A Well-Behaved Woman

Starred review from August 6, 2018
As accomplished as its subject, redoubtable socialite and women’s suffrage crusader Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Fowler’s engrossing successor to 2013’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, again showcases her genius for seeing beyond the myths of iconic women. In 1874, 21-year-old Alva Smith and her three sisters have impeccable antecedents but no money. Marrying well being the only way to keep her family secure, Alva sets her sights on railroad scion William K. Vanderbilt. Her effort pays off—William inherits $65 million in 1885—though she finds neither love nor sexual pleasure with her amiable, self-absorbed husband. Wealth offers scope for Alva’s formidable leadership skills: in the same years she bears three children, wins the parvenu Vanderbilts a position in elite society, and collaborates with architect Richard Hunt on a series of influential projects. Impeccably virtuous and self-disciplined, Alva nevertheless faces frequent censure for her lack of feminine deference, particularly when, in her 40s, she refuses to ignore her husband’s infidelity. Instead, she negotiates a divorce, weathers the scandal, and finds new fulfillment. The novel doesn’t sentimentalize its subject’s unsympathetic moments and qualities, and Fowler puts Alva in a clear context, revealing the narrow constraints of her era, class, and gender, and the fierce courage and creativity with which she negotiated them. Though the novel’s lavish sweep and gorgeous details evoke a vanished world, Fowler’s exploration of the way powerful women are simultaneously devalued and rewarded resonates powerfully. 100,000-copy announced first printing.

August 15, 2018
Portrait of the Gilded Age socialite and suffragist who famously followed her own advice: "First marry for money, then marry for love."Doyenne and co-designer of palatial mansions in Manhattan, Long Island, and Newport, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was born Alva Smith in Mobile, Alabama--half a century before the heroine of Fowler's previous novel, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (2013). As the novel opens, 21-year-old Alva and her sisters, the children of formerly prosperous parents--all unmarried despite summers in Newport and Europe--are caring for their invalid widower father, facing bankruptcy and the unhappy prospect of letting out rooms. Taking cues from her vivacious pal Consuelo Yznaga (a half-Cuban sugar-cane heiress soon to be married to an English duke), Alva dons an ebony ball gown garnished with goldenrod blossoms to catch the eye of an heir. Not just any heir: William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of the richest robber baron in America, is a horseman and yachting enthusiast (who, according to Fowler's characterization, is not the brightest skipper in the fleet and a compulsive philanderer to boot). His most vexing problem is that Vanderbilt money is too new, barring his family from being "received" in Old Knickerbocker circles. The genuine blossoms on Alva's dress make W.K. sneeze, but to his credit he recognizes something--call it originality, single-mindedness, intelligence--that will vault his future heirs, if not his boorish grandpa, into the best society. The game is on. Not only will Alva best snooty Caroline Astor at her own game (helped by William's wedding gift of Catherine the Great's pearls), she'll secure suitable marriages for her children and undisputed social rank for herself. For "status gave a woman control over her existence, more protection from being battered about by others' whims or life's caprices." Writing from a close third-person perspective, Fowler spends a good deal of time in Alva's head, evoking the wrinkles and contradictions in her character--imperious yet self-doubting; stubborn and rigid yet energetic, determined and (even by today's standard) forward-thinking. Though Alva's involvement in women's causes gets rather short shrift (supplemented in an afterword), the upshot of her platonic attraction to one of her husband's best friends stands in nicely for one of her other proto-feminist remarks: "Pray to God. She will help you."Watching Fowler's heroine vanquish the gatekeepers and minions who stand in her way is nothing short of mesmerizing.

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September 15, 2018
Being called well-behaved would not necessarily have pleased Alma Smith, yet such a demeanor was vital for her success as the wife of one of Manhattan's wealthiest and most respected men. Although born to wealth in Alabama, Alva found herself in greatly reduced circumstances when her father lost the family fortune. A fortuitous marriage was her only chance for salvation, so when her dear friend Consuelo played matchmaker, pairing her with William K. Vanderbilt, Alva followed her head instead of her heart into a loveless marriage. Throwing herself into charity work and overseeing the construction of mansions in New York and Newport, Rhode Island, Alma failed to realize that William and Consuelo were conducting an elaborately secretive affair that threatened to consign her to the outsider status she worked so hard to avoid. With you-are-there immediacy fueled by assured attention to biographical detail and deft weaving of labyrinthine intrigue, Fowler (Z, 2014) creates a thoroughly credible imagining of the challenges and emotional turmoil facing this fiercely independent woman.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2018

The 1875 marriage of Alva Smith and William Vanderbilt is one of convenience. Alva needs a rich husband to save her family from poverty after her father's losses in Confederate investments, and the Vanderbilts hope the Smith lineage of generations of prominent Americans and European royals will help them join the top ranks of New York society. Alva combines wit, intelligence, and connections to move up the social ladder yet chafes at the restrictions, longs for love, and finds her greatest satisfaction in designing ever grander mansions. Her discovery of William's unfaithfulness leads to an unprecedented divorce settlement that scandalizes society but leaves her independently wealthy. While readers catch glimpses of Alva's social concerns, only the final three chapters devote time to her second marriage to Oliver Belmont, with an exploration of her work for women's rights appearing in a final author's note. VERDICT Fowler (Exposure) ably portrays the excesses of the Gilded Age but falls short in her avowed attempt to counteract Alva's reputation as an ambitious social climber. Expect high demand from fans of the author's Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and those who enjoy stories of the rich and famous. [See Prepub Alert, 4/8/18.]--Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018

Having triumphed with the New York Times best-selling Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Fowler travels back to Gilded Age New York, where well-bred but utterly broke Alva Smith marries into the nouveau riche Vanderbilt family and earns them all a place in the sun with her smash-hit costume ball.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.