Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt

WhenConsueloVanderbilt'sgrandfatherdied,hewastherichestmaninAmerica.Herfathersoonstartedtospendthefamilyfortune,enthusiasticallysupportedbyConsuelo'smother,Alva,whowasdeterminedtotakethefamilytothetopofNewYorksociety—forcingaheartbrokenConsuelointoamarriageshedidnotwantwiththeunderfundedDukeofMarlborough.ButthestoryofConsueloandAlvaismorethanataleofenterprisingsocialambition,GildedAgeglamour,andtheemptinessofwealth.Itisafascinatingaccountoftwoextraordinarywomenwhostruggledtobreakfreefromtheworldintowhichtheywereborn—aworldofmaterialisticconcernsandshallowelitisminwhichfemaleswerevoicelessandpowerless—andoftheirlifelongdedicationtonobleanddangerouscausesandthebattleforwomen'srights.