An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew

By: Annejet van der Zijl, Michele Hutchison - translator

Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt

Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

A Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestseller.

Two-time Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel names An American Princess as one of her favorite books of the year: “light and gracefully written, it dances through a century of history...” (The Guardian)

Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.

From the vantage point of the American upper class, Allene embodied the tumultuous Gilded Age. Over the course of four more marriages, she weathered personal tragedies during World War I and the catastrophic financial reversals of the crash of 1929. From the castles and châteaus of Europe, she witnessed the Russian Revolution and became a princess. And from the hopes of a young girl from Jamestown, New York, Allene Tew would become the epitome of both a pursuer and survivor of the American Dream.

©2015 Annejet van der Zijl (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2018 by Michele Hutchison.

A princess from my back yard.

I live about 45 minutes from Jamestown, New York, therefore I was slightly interested in what this work might include. It was interesting to learn about the history of the area and to discover this intriguing woman whom I had never heard of before. I found myself grieving for Allene in all of her losses praying she had a happy ending to her exterordinary life. This was a great book and I'm going to miss learning more about this great lady.

Excellent

I loved the history in it from her perspective. She lived a long amazing life.

amazing woman

very impressed by the allene and her story. narrator did a great job. the story was written really well to give both broad and narrow perspective on the life and legacy of Allene

Fascinating life of a woman of endurance

Many lives of a woman with sensibility and endurance. I loved this book and would highly recommend it. Thank you.

happiness against All odds

absolutely loved the story. the epilogue and author's notes were beautiful. narration okay, I am someone who likes to slow the narration.

Good Documentation of American Royalty

This was an interesting book about a little known Woman. I was impressed by the way the Subject transformed to the pressures and politics she navigated amidst. I enjoyed the book immensely! This book was given by the Author free in return for a review. Thank You!

Hope and Courage

The story of Allene Tew was fascinating and interesting . She was a survivor and kept ‘hope and courage ‘ always in her life.
Narration was excellent and would recommend book to readers of history and life.

the story

what an interesting life. all the sadness....happiness.....travels.....just an unbelievable life. read and enjoy. the performance was good also...

Similar to reading a history textbook

The story of Allene Tew is fascinating, but it comes off a bit flat in this book. The entrepreneurial spirit, many marriages, travels and adventures as well as her resilience in dealing with loss make Allene Tew a fascinating study of survival and renewal.

Little Known Tough Lady

Very interesting biography of a Gilded Age woman who refused to say “Die”...literally as she lived to be 83. She lived a tragic life but never seemed to succumb to misery. Definitely worth listening to.