Curse of Riches

By: Claire Prentice

Narrated by: Claire Prentice, Hillary Huber

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

How did the Wendels, one of New York’s most famous Gilded Age families, disappear from history?

The Wendels built a fortune from New York real estate, and rubbed shoulders with the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Stuyvesants. But as the 19th century came to an end, the Wendel family tore itself apart with a series of high-profile sibling squabbles, accusations of insanity and promiscuity, false imprisonment, and unseemly legal battles over love and money.

Following six years of painstaking archival research, Claire Prentice has prised open the door of the Wendels’ Fifth Avenue mansion—dubbed “the house of mystery” by the press—to reveal a fascinating and dysfunctional family imprisoned in a gilded cage.

It’s a true tale stranger than any fiction, filled with vivid characters who struggle to find happiness in a world of unimaginable wealth, and a secret love story between master and maid.

In the words of one reporter writing in 1926, “You would have to go back to the works of Dickens to find a tale as curious and fascinating as that of this old mansion and its occupants.”

Praise for Curse of Riches:

“Gripping, and cinematic, Curse of Riches electrifies readers. Prentice seamlessly blends research and narration to deliver this tale of thwarted romance, headstrong heroines, and the persistence of love and a dream, even when great fortunes fall. A Succession for the Gilded Age—Curse of Riches and unfolds with the logic of a feverish dream. I couldn’t put it down.” (Marie Mutsuki Mockett, author of American Harvest: God, Country and Farming in the Heartland and Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye)

“In this deeply researched tale, supported by access to diaries, letters, legal and business documents, Claire Prentice peels back the curtain on this weird and long-forgotten family, once among the wealthiest in New York. True stories of rich people behaving badly or strangely offer a glimpse into the money, power, love, heartbreak, madness, hatred, and despair of eccentric and extravagantly dysfunctional families. The secretive, stranger-than-fiction Wendels of New York during the Gilded Age embodied F. Scott Fitzgerald’s oft-quoted comment on the rich: 'They are different from you and me.’ It's a thrilling, shocking read.” (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys and A Curious Man)

"Meet the Wendel family: seven reclusive adult siblings living off a family real estate fortune and growing old together in an anachronism of a house on increasingly commercialized Fifth Avenue. Claire Prentice’s lively, deeply researched narrative about this mysterious clan is both a character study as well as a window into New York City from the Gilded Age to the modern era. I really loved this story." (Esther Crain, author of The Gilded Age in New York, 1870—1910, and creator of the Ephemeral New York website)

"Claire Prentice's A Curse of Riches reads like something out of Henry James, but is stranger than any fiction. Here is the riveting, gothic, real-life tale of the wealthiest, weirdest Gilded Age family that you've never heard of. You won't be able to put it down." (Kevin Baker, author of Paradise Alley and America the Ingenious: How a Nation of Dreamers, Immigrants, and Tinkerers Changed the World)

©2022 Claire Prentice (P)2022 Audible Originals, LLC.

Fascinating

Stranger than fiction and Very well told.
Interesting for anyone to learn about,
Particularly those who love NY!

Great unknown story of New York history

Astonishing, interesting, surprising and very well written. Great for history buffs and those fascinated with American history.

Unexpected!

This book was surprisingly engaging and interesting. While I was trying to exercise patience waiting for the second season of the Gilded Age on Max, I hungrily looked for other entertainments of that period on the tv and in books. I’ve never heard of the Wendell family but being aware that many families of that time were just as intriguing as the prominent families who made the headlines, I took a chance. The story is so fascinating that as I approached the final chapters I began to search the very many movie channels for the movie about them, to no avail. I only came away with movies and documentaries about the families we are already familiar with. Very disappointing. Anyway, I appreciate the author for going down the proverbial rabbit hole and congratulate her on a work well done👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

A hidden gem of a story of New York history

The research required to make this a legible and engaging narrative, while vastly convoluted, was impressive…almost as much as the story I had never known before! Def recommend

Brilliant Compression of Lives into a Book

Never having heard of the Wendel family, I was stunned to learn about them, and how much power the family could have amassed had they not spent their energy back biting ea h other and bickering. And all the money dwindled…super story.
Some of the text sounded almost like AI. It bothered me. But the story is worth hearing!

Slow Start but Worth It

Such an interesting tale of a complicated family. While it could have been tighter, I still found myself wishing there had been more on the family “weirdness” and the reasons none of these siblings, especially the women, married young or had children, given the era and the other ways in which they were dominated by social mores of the time. But isn’t that the theme - we’ll never know because they disappeared with barely a trace.

Oh, and I’m still crushed about poor Toby’s final days. Note to self - set up dog trust.

Only Rich Women Insane?

I loved this very informative, fact-based book regarding the Wendel family. I found the storyline of the court hearings later in the book fascinating, as well as disturbing. Justice was very different for women in those days. I enjoyed the historical facts presented, as well as considerations as to why the brother, was such a hypocritical control freak. This book gave me many things to think about.. 

Great book

I love nonFiction or books based on real life. This did not disappoint. Truly shows that money doesn’t buy happiness!

Fascinating Tale of a Bygone Family & Era

It’s a tale of a gilded age New York City family long since forgotten. It is a well researched story that brings to life the unusual tale of the Wendel family. The author does a great job bringing out the human side of the family members.

Very interesting. Never heard of the family before.

Worth a listen. I had never heard of this family before but enjoyed this bit of NYC history about this family. Who knew! 😳 A cautionary and sad tale indeed.