Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach

In "Mrs. Astor Regrets", we are given a real eye-opener as to what it is like to live the privileged life among the very rich. Her money caused more problems than she realized, especially at the end of her life. I felt really sad that her later years were so muddled with everyone trying to get their hands on her wealth, that compassion went out the back door. She had too much money to ever really enjoy life like she should have. I do think that by age 104, this family should have had the foresight to settle her monetary affairs before she ever reached that age. This is a delicious book that is hard to put down-actually one of the best I have read in a long time! You wouldn't be disappointed with this one!

I purchased this book since I had met Mrs. Astor along with the Oscar de la Rentas at a Metropolitan Museum party many years ago. She was very gracious and quick-witted. She asked me where I lived. I told her, "Tennessee!" She responded, "then what the hell are you doing here?!" "Supporting the museum", I retorted. I took no offense to this quick wit and laughed at her frank demeanor. I found the book to be very revealing in that trouble besets all families at one point or another...any money does not make one immune to family embarassments and trouble. In fact, money actually complicates the picture. The author has an excellent writing style. The reader feels that one is sitting at a clothed table at a nice club as the author tells the story in such a matter-of-fact manner. I recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in New York society or historical families. The book has a steady ebb and flow to the plot and the last two chapters become intensely exciting; for as the book nears the end, there is a rise in tempo that kept me transfixed beyond my bedtime. For the enjoyment that you will derive, it is certainly worth the price.

This is a fabulous book. Not in the dictionary sense of "hard to believe" or exceptionally good. It is fabulous in the "must be read with a bonbon and preferably a cocktail nearby." What hundreds of chick-lit books try to achieve every year this one does in the first few pages. The Astor scandal was perfect tabloid fodder. Brooke Astor was a NYC institution well-known for her philanthropy, impeccable name and a hat collection that rivaled Queen Elizabeth. Even in the 90s, Brooke Astor always dressed to impress; she considered it her job to impress the common folk. When news hit that Mrs Astor's grandson was accusing her son of denying her the very luxuries her name conjures the tabloids worked themselves into a ritual frenzy of indignation. As author Meryl Gordon notes, every New York summer needs a scandal and Brooke Astor provided in 2006 like a last bequest to the city she loved. Meryl Gordon's book reads like an extended, very well-research magazine article, which is suitable to the task. If you want erudition, see Frances Kiernan's fine biography "The Last Mrs Astor." If you want fabulousness, this is the book for you. How fabulous, you ask. Custom de la Renta gowns, wives (who may be lesbians) who pick out a suitable successor so they can get a divorce, dogs named Boysie and Girlsie, loyal butlers and minister's wives who leave their husbands for rich older men - we're talking 10 out of 10 on the fabulous scale. That last ingredient on the fabulous list is Charlene, the third wife of Mrs Astor's son Tony Marshall, and she appears to come from central casting. She's from a proverbial good family of limited means complete with Southern Gothic levels of dysfunction, she follows her Episcopal minister husband to tony Northeast Harbor in Maine where she meets Tony Marshall at a church function. Before you can say gold-digger (not that I'm implying anything) Charlene and Tony are meeting at sunrise for walks that last all day. Throughout the book Charlene is peeved whenever anyone implies that she was interested in Tony primarily for this proximity to the Astor millions. Hilariously, she's usually expressing this outrage at the same time she's expressing outrage at the avarice of others. Gordon tries hard to present both sides of the story. She makes it clear that Brooke's maternal instincts were limited to her dogs. Tony Marshall comes across as a sad character, without a real father most of his life, he then becomes the stepson of the incredibly wealthy Vincent Astor. So close to untold millions and yet so far. Everyone knows his mother for her gleeful sharing of her bounty, yet Tony must rely on Brooke to get him "suitable" employment. But even $450K a year is a pittance if you set your sights high enough and Tony and Charlene's minds are in the stratosphere. Try as you might, you'll find it hard not to infer that Tony and Charlene saw Brooke linger on (and on and on) past 100, and suffering from Alzheimer's, soaking up the millions tha

I had only seen headlines about the Astor case, and not really paid attention. I don't usually concern myself with the affairs of the stupendously wealthy, but this book sounded interesting. Boy, am I glad I gave it a shot. First, the story is a real page-turner. As I began to learn about the history of the Astor family and how Brooke became The Last Mrs. Astor, I was intensely interested in how all of this was going to end up being tabloid fodder. Though meticulous in her research and sourcing for this book, Meryl Gordon has a prose style that skillfully weaves a narrative of the various facts. The complexities of the story are fiction-worthy. While she doesn't pass judgment, Gordon gives all of the characters room to be. By the end, I had grown fond of almost all of them, and had sincere feelings of empathy even for those I felt were villains. One thing I like about a book like this is the opportunity to see how the upper crust live. When I find myself taking sides between Brooke Astor, her son and his wives, her grandson, Annette De La Renta, Mrs. Astor's butler, her nurses and other staff, and even a Rockefeller or two, I get a delicious sense of how everyone's problems are real, no matter their station in life. While a biographical treatment of someone who's famous for being rich is not generally my cup of tea, this book was a fascinating read. That someone with so much money and power could have been a potential victim of elder abuse was a startling concept to confront. My feeling initially was that it would be hard to give a hoot about people who have homes with names, who wear millions of dollars in jewelry and furs and receive flowers from Prince Charles on their birthdays. However, I grew quite fond of that tough old bird as her character was fleshed out by recollections of such luminaries as Barbara Walters and Nancy Reagan. By the time the private family matter leaked to front page headlines pitting a son against his father over the mistreatment of his grandmother, I was seriously scandalized myself, worried even that Mrs. Astor might learn of her family secrets being common knowledge. Part of the power of this book is the lure of Brooke Astor. The rest is solid reporting and good storytelling.