The Astor Orphan is an unflinching debut memoir by a direct descendant of John Jacob Astor, Alexandra Aldrich.She brilliantly tells the story of her eccentric, fractured family; her 1980s childhood of bohemian neglect in the squalid attic of Rokeby, the family’s Hudson Valley Mansion; and her brave escape from the clan. Aldrich reaches back to the Gilded Age when the Astor legacy began to come … legacy began to come undone, leaving the Aldrich branch of the family penniless and squabbling over what was left.
Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that bring this faded world into focus, The Astor Orphan is written with the grit of The Glass Castle and set amid the aristocratic decay of Grey Gardens.
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I am an acid reader but this book was tedious. I gave up on it
Very interesting, if depressing, look at the fall of a great dynasty amd its descent into ordinariness, with some madness added to the mi.
Excellent historical novel.
A true story about the rich and the not so rich. It makes you wonder how the author made it to become an educated gifted author. A good story on how to overcome adversity.
I felt that the book ended suddenly. It felt unfinished. It was interesting, but didn’t go long enough or deep enough.
Sad that the ultra-rich never instilled a work ethic or sense of purpose in their offspring. Once the money was gone, they did not have the life skills to function independently.
Sad history
An interesting inside view of a disfunctional family and their misfit friends who live in Rokeby the dilapidated home of their wealthy ancestors from the Astor family.
This book is fascinating.
I was surprised at the inside peek into such a famous family. Also felt the isolation and rejection of a family in tragic circumstances.