The Astors: A Family Chronicle of Pomp and Power

by Lucy Kavaler

Overview

Lucy Kavaler's book has never been replaced as the definitive biography of a fabulous dynasty that changed the face of New York City over the course of 200 years. The Astors were the country's first millionaires, owned so much real estate that they became "landlords of New York," established society's "400," and entered the British nobility. Their exciting lives contain the plots of half a dozen novels, with power struggles, rivalries, marital strife, passions, and scandals. The chapter, "The Richest Man on the Titanic," gives a new perspective on the tragedy.

Reviewers have cited the historical accuracy, and have called this book "wonderfully entertaining," and "a Horatio Alger story for the very adult reader."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780595095674
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/01/2000
Pages:	396
Sales rank:	649,917
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.32(h) x 0.97(d)

Table of Contents

1.	The Name That Means Society	1
2.	The Man Who Made Money	4
3.	This Is the Way the Money Grows	38
4.	The First Aristocrat	72
5.	The Mrs. Astor and the Society Establishment	104
6.	The Richest Man on the Titanic	141
7.	The Ultimate Triumph of the Mr. Astor	171
8.	Our Nancy and the Cliveden Set	201
9.	The Man Who Gave the Money Away	230
10.	The Two Worlds of Alice Astor	262
11.	Of Trials and Troubles	276
12.	The Flowering of the English Astors	296
13.	Clouds over Cliveden	318
14.	Time Past and Time Present	334
	Bibliography	341
	Index	344