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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Enjoyed the juxtaposition of the author’s generation of Astor’s and the generation of Astor family several generations back. Skillful to entertwined
Great look at an unusual family.
This memoir is essentially the story of growing up as the one of the Astors a couple of generations after the money is gone. The family estate is deteriorating around what is left of the family. The well educated father is apparently incapable or perhaps just unwilling to go to work and earn a living. He does meaningless work around the estate. …
I have always had a fascination with people of the gilded age, how they made their millions, what happened to them and why. This book give a glimpse into the life of some of the Vanderbilts and how they fell from grace. This book was sad in a way as most of the descendents of those wealthy families suffered the same fate but I do not feel …
Beautiful descriptions of the weirdness in her life. It ended so abruptly however.
Ended to soon. could have ad a little bit about boarding school.
A fascinating book. It is hard to believe what happened in this notable family. Most of them felt too important to work and did not have enough money to live in a decent manner. A number of them turned to alcohol. Interesting that one of the important grandmothers had been a temperance advocate. It left me wondering how the descendants of …
Fantastic book!
I wanted an in-depth reading about the Astor’s life as an adult. This only portrays her years an a girl growing up. Sad, though. Nobody would have thought the rich would live like this–in a hovel-type home coming apart at the seams.
A great reading memoir.
Helps to know some of the history of the families. Lots of someone needs to fill in the blanks moments. If you like stories about what can happen to the progeny of wealth and prefer an unsuccessful result you’ll like this book.
A dose of schadenfreude
Eccentric family dynamics. Sad for the children. Even the wealthy have problems and this family certainly had a lot.
Boring book. Didn’t even finish it.
Trite and trivial
It was an original story about the sad comedown of a historically rich family.
Boring; couldn’t get through it
An interesting book.
A thinly written memoir that fails to connect in any meaningful way the reason for its own existance.
Very interesting!
Sad tale of the end of a dynasty.