Therese Anne Fowler has once again given us a look of what it would be like in the life of a golden era woman. This is stellar look at the life of Alva Vanderbilt and family. Top notch!

“A Well-Behaved Woman” has been aptly named one of Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Fall literary fiction selections. It is a delectable historical novel, one you lose hours in, about the heady climes of the Gilded Age’s ultra rich. We follow the life of Alva Smith, near destitute before she marries William Vanderbilt. She awes us as she transforms into a Grand Dame, bucking conventions of the day to support women’s suffrage, back charitable causes, helm construction of nine mansions, and shepherd the once-shunned Vanderbilt family up the highest societal rungs. Gorgeously written with characters so real they breathe the air beside you. 5 Enthusiastic Stars!

I received a review copy from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions are fully mine.

#Awell-behavedWoman #NetGalley

A Well-Behaved Woman traces Alva Smith's well-calculated climb through the upper levels of society as the wife of William Vanderbilt. Therese Anne Fowler artfully leads the reader through the family's history that makes this novel a real page turner! This is the perfect read for fans of the Gilded Age, family dynasties, or strong female characters willing to go to any means to protect their families.

Alva Smith’s family could trace their bloodline to royalty of France and Scotland, but their fortune was gone.

William K. Vanderbilt is the third Manhattan generation of a wealthy family, but their bloodline has no connection to any royalty, no title or lands, nothing in history to claim glory, not even by extension.

The Knickerbockers of Manhattan closely guard their tight high society and will not let the Vanderbilts in.

Alva is so poor that she needs to marry into money soon or she’ll be looking for a job and living in tenements. So she considers her options. And she tries to convince herself that the Vanderbilts are at least influential in politics and policy. “The Vanderbilt’s bread was already half buttered.”

Once married to William, she turns out to be a lady of action: writing letters for her father to sign to admit Vanderbilts to the Union Club. Instead of joining charity where money is just handed to agency, she goes to hospitals and places where charity is needed and investigates herself where the money needs to be directed. She encourages Vanderbilts to take action in elevating themselves to its rightful place in society by investing in building mansions that make statement in architecture.

The first half of the book is very interesting. However, once Alva achieves the status she was looking for, the second part of the book falls pretty flat.

Therese Anne Fowler owns the portrayal of women in historical fiction. As she did in her novel "Z," Ms. Fowler shows us another side of Alva Smith Vanderbilt. This is a woman on the edge of becoming destitute - along with her sisters and ailing father - when she grabs a brass ring that changes her live - and theirs. This strong woman found the courage to defy "women's roles, gained respect in society for the Vanderbilt family, designed and built (with no formal architectural education) nine mansions. Found to ways to fund charitable organizations and became a leader in the women's suffrage movement. A remarkable novel bringing to life a remarkable woman. Ten stars if I could.

Phenomenal book! I have a great fondness for the so called 'gilded age'. Touring the Newport houses brought a heightened interest in the individuals responsible for such incredible lodgings. They were merely names to me, this book brought faces and personalities to the names. I still cannot imagine such wealth, such a lifestyle. I can't say I 'liked' Alva, I found her to be a bit too grasping, to strict, but I loved several of the other characters in this book. What characters they are! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the history of America. Therese Anne Fowler is a wonderful writier!

Rich or poor, it's good to have money and for Alva Smith that was truly the case. With her father ailing and their money dwindling, she was facing a life far different from what she was used to. Meeting W.K. Vanderbilt she was saved from a life of "genteel poverty" although I would hesitate to say it would be far from "genteel." Does money/wealth bring happiness, does it bring love? In Alva's case it brought security and the knowledge of a warm home and all the accouterments money can afford.

