 First edition | |
| Authors | Alexandra Aldrich |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2013 |
The Astor Orphan is a 2013 memoir by Alexandra Aldrich, a member of the Astor family.
| First edition | |
| Authors | Alexandra Aldrich |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2013 |
The Astor Orphan is a 2013 memoir by Alexandra Aldrich, a member of the Astor family.
Alexandra Aldrich, a direct descendant (5th great grand-daughter) of John Jacob Astor, recounts her childhood at Rokeby, a 43-room historic estate in Barrytown, New York. The family is land-rich but cash-poor. Her father is unemployed and her grandmother is an alcoholic. The book ends as she leaves for boarding school.
The book was described by Publishers Weekly as a "sparklingly mischievous debut". [1]
In the Chicago Tribune , Kevin Nance compared it to Grey Gardens , adding that, "Aldrich delivers buckets of eccentricity." [2] However, he argued that her "petulant grievance and thwarted entitlement" made the book "wearisome fast". [2] He added that the dialogues lacked credibility, and that there is a "lack of an adult, emotionally mature perspective". [2]
Writing for The New York Observer , Matthew Kassel argued that it "read[s] like a cross between Jane Eyre and Running with Scissors , adding that "it contain[ed] more than a few unsavory details about her family, personal things that one might not want the public to know about." [3] He went on to say that "the book feels like a child's revenge on her family." [3]
In Salon , Laura Miller called it "a mournful, curious tale of an anxious child's longing for security." [4] She added that it lacked "the fluency of truly accomplished storytelling, but the story it tells is so extraordinary, and Aldrich's tone is so baldly honest, that the reader's attention will not flag.". [4]
In The Boston Globe , Buzzy Jackson, the author of Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist, argued that it was "unpleasant for the reader to spend time with these spoiled, deranged people." [5]
In the Star Tribune , Eric Hanson called the book, "wearying, gorgeous, ugly, sad, bohemian and only mildly sordid or scandalous by TV or literary standards." [6]
The Kirkus Reviews said, "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." [7]
William Backhouse Astor Sr. was an American business magnate who inherited most of his father John Jacob Astor's fortune. He worked as a partner in his father's successful export business. His massive investment in Manhattan real estate enabled major donations to the Astor Library in the East Village, which became the New York Public Library.
John Armstrong Jr. was an American soldier, diplomat and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and United States Secretary of War under President James Madison. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Armstrong was United States Minister to France from 1804 to 1810.
The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled in Germany, first appearing in North America in the 18th century with John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest people in history.
William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman, and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of New York City. He moved to Britain in 1891, became a British subject in 1899, and was made a peer as Baron Astor in 1916 and Viscount Astor in 1917 for his contributions to war charities.
Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, DL was an American-born English politician and newspaper proprietor. He was a member of the Astor family. He was active in minor political roles. He was devoted to charitable projects, and with his more famous wife Nancy became a prominent fixture in upper class English society.
Phyllis Chesler is an American writer, psychotherapist, and professor emerita of psychology and women's studies at the College of Staten Island (CUNY). She is a renowned second-wave feminist psychologist and the author of 18 books, including the best-sellers Women and Madness (1972), With Child: A Diary of Motherhood (1979), and An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir (2013). Chesler has written extensively about topics such as gender, mental illness, divorce and child custody, surrogacy, second-wave feminism, pornography, prostitution, incest, and violence against women.
Robert Winthrop Chanler was an American artist and member of the Astor and Dudley–Winthrop families. A designer and muralist, Chanler received much of his art training in France at the École des Beaux-Arts, and there his most famous work, titled Giraffes, was completed in 1905 and later purchased by the French government. Robert D. Coe, who studied with him, described Chanler as being "eccentric and almost bizarre." Chanler rose to prominence as an acclaimed American artist when his work was exhibited in the 1913 Armory Show in New York City.
John Winthrop Chanler was a prominent New York lawyer and a U.S. Representative from New York. He was a member of the Dudley–Winthrop family and married Margaret Astor Ward, a member of the Astor family.
Laura Pedersen is an American author and playwright. She worked at American Stock Exchange before writing her first book, Play Money.
Beth Kephart is an American author of non-fiction, poetry and young adult fiction for adults and teens. Kephart has written and published over ten books and has received several grants and awards for her writing. She was a National Book Award Finalist for her book "A Slant of the Sun: One Child’s Courage." She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and son. She is a writing partner in the marketing communications firm, Fusion Communications, and occasionally teaches and lectures at the University of Pennsylvania.
Barrytown is a hamlet within the town of Red Hook in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is within the Hudson River Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and contains four notable Hudson River Valley estates: Edgewater, Massena, Rokeby, and Sylvania.
Rokeby, also known as La Bergerie, is a historic estate and federally recognized historic district located at Barrytown in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It includes seven contributing buildings and one contributing structure.
The Ice Princess is a crime novel by Swedish author Camilla Läckberg. As her debut novel, it was originally published in 2003 in Swedish, entitled Isprinsessan. The novel follows detective Patrik Hedström and writer Erica Falck investigating a suspicious suicide. A sequel, The Preacher was published in 2004 and subsequently translated to English in 2009.
Swift as Desire is a 2001 novel by the Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel.
Priestdaddy is a memoir by American poet Patricia Lockwood. It was named one of the 10 best books of 2017 by The New York Times Book Review and was awarded the 2018 Thurber Prize for American Humor. In 2019, the New York Times included the book on its list "The 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years," and The Guardian named it one of the 100 best books of the 21st century.
Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler Chapman was an American heiress and socialite during the Gilded Age.
Winthrop Astor Chanler was an American sportsman and soldier who fought in the Spanish–American War and World War I.
Warren Delano IV was an American horseman and coal tycoon.
Franklin Hughes Delano was an American merchant, diplomat and society man.
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American is a graphic novel and memoir written and illustrated by Laura Gao, with coloring by Weiwei Xu. It was published on March 8, 2022, by HarperCollins. It originates from the comic "The Wuhan I Know," which describes the author's relationship to the city of Wuhan.