamant about preserving status and against growth and new ideas. Why the men had to make all of the decisions, why the women were left behind a closed door time and again while the men conferred. As her strong willed nature emerged in the story I found myself really rooting for her. Yes, she made the decisions she did to live comfortably and keep her family comfortable. But she also rose up against so very much that other women were simply turning a blind eye to. And she used her wealth and status to encourage change, especially with women’s suffrage. By the last 1/4 of the book I was just really proud of her and glad for the happiness she was finally able to find with herself and the love of her life. She most certainly deserved it!

I was enlightened by the author’s comment about writing Alva’s character and viewing her through the lens of if Alva was a man, her actions would never have been question nor would she have come across as unlikeable. An interesting thought and one I’m still turning over in my mind!

What I loved most about this story was how interested the setting and other players became as I was reading. I looked up facts, images of the homes and other people or events to get a clearer picture of what that period of time was like for Alva, the Vanderbilts and other families like theirs. This is one of the reasons why I find reading historical fiction so enjoyable, when I can dive into the real life aspects of the story and learn more about the character in my book.

Four stars from me and a story I highly recommend if you enjoy historical fiction and strong female characters.

Gigi V

Jess LeBlanc

The riveting novel of iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded-Age New York, written by Therese Anne Fowler, a New York Times bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Alva Smith, her southern family destitute after the Civil War, married into one of America’s great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York’s old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designed and built nine mansions, hosted grand balls, and arranged for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, in A Well-Behaved Woman Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. Meet Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, living proof that history is made by those who know the rules—and how to break them.

Suzanna Curran &
A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler

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