Top

We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.

A Well-Behaved Woman

On sale

5th September 2019

Price: £10.99

Select a format

Selected: Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781473632493

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A glittering depiction of a woman ahead of her time who absolutely refused to be second best’ Red

Alva Smith, her Southern family destitute after the Civil War, marries into one of America’s great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York’s old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designs and builds nine mansions, hosts grand balls, and arranges for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defies convention for women of the time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women’s suffrage movement.

With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, bestselling author Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted with desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman.

‘A very lively read’ Independent
‘A pacy, elegant novel’ Mail on Sunday
‘Wholly absorbing’ Stylist

‘Like Gossip Girl minus more than a century’ The Skimm
‘Enthralling’ Good Housekeeping


———————————–

*PRAISE FOR Z: A NOVEL OF ZELDA FITZGERALD, A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

‘Brilliant. Read it, read it, read it’ Daily Mail
‘Superb’ Independent on Sunday
‘Utterly compulsive reading’ Stylist
‘A treat’ Sunday Times

What's Inside

Read More Read Less

Reviews

Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
This is a wonderful book! Fowler's portrait is so nuanced, so complicated by context, and so informed by her own capacious generosity that we can't help being drawn in
Caroline Leavitt, the New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
Not just breathtakingly alive, but dazzlingly and profoundly timely. A must-read masterpiece.
Chris Bohjalian, No.1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant
A fascinating tale of Gilded Age manners and mores, and one remarkable woman's attempts to transcend them.
Sarah McCoy, New York Times and international bestselling author of Marilla of Green Gables
Activist, egalitarian, philanthropist, trailblazer - these are the qualities of a historic leader . . . Alva's gumption and glamour will resonate with modern women and remind all that history belongs to those who courageously persevere. A sparkling, powerful story that needs to be heard now more than ever.
Kirkus
Nothing short of mesmerising
Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife
Captivating . . . I dare you not to dive right in
Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of A Piece of the World
Immensely readable . . . an extraordinary portrait of a strong, fascinating woman
Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple
Oh, how I loved every instant I spent in the world Fowler has recreated here . . . Prepare to be enthralled!
Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls in the Picture
The story of Alva Vanderbilt is long overdue for a telling, but it was worth the wait . . . a delicious book
Publisher's Weekly
As accomplished as its subject, redoubtable socialite and women's suffrage crusader Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Fowler's engrossing successor to 2013's Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, again showcases her genius for seeing beyond the myths of iconic women
Booklist
With you-are-there immediacy fuelled by assured attention to biographical detail and deft weaving of labyrinthine intrigue, Fowler creates a thoroughly credible imagining of the challenges and emotional turmoil facing this fiercely independent woman
Harper's Bazaar
Sure to enthral
Garden & Gun
Fascinating
Refinery29
Now's a good time to start adding to your collection of historical heroines. Alva Vanderbilt should be right up there. With A Well-Behaved Woman, Therese Anne Fowler repeats the same magic she did in her 2013 novel Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald: she fictionalises the story of one of American history's most fascinating women
InStyle
In the vein of Fowler's Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, A Well-Behaved Woman follows the rise of another unsuspecting heroine of American history: Alva Vanderbilt
Good Housekeeping US
In this enticing novel, Therese Anne Fowler introduces us to Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, a remarkable woman who was the epitome of the expression "well-behaved women seldom make history'
The Washington Post
Fowler's Alva is tough, cagey and unwilling to settle for the role of high-society ornament - what's not to like?
Chicago Review of Books
Like its subject, A Well-Behaved Woman draws beauty from paradox: it is both detailed and fast-paced, loving and critical, heart-breaking and hopeful
New York Journal of Books
A tale well-researched and honest, it returns to Alva Smith Vanderbilt that which many historians have taken away: her voice
Irish Examiner
This novel is like wallowing in a jacuzzi: relaxing and invigorating. Delightful
Stylist
A fascinating tale of liberation and self-sufficiency that conjures up the work of Edith Wharton . . . a wholly absorbing tale that transports the reader to the Gilded Age of the 1800s. It's the perfect Sunday afternoon-in-bed read.
Red
Fascinating . . . a glittering depiction of a woman ahead of her time who absolutely refused to be second best
Good Housekeeping
Therese Anne Fowler's portrait of this feisty, forward-thinking woman is enthralling
Irish Times
This novel is a treat. Fowler's attention to period detail is both mesmerising and delicately drawn and the cast of recognisable characters such as the Astors, the Mandevilles and those from the British aristocracy are intriguing. The novel offers an unsentimental, thought provoking and nuanced examination of an extraordinary life during a time where women were grossly undervalued and oppressed. Alva demanded and achieved more, altering the course of women's lives in unprecedented ways. Fowler has articulated her narrative in an utterly fascinating account of gender politics that still bears a deep resonance today. Alva's story has been resurrected and made newly unforgettable.
Mail on Sunday
A pacy, elegant novel, powered by a heroine who parlays her pluck into real clout.
Irish News
A very lively read . . . with Alva's social manoeuvring depicted in all its glory, along with her willingness to defy social convention as an advocate of African American rights, a divorcee and, later, a prominent campaigner for women's suffrage.
Independent
A very lively read
Irish Examiner
A very lively read . . . Fowler is particularly good at the competing voices which vie for young Alva's attention as she tries to secure a wealthy husband who will shore up the fortunes of her impoverished family.
Book Wars, Stylist
Sheer brilliance
The Skimm
Like Gossip Girl minus more than a century.