This novel brings you into the Gilded Age, where the society of the 400 was an elite and quite exclusive club. Not to be in included, no matter how much wealth you had, was a snub beyond compare. However, Alva was quite a competent woman who not only saved her family, but elevated the Vanderbilt family as well. She was a truly remarkable woman, at a time when most women were seen rather than heard. It wasn't just her life as a prominent personality in high society, she was outspoken, smart and knew how to play the game.
The research done for this historical fiction was awesome...I learned more from this book than I would have in history books where the names of historical personalities (especially women) are glossed over. There is so much more to Alva than can be explained in a review, so much more to this particular and interesting "age" in our history. The story gives Alva the flesh and blood of a person with real desires and causes, not just a name in a past lifetime. In the hands of Ms. Fowler, Alva and the society she lived in comes alive!

Fiction in all forms can provide the ultimate possible escape (that is why many of us deliberately seek them out) but unfortunately, I just can't seem to find that merciful departure from reality this year with any new historical novel release. I opened A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts desiring all the gilded trappings and recognized personalities that make the Gilded Age such a fascinating and riveting time period to lose yourself in but sadly this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a serious examination of the era centered around one brazen and influential woman from New York Society, register as a nagging voice of comparisons of the past and present (that would break in at the most unwelcome moments) or a sentimental drawn out romance which bordered on a bodice ripper in certain chapters. Oh dear, I hate to have such a negative reaction (especially about the last point) and I understand every reader's tastes are different but I also can't help but remember that Ms Edith Wharton set the illustrious bar of fictional departure into history for this reader and scenes of romance have drastically changed ((what could have been beautifully conveyed with a lingering touch of an ungloved hand or flutter of a fan has now turned into something ugly and almost comical with pawing and grunting (alot of grunting in this novel)in every other chapter and every other book it seems)).

Alright, let me put the "they don't write books like they used to" attitude aside and bring forth the positives of A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts. I applaud that a writer has finally given Alva Vanderbilt Belmont née Smith her time to shine and brings her story to the attention of the modern audience who may have never heard of her before. She really is an interesting figure to read about and in this book, she steps off the gold and pearl encrusted pedestal and is portrayed mortal with fears and convictions. Good and bad happen throughout to this prominent figure as well to other members of the Vanderbilt line and I also must commend the author for making the huge family tree of the Vanderbilts easy to recall as each new member makes an appearance at those tragic events. Getting back in line with the positives to mention, the dialogue was believable and a few scenes were painted so delightfully vivid and captured exactly what I desired when I picked up this novel (especially the costume ball sequence).

Now the characters, even though their names were easy to recall in multiple passages they sadly missed something for me and I couldn't stop shaking my head especially as figures were portrayed in a more flattering light than reality (have a gander at The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan when you have a minute then tell me again about unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters or Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart). I also would have loved to have found multiple breakaway scenes to other characters (Consuelo Vanderbilt, Alice Vanderbilt and Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester or THE Mrs Astor and Ward McAllister), Alva's views became repetitive and I longed to experience the other side of the guest list or gates into other's lives but no, I had to read how much Alva didn't want her husband in her bed and how attractive Oliver Belmont was then another guilty thought of conditions and comparisons. Dashes of time seemed to be another disappointment, we begin in the latter half of the 19th century and finish at beginning of 20th century but in certain chapters, I would hope we would be forgiven for being confused what year it is and not solely rely on another letter between characters. I finally have to admit this book wasn't for me, I was hoping for another beguiling carriage ride into the past that I found with other literary works (Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt by Arthur T Vanderbilt II immediately comes to mind and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to feel like they have stepped back in time if only for a couple of hours) but alas I have yet to find a historical fiction novel that can transport my imagination completely to one of my favorite bygone ages to study, I guess my search continues and I need to start scanning the shelves again more carefully.

With thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for kindly sending me an advanced copy of A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts

Thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for allowing me to read this book and provide feedback.

I was so happy to get early access to this novel about Alva Vanderbilt because I had read Fortune’s Children by Arthur T. Vanderbilt and really enjoyed learning about how they lived in the “Gilded Age”. This book gave Alva her own stage and did an excellent job of taking the reader back to that time and even if you have never been interested in the Vanderbilt’s or the Gilded Age the story stands alone and is a great read. Although it was somewhat fictionalized it presented Alva as a strong woman who lived during a time when women were not expected to have an opinion about important matters and certainly not expected to divorce one of the richest men in the country. You have to admire her spunk and her realistic efforts to ensure that women had the right to vote.

