Books like A well-behaved woman by Therese Fowler

Following the Civil War, Alva Smith rises from a destitute southern family to a key figure in one of America’s leading Gilded Age dynasties. Marrying into the Vanderbilts, she faced exclusion from New York’s old‑money society. Undeterred, Alva designed and built nine grand mansions and hosted extravagant ballrooms that became the talk of the social elite. Passionate about her lineage and determined to secure her family's legacy, she arranged for her daughter’s marriage into European nobility, solidifying the Vanderbilt name on the world stage. Beyond estate-building, Alva defied gender expectations of her era by asserting influence within her marriage and emerging as a prominent leader in the women's suffrage movement. This biography blends social history with first‑hand accounts to illuminate the strategies Alva employed to navigate class boundaries and wield her influence both at home and in the broader struggle for women’s rights.

First publish date: 2018