{"product_id":"9781427299208","title":"A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe riveting audiobook about iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded-Age New York, from the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eZ: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1883, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e prints a lengthy rave of Alva Vanderbilt’s Fifth Ave. costume ball—a coup for the former Alva Smith, who not long before was destitute, her family’s good name useless on its own. Marrying into the newly rich but socially scorned Vanderbilt clan, a union contrived by Alva’s bestfriend and now-Duchess of Manchester, saved the Smiths—and elevated the Vanderbilts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom outside, Alva seems to have it all and want more. She does have a knack for getting all she tries for: the costume ball—no mere amusement—wrests acceptance from doyenne Caroline Astor. Denied abox at the Academy of Music, Alva founds The Met. No obstacle puts her off for long.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut how much of ambition arises from insecurity? From despair? From refusal to play insipid games by absurd rules? —There are, however, consequences to breaking those rules. One must tread carefully.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd what of her maddening sister-in-law, Alice? Her husband William, who’s hiding a terrible betrayal? The not-entirely-unwelcome attentions of his friend Oliver Belmont, who is everything William is not? What of her own best friend, whose troubles cast a wide net?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlva will build mansions, push boundaries, test friendships, and marry her daughter to England’s most eligible duke or die trying. She means to do right by all, but good behavior will only get a woman so far. What is the price of going further? What might be the rewards? There’s only one way to know for certain…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Well-Behaved Woman:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"To step into Therese Anne Fowler's stunning novel is to step into Alva Vanderbilt's rarefied world of sprawling homes, delicious society intrigue, and incomparable Gilded Age luxury. But there's so much more to this world than appearances would indicate — as Alva and the reader both learn. Fowler's heroine is drawn with care and complexity, a woman of exquisite taste and depth, and one who dares to dream beyond the stifling role which society has assigned her.\" — Allison Pataki, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Bestselling \u003c\/i\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Accidental Empress\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"In another writer’s hands, Alva Vanderbilt’s immense wealth and carefully calculated life might have proved barriers to readerly sympathy. But Fowler’s portrait is so nuanced, so complicated by context, and so informed by her own capacious generosity that we can’t help being drawn in. \u003ci\u003eA Well-Behaved Woman\u003c\/i\u003e is a deeply and sympathetically imagined guess as to who Alva might have been. This is a wonderful book!\" — Karen Joy Fowler, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Jane Austen Book Club\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MacMillan Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47046748438768,"sku":"9781427299208","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781427299208_p0.jpg?v=1763746076","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781427299208","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}