Her story begins when she is desperate to save her family after her father falls on hard times and she quickly jumps at the opportunity to marry William Vanderbilt even though love is not a consideration. From the outside her life seems perfect and she struggles to balance all the material possessions she has amassed with what is missing. The author did a very good job of creating dialogue that helped to inform the reader without making it seem as though it was a history lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will certainly recommend it.

Ava Smith is a young women in dire straits. Her families fortune has been lost. Now her sick father and her sisters are destitute. She knows that the only thing she has to offer into a "good" marriage is her knowing aristocracy. Some of the " new " people wanting to be a part of the in society and to be acknowledged find this a very worthy commodity. In this way she is able to marry WIlliam Vanderbilt. Through her accomplishments there are able to be in the company of the Astors who are the cream of the crop of high society. This is a book of historical fiction, but Ava is a true person of accomplishment. For herself as well as for women across the world. I think she is a remarkable woman. This book has helped me see her in a new light. Not only of the Vanderbilt name and wealth. But as a woman who had desires, and wants like anyone else. Someone who used her wealth to help others. Someone whose strength helped in the women's fight for voting and equality in all things. A wonderful read, excellent in every aspect. Highly recommended!

Alva Smith was raised in high society to expect nothing but the best prior to her mother's death. After her untimely demise, Alva knew that her family's survival rested on her ability to marry well. She snagged a Vanderbilt, a family of immense wealth who needed her society connections. Alva eventually raised the family to the highest levels with her ingenuity and knowing how to play the game.

Alva Vanderbilt had everything money could buy but lacked in one of the most essential things that it cannot, love. She stayed above reproach to maintain the family's position in society, until a line was crossed that made her question the past twenty years. After that, she took the course of her life into her own hands.

Much like Fowler's Zelda Fitzgerald, Alva Vanderbilt is a familiar name yet an unknown personality. Fowler sheds light on an intriguing woman who bent society to her will even when she stepped out of bounds. It is important to see these women for themselves as opposed to an ornament for the famous men they married. I enjoyed the story and had no previous knowledge of Alva, but would have like to read more about her post-Vanderbilt years.

This book started out really strong for me. I've read a bit about the Vanderbuilts in the past, so I kind of knew the story going into it, but I thought the author did a great job of giving voice to Alva, a woman of superior morals who lead Guilded Age Society with her extreme wealth and opulence.

Unfortunately, around the half-way point, I started to rapidly lose interest. Around 60% I skimmed the remainder of the book.

I can't exactly put my finer on what it was that caused me to lose interest...maybe reading over and over again about this one family that has inherited so much wealth that they just keep building more and more ostentatious homes and summer "cottages" started to lose it's charm. Alva's problems became trivial and ridiculous to me. The hierarchy of the Social Ladder, and maintaining ones position was just so silly, that I started to really dislike the entire family.

Overall, if you're interested in this particular family or the Guilded Age in general, then I absolutely recommend this book. It's extremely well researched and written, and definitely a great addition to this genre. However I personally just started to tire of it. I used to love Guilded Age novels, but it's been a LONG time since I picked one up. Maybe now that I'm older and more experienced in life, I find it all so obnoxious. The society, the ridiculously large 'homes', the clothing, the rules...no thanks. I do want to thank NetGalley though for giving me the opportunity to read this, though. Much appreciated!

A well-researched look at the Gilded Age from the point of view of a woman who found herself at the heart of New York society. There's a restrained feeling to this book that suits the subject matter and time period. Woven amid the tales of balls and new homes is a cogent look at what happens when a family suddenly becomes insanely wealthy, a story that has relevance today when most massive wealth is only one or two generations old. The most fascinating parts are when Alva Vanderbilt steps out of the vision of who she is supposed to be and becomes who she wants to be, it would have been great to linger there a bit.

