The Phantom of Fifth Avenue

The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark

By: Meryl Gordon

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Born in 1906, Huguette Clark grew up in her family's 121-room Beaux Arts mansion in New York and was one of the leading celebrities of her day. Her father, William Andrews Clark, was a copper magnate, the second richest man in America, and not above bribing his way into the Senate.

Huguette attended the coronation of King George V. And at 22, with a personal fortune of $50 million to her name, she married a Princeton man and childhood friend, William MacDonald Gower. Two-years later the couple divorced. After a series of failed romances, Huguette began to withdraw from society - first living with her mother in a kind of Grey Gardens isolation, then as a modern-day Miss Havisham, spending her days in a vast apartment overlooking Central Park, eating crackers and watching The Flintstones with only servants for company.

All her money and all her real estate could not protect her in her later life from being manipulated by shady hangers-on and hospitals that were only too happy to admit (and bill) a healthy woman. But what happened to Huguette that turned a vivacious, young socialite into a recluse? And what was her life like inside that gilded, copper cage?

©2014 Meryl Gordon (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Mesmerizing Story

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed listening to this book. Due to the propensity of the subject to save all correspondence, paperwork of any and every kind and keep a journal, the story was filled with genuinely accurate details, both personal and historical. Given the volume of materials, the author did a masterful job of picking out the ones she used and did a beautiful job of weaving it all together. This I one of the most pleasurable "reads" I've ever experienced. The narrator was excellent and added greatly to that experience.

Sad and revealing history

A very interesting dad and revealing history of a mysterious woman and the money grubbers who fought for their I’ll gotten gains

Did her wealth rob her of getting to have a life?

This book is a cautionary tale on just about every level and every stage of life. Listen and draw your own conclusions. It would have been great if pictures had been included but a simple online search provides plenty. Narration was excellent and easy to listen to. Book could have been a couple hours shorter without the repetitiveness and ample minutiae regarding side people who you will forget about as soon as you have finished the book.

Great story

Intriguing story, I could listen to it again, hope they make a movie sometime soon, highly recommended to anyone interested in history.

Well written biography

Where does The Phantom of Fifth Avenue rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 25%

What did you like best about this story?

That it is true

Which character – as performed by Bernadette Dunne – was your favorite?

Huguette Clark

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

I love biography and this was a very interesting one

Fascinating and Poignant

This is truly a remarkable story of a damaged woman and her uncommon life. I can't help but think what a disservice her father did when he told her no one would ever care for her, apart from her money. I wonder what she might have accomplished with less poison and fewer riches....

Wow! What an interesting story!

What did you love best about The Phantom of Fifth Avenue?

Just learning about what it may have been like to be a wealthy socialite in the earlier part of the century. Its something that very few people could ever relate to. I found Hugette's like so interesting and of course at the same time so sad.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hugette of course.

What about Bernadette Dunne’s performance did you like?

She read the book really well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think a lot about how quickly life goes by. Hugette wanted to live forever. It was a strange feeling in general at the end of the book.

Any additional comments?

There is another book about the same topic that I have thought about reading to compare notes. May be worth it:)

Well researched and interesting biography

This was a 2 for 1 purchase and I was reluctant to buy but glad I did. Interesting story and good narration.

Good hidden history

we get so many stories about heiresses from 1900 or are instagrammers, it was cool to hear a story about one from our time that wasn't a tramp. No spoilers but I think the way the story is bookended was unnecessary.

The Rich Are Different

This is the story of a wealthy heiress who shunned the spotlight and used her vast resources to maintain the illusions that kept her delicate psychology intact. The Clarks were the Kardashians of their day: famous for being famous, the minutiae of their lives scrutinized by the media. People are as interested to find out what happened to Huguette Clark as they would be if Kourtney or Kim Kardashian suddenly decided to hide from the public eye for decades.

I have three criticisms of the book: First, in an effort to connect far-flung events and explain why Huguette Clark became a recluse, the book suffers from too many time jumps that don't really add much to the story.

Second, the quotes from people who knew Huguette don't add much to the story, either. It's possible that, working from historical documents, the author didn't have much choice in regard to quotes. But even the people she interviewed in person come across as not having anything interesting to say.

Last, too much of the story focuses on the early life of Huguette's father, his first wife, and the children from that marriage. The book doesn't really find its stride until well over halfway through, when it begins to examine the forces in Huguette's young adult life that drove her to become a recluse.

In summary: this book had the opportunity to delve into Huguette's unusual psychology, and the psychology of recluses in general. There are hints throughout of psychological analyses, but no real focus on them. So, ultimately, the book left me disappointed.