Women of Means: The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls (Stories of the Rich & Famous, Famous Women) (Celebrating Women) - Softcover

Wagman-Geller, Marlene

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1642500178 ISBN 13: 9781642500172

Publisher: Mango, 2019

Synopsis

Glimpse Behind the Façade of Rich and Famous Women

If you liked The Last Castle and Lean In, you’ll love Women of Means.

The Grass Isn't Greener on the Other Side: Heiresses have always been viewed with eyes of envy. They were the ones for whom the cornucopia had been upended, showering them with unimaginable wealth and opportunity. However, through intimate historical biographies, Women of Means shows us that oftentimes the weaving sisters saved their most heart-wrenching tapestries for the destinies of wealthy women.

Happily Never After: From the author of Behind Every Great Man, we now have Women of Means, vignettes of the women who were slated from birth―or marriage―to great privilege, only to endure lives which were the stuff Russian tragic heroines are made of. They are the nonfictional Richard Corys―those not slated for happily ever after.

Women of Means is bound to be a non-fiction best seller, full of the best biographies of all time. Some of the women whose silver spoons rusted include:

• Almira Carnarvon, the real-life counterpart to Lady Cora of Downton Abbey
• Liliane Bettencourt, whose chemist father created L’Oreal... and was a Nazi collaborator
• Peggy Guggenheim, who had an insatiable appetite for modern art and men
• Nica Rothschild, who traded her gilded life to become the Baroness of Bebop
• Jocelyn Wildenstein, who became a cosmetology-enhanced cat-woman
• Ruth Madoff, the dethroned queen of Manhattan
• Patty Hearst, who trod the path from heiress... to terrorist

About this title

Review:

“If you’ve ever wished you had all the money in the world, read Women of Means by Marlene Wagman-Geller. Written in her usual witty prose, these enthralling but petrifying mini-biographies show that when a woman is too wealthy, it can be a curse rather than a blessing.”
―Jill G. Hall, author of The Black Velvet Coat

“The best women's history books are deeply researched and, therefore, filled with personal details that provide an intimate postrait. Marlene Wagman-Gellar's Women of Means does not diappoint. It is wild, witty, gossipy, and glamourous. A sheer delight. I could not get enough of reading about heiress Barbara Hutton's outrageous lifestyle, Jackie O as a step-mom, Patty Hearst's many adventures, Peggy Guggehein's collection of art (and men) and Almira Carnarvon, the real-life counterpart to Lady Cora of Downton Abbey. Simply Splendid.”
―Becca Anderson, author of Badass Women Give the Best Advice

Does money facilitate happiness, fulfillment, the good life? How much time do we all spend wishing we had more of it? These questions and more bubbled up from Marlene Wagman-Geller’s crisp, exacting prose in her powerful compilation of stories about the richest women in history, Women of Means. Wagman-Geller’s stories made me gasp and lodged my chin firmly on my chest as she chronicled the lives of women without a financial care in the world, whose appetites led so often to disaster. And, no, Patrizia, I would rather gleefully ride the bicycle!
―R. D. Kardon, author of Flygirl

About the Author:

Marlene Wagman-Geller received her B.A. from York University and her teaching credentials from the University of Toronto and San Diego State University. Currently she teaches high school English in National City, California. Reviews from her first three books (Penguin/Perigree) have appeared in the New York Times and the Associated Press article was picked up in dozens of newspapers such as the Denver Post, the Huffington Post, and the San Diego Tribune.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mango
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1642500178
• ISBN 13: 9781642500172
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 298