Instead, she negotiates a divorce, weathers the scandal, and finds new fulfillment. Impeccably virtuous and self-disciplined, Alva nevertheless faces frequent censure for her lack of feminine deference, particularly when, in her 40s, she refuses to ignore her husband’s infidelity. Wealth offers scope for Alva’s formidable leadership skills: in the same years she bears three children, wins the parvenu Vanderbilts a position in elite society, and collaborates with architect Richard Hunt on a series of influential projects. Her effort pays off-William inherits $65 million in 1885-though she finds neither love nor sexual pleasure with her amiable, self-absorbed husband. Marrying well being the only way to keep her family secure, Alva sets her sights on railroad scion William K. In 1874, 21-year-old Alva Smith and her three sisters have impeccable antecedents but no money. As accomplished as its subject, redoubtable socialite and women’s suffrage crusader Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Fowler’s engrossing successor to 2013’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, again showcases her genius for seeing beyond the myths of iconic women.
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