Mrs. Astor Regrets, Meryl Gordon
Mrs. Astor Regrets, Meryl Gordon
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Mrs. Astor Regrets
The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach

Author: Meryl Gordon

Narrator: Lorna Raver

Unabridged: 13 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/19/2009


Synopsis

The fate of Brooke Astor, the endearing philanthropist with the storied name, has generated worldwide headlines since her grandson Philip sued his father in 2006, alleging mistreatment of Brooke. And shortly after her death in 2007, Anthony Marshall, Mrs. Astor's only child, was indicted on charges of looting her estate. Rarely has there been a story with such an appealing heroine, conjuring up a world so
nearly forgotten: a realm of lavish wealth and secrets of the sort that have engaged Americans from the era of Edith Wharton to the more recent days of Truman Capote and Vanity Fair.

New York journalist Meryl Gordon has interviewed not only the elite of Brooke Astor's social circle but also the large staff who cosseted and cared for Mrs. Astor during her declining years. The result is the behind-the-headlines story of the Astor empire's unraveling, filled with never-before-reported scenes. This powerful, poignant saga takes the listener inside the gilded gates of an American dynasty to tell of three generations' worth of longing and missed opportunities. Even in this territory of privilege, no riches can put things right once they've been torn asunder. Here is an American epic of the bonds of money, morality, and social position.

About Meryl Gordon

Meryl Gordon is a full-time magazine journalist who has been a contract writer for New York magazine for the past fifteen years. She has profiled such influential figures as Kofi Annan, Mike Bloomberg, and John Kerry, and such stars as Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. She has written major features for the New York Times Magazine, Gourmet, Elle,
Marie Claire, and More. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she lives in New York City with her husband.


Reviews

Goodreads review by HR-ML on August 19, 2024

***Caution; domestic violence reference*** Non-fiction paperback edition. Parts of this read almost like a novel and had some suspense. Roberta Brooke Russell was the dtr of a Marine Corps General. Brooke wed: 1) Dryden Kuser. A state senator who drank too much & subjected her to domestic violence IE......more

Goodreads review by Kimberly on August 12, 2014

only negative in a well researched and even handed account is that the book ends without the final outcomes of both the criminal trial and the estate disbursement.......more

Goodreads review by Kathleen on March 05, 2009

Schadenfreude to the max. Woe to the society grande dame who ignores her only son and lives to be 105. Woe to the son who consciously or unconsciously gets her back by firing her staff and leaving her to fester on a dog-urine stained couch in her palatial Park Avenue apartment. Woe to the grandson w......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on March 16, 2009

This book just made me sad--first, for Brooke Astor's son, Tony Marshall, who seemed to live his entire life trying to get his mother to love him and then, for Brooke Astor herself, who spent the last ten years or so of her life in a slow decline that all the money in the world couldn't remedy. The......more

Goodreads review by Terri on February 10, 2014

The title is telling. Mrs. Astor Regrets is not so much about her fascinating life of people, power, and position as it is about greed and money substituting for love. "Her ability to dispense millions made her powerful and popular" and it also made her prey. Brooke Astor's son from her first marriage......more