Items related to The Astor Orphan: A Memoir
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 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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Review:
A sparklingly mischievous debut. . . . Aldrich s narrative tidily and fondly bears witness to the inexorable unraveling of a storied genealogy. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)"
Novelistic. . . . Vividly gothic. . . . It s a trick to tell a story this rich and complicated through the eyes of a child without losing the subtleties of character and nuances of history, but Aldrich pulls it off with aplomb. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
It s the highest of compliments to say that a memoir reads like fiction, and Alexandra Aldrich accomplishes this in her phenomenal debut. With swift, haunting prose, she breathes new life into the Astor clan. --Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of "Brain on Fire""
A beautifully-rendered family saga full of fires, affairs, aristocrats and illegitimate children. At the center is an endearing heroine, whose eccentric childhood on the "Grey Gardens"-style Rokeby estate would make Dickens gasp. . . . Splendid. --Jennifer Vanderbes, author of "Easter Island" and "Strangers at the Feast""
Evocative. . . . Aldrich astutely portrays a colorful cast of aunts, uncles, cousins and hangers-on clinging to the family legacy long after the money is gone. One can t help but cheer as she breaks away from the others to make a name for herself. --Elliott Holt, author of "You Are One of Them""
"It's the highest of compliments to say that a memoir reads like fiction, and Alexandra Aldrich accomplishes this in her phenomenal debut. With swift, haunting prose, she breathes new life into the Astor clan."--Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of Brain on Fire
"A beautifully-rendered family saga--full of fires, affairs, aristocrats and illegitimate children. At the center is an endearing heroine, whose eccentric childhood on the Grey Gardens-style Rokeby estate would make Dickens gasp. . . . Splendid."--Jennifer Vanderbes, author of Easter Island and Strangers at the Feast
"Evocative. . . . Aldrich astutely portrays a colorful cast of aunts, uncles, cousins and hangers-on--clinging to the family legacy long after the money is gone. One can't help but cheer as she breaks away from the others to make a name for herself."--Elliott Holt, author of You Are One of Them
"A sparklingly mischievous debut. . . . Aldrich's narrative tidily and fondly bears witness to the inexorable unraveling of a storied genealogy."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Novelistic. . . . Vividly gothic. . . . It's a trick to tell a story this rich and complicated through the eyes of a child without losing the subtleties of character and nuances of history, but Aldrich pulls it off with aplomb."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
From the Back Cover:
Novelistic. . . . Vividly gothic. . . . It s a trick to tell a story this rich and complicated through the eyes of a child without losing the subtleties of character and nuances of history, but Aldrich pulls it off with aplomb. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
It s the highest of compliments to say that a memoir reads like fiction, and Alexandra Aldrich accomplishes this in her phenomenal debut. With swift, haunting prose, she breathes new life into the Astor clan. --Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of "Brain on Fire""
A beautifully-rendered family saga full of fires, affairs, aristocrats and illegitimate children. At the center is an endearing heroine, whose eccentric childhood on the "Grey Gardens"-style Rokeby estate would make Dickens gasp. . . . Splendid. --Jennifer Vanderbes, author of "Easter Island" and "Strangers at the Feast""
Evocative. . . . Aldrich astutely portrays a colorful cast of aunts, uncles, cousins and hangers-on clinging to the family legacy long after the money is gone. One can t help but cheer as she breaks away from the others to make a name for herself. --Elliott Holt, author of "You Are One of Them""
"It's the highest of compliments to say that a memoir reads like fiction, and Alexandra Aldrich accomplishes this in her phenomenal debut. With swift, haunting prose, she breathes new life into the Astor clan."--Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of Brain on Fire
"A beautifully-rendered family saga--full of fires, affairs, aristocrats and illegitimate children. At the center is an endearing heroine, whose eccentric childhood on the Grey Gardens-style Rokeby estate would make Dickens gasp. . . . Splendid."--Jennifer Vanderbes, author of Easter Island and Strangers at the Feast
"Evocative. . . . Aldrich astutely portrays a colorful cast of aunts, uncles, cousins and hangers-on--clinging to the family legacy long after the money is gone. One can't help but cheer as she breaks away from the others to make a name for herself."--Elliott Holt, author of You Are One of Them
"A sparklingly mischievous debut. . . . Aldrich's narrative tidily and fondly bears witness to the inexorable unraveling of a storied genealogy."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Novelistic. . . . Vividly gothic. . . . It's a trick to tell a story this rich and complicated through the eyes of a child without losing the subtleties of character and nuances of history, but Aldrich pulls it off with aplomb."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Alexandra Aldrich grew up in the servants' quarters of Rokeby, the forty-three-room Astor mansion built by her ancestors, foraging for her next meal, battling for dominance with her wealthier first cousins, and striving to get her pathologically distracted parents to take care of her.
Amid the chaos and squalor of the household, Alexandra tried to impose order on her anarchic world. But a parent's betrayal ignited a series of familial feuds that shook her hard-won stability and set her on a path toward escaping her troubled branch of the Astor legacy.
The Astor Orphan is an unflinching memoir with the grit of The Glass Castle and the faded glory of Grey Gardens.
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- PublisherHarperLuxe
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 0062223399
- ISBN 13 9780062223395
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages264
- Rating
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The Astor Orphan: A Memoir
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(2013)
ISBN 10: 0062223399
ISBN 13: 9780062223395
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The Astor Orphan: A Memoir
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(2013)
ISBN 10: 0062223399
ISBN 13: 9780062223395
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