A Well-Behaved Woman

A Novel of the Vanderbilts

By: Therese Anne Fowler

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik

Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times and USA Today best seller

"More than a rewriting of history, this is history reimagined from a fresh angle, delivered here with energy, sensitivity, and flair." (AudioFile Magazine)

This program includes a bonus interview with the author.

A Well-Behaved Woman is the riveting audiobook about iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded Age New York, from the New York Times best-selling 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.

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.

Praise for A Well-Behaved Woman:

"A Well-Behaved Woman is an extraordinary portrait of a strong, fascinating woman who rose above societal convention and even her own expectations to become so much more than anyone might have predicted.” (Christina Baker Kline, New York Times best-selling author of A Piece of the World and Orphan Train)

“Oh how I loved every instant I spent in the world Fowler has recreated here. The story of Alva Vanderbilt is elegantly and emphatically told. Prepare to be enthralled!” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times best-selling author of The Perfect Couple)

"To step into Therese Anne Fowler's stunning novel is to step into Alva Vanderbilt's rarefied world of sprawling homes, delicious society intrigue, and incomparable Gilded Age luxury." (Allison Pataki, New York Times best-selling author of The Accidental Empress)

©2018 Therese Anne Fowler (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

What a Super Fantastic and Timely Book

The author is so very talented. The characters were so richly captured. An important book regarding the gilded ages and scarily timely for where we find ourselves now. Authentic well researched. The Authors notes and interview at the end are insightful and profound.
Beautifully narrated. My number ONE book so far this year.

a story that stays with you.

You get pulled into their lives in the first chapter and it doesn't let you go until the end.

Wonderful detail of Alva Vanderbilt

I truly enjoyed the authors telling of the life of Alva Vanderbilt. Well written, well read.

Great all around

Very interesting with how you see her perspective. Such a beautiful story that ended with women’s rights!

Excellent!!

Well written novel about a powerful women in history and beautifully read!! I enjoyed every word!

Must Read

What an interesting book. Loved it from beginning to end. Would love to read more about the Vandebilt family.

A Rare Female Perspective During the Gilded Age

I loved this audio book about Alva Vanderbilt. It was well-written and well-read. The author did a fabulous job of taking historical facts and meshing them with believable fiction.
The narrator did an impressive job of voicing each character and various accents. I was not put off at any point with her reading.
I'm glad that there was enough historical information on Alva that the author could formulate a broad picture if the real woman. Too many women in history are a side note or lost under all if the "great" men.
If you love history and fiction then give this book a try.

Wonderful read

I had just come back from visiting the mansions in Newport Rhode Island so the timing of reading this book was great. Excellent historical fiction about a lady who very little was known to me. It’s a fast and interesting read

Really wonderful

This book had everything—- exquisite details that transported you into the scenes, across the years, insights that other depictions of Alva Vanderbilt did not have, and truly swoon-worthy romance and scenes that were hot yet classy. LOVED this book!!!

Fantastic and interesting read!

This was by far one of the BEST books I’ve EVER listened to! Just so captivating the lives these people led! I didn’t want it to end!