A dazzling story brought to life by Therese Anne Fowler. Growing and flourishing in the Gilded Age; that says alot for our main character Alva who becomes part of The Vanderbilt Family at a very young age. How she grows, transforms and transcends into and through the world of status and riches is nothing short of miraculous. Starting a family, dealing with dashed hopes, loss, and finally "true love" she forges ahead to make a difference in a time period that would just as easily destroy a woman's self esteem and worth without a second glance, than to give acknowledgment to the trailblazing, philanthropist she had fought too become and accomplished with her head held high. The research done was spot on, the story glides and captivates and you'll find certain names and events mentioned throughout the text will surely sound familiar .... If you are a fan of Historical Fiction, or new to this genre, this is a book not to miss....
Thank you Therese Anne Fowler and NetGalley (ARC)
Novels N Latte Book Blog

First off, thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. I was anxious to get my mitts on this one for the double reason that I really enjoyed Fowler's previous book, :Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, about one of my favorite historical ladies, and that I am sort of amazed that no one has ever tackled Alva Vanderbilt in fiction before. There's just so much there! And I thought this did a fine job of capturing such a complicated woman. I initially thought the title was attempting to be ironic, since I don't think Alva could, at any point, be considered a traditionally "well-behaved woman". But the Alva I found between these pages was not the Alva that I had always imagined. She's undoubtedly a fascinating historical figure; a head of society, a prolific builder, a champion of women's rights, and certainly a force to be reckoned with. She was a wife and mother of titans, the woman who went toe to toe with Caroline Astor - and WON, she bounced back from a high profile divorce, found true love later in life and a new calling even after that. She was impressive, even with her multitudes of bad press.

So I was very excited for this book. And I was not disappointed. I found myself enjoying the character of Alva very much in this novel. Which wasn't something I necessarily expected. There were points where I wondered at the bibliography of this novel. Fowler clearly did her research but there are always conflicting reports, especially when much of what is known is based on rumors of the day. There were many instances where I sat back and thought "Huh, this isn't at all the way I've always read it". I have read extensively about this family, but I haven't read anything and never in attempts to write a historical novel about them (which is insanely hard when you realize that you have to get the day to day down perfectly when you've only ever known the highlights). Fowler has made a very sympathetic character out of a relatively unsympathetic historical figure. I applaud this. However, there were several instances where I felt like she went too far making Alva an innocent. Like... of course William is having affairs. He's a man at the end of the nineteenth century. I refuse to believe Alva would have been entirely ignorant of this. Whether she partook herself I have never ventured a guess, but if she had she certainly wouldn't have been the first. I can't imagine genuine shock, at any rate. Though I also had some issues with the validity of parts of the story surrounding that whole bit too.

The main issue, of course, was her daughter's marriage. Alva is probably best known as the mother who forced her daughter into a loveless marriage to acquire a title. I do think this whole situation is a lot more nuanced than many people credit it. The popular story is that Alva threatened and cajoled her daughter into marrying the Duke of Marlborough, a fact she later testified to in order to get the marriage annulled, claiming that she would die of a heart attack if her daughter refused to marry the duke. Here she has some heart trouble but is totally fine and doesn't wish to really bother Consuelo with her ill health. Fowler takes a much more forgiving approach to this whole subject, stating that Consuelo chose of her own accord to marry Marlborough and had no regrets. I think the truth is probably somewhere between the two. I can not, in any account, accept that she was entirely at peace with the decision because she was famously late to her wedding because she couldn't stop crying. Her tardiness is present in this novel but the reasoning is never mentioned. I always wondered how William Vanderbilt could find his daughter in that state and not at least attempt to call the whole thing off. But, I probably wouldn't go up against Alva either.

Again, Fowler consulted several texts that I've never read so it's possible these contradicted everything said in what I am familiar with, or it's possible that Fowler is attempting to read between the lines and finding an entirely innocent and misunderstood woman there. But I think she could have left a few more of Alva's hard edges in there. It's not necessarily for a protagonist to been entirely perfect. She could have had more faults and still been endearing. The woman in the history books always has been.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. After seeing #ThereseAnneFowler at the Unbound Book Festival in April 2018, I was intrigued by this novel from the short excerpt that she read to her audience. I was so excited when I was approved for this ARC because the topic of Alva Vanderbuilt intrigued me, and this novel did not disappoint. The characters and the story were well researched and so vivid that I felt as if I was placed as a minor character in this story. Fowler did not disappoint with this novel, and I look forward to reading Z:A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald in the very near future. This is definitely a five star novel!!! #WellBehavedWoman #NetGalley #ThereseAnneFowler

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review this book. I couldn't be more thankful!
The story starts off talking about Alva Smith and her family background. We learn about her parents and siblings before we are taken into Alva's world with the famous Vanderbilt family. She is married to William K Vanderbilt in the winter/early spring season and quickly learns what it's like to be the wife of a millionaire. She wants her voice heard. Despite having children soon into their marriage, she makes sure to help with major architectural projects around New York City, host extravagant balls, and marry her first daughter off to a Duke. She is well-known for helping start the Woman's Suffrage movement, but takes hard hits from the men in her life before getting there. This is a story about not only her marriage (you learn what happens to it towards the end), and her adventure in becoming a woman with a voice in a world where that was quite unheard of.
First of all, the cover is stunning! I just had to share that. Secondly, I rarely read historical fiction, so I feel that I may be more biased than most when reviewing this. I enjoyed reading Z by Fowler, and thoroughly enjoyed the Amazon Prime special created from the book. This has a similar feel to me. Because the book follows Alva's life to almost it's entirety, there were some details that were missed just because the book would go on forever. Unfortunately, I feel as though some of the more important details were missed that I would've rather spent more time reading about. For example, I am sure her feelings towards William Vanderbilt at first were mixed, and Fowler does state that, but I wanted to know more! I wanted to hear her true thoughts about him before they got married. I felt as though it was rushed. Same with experiencing life as a new mom. I wanted to know way more about how she felt at that time, and again, it was rushed. All in all, I was constantly looking up pictures online to go with the story because it added so much more character to it for me. I loved the "fight for women's rights" feel to it and it helped enhance my experience reading this. I would read more like it, only if they focused on a specific point in her life, not as a whole.
3.75/5 Stars

4.5 stars

A Well-Behaved Woman is a fabulous story about Alva Vanderbilt and her determination to succeed in cut-throat, Gilded-Age New York. Fowler humanizes Alva and presents her in a way that will have the reader viewing Alva through a more sympathetic lens. The Gilded Age is a fascinating time period to me, and I loved viewing the era through Alva Vanderbilt’s eyes. I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for anyone who loves that time period. I received this book to read and review; all opinions are my own.

This tells the story of Alva Vanderbuilt surviving in the world of the Vanderbuit riches. It was just okay but informative.

Alva Smith is desperate to save herself and her family from poverty. With the help of her friend, she attracts the attention of a wealthy Vanderbilt. All too soon, however, she learns there is more to life than money and a position in society.

I have been fascinated with the Vanderbilt family since I visited the mansions built by different members of the family. This fictional look at the slightly controversial young woman had my attention from start to finish.

The plot was heavily based on fact but told in a fictional way. The reader follows Alva's life from just before her marriage to her later years. It would have been easy to portray her as a cold-hearted, social climber, but the author skillful casts her in a sympathetic light. Alva just wanted to save her family however she could, and since the richest bachelor of her acquaintance was interested, of course, she would accept.

There are a few sex scenes, detailed enough to make me blush. They were made even more awkward by the advice Alva was given to just lie there and bear it.

Overall, a fascinating look at how Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont may have been. I would recommend this to readers who are interested in a fictional telling of a historical figure.