The Social Graces
Do we really need another novel about society during the Gilded Age? In the case of The Social Graces, the answer is an unequivocal and resounding yes. Rosen has written a fascinating and delicious account of the famous rivalry between Caroline Astor and Alva Vanderbilt. The book not only describes their rivalry but also brilliantly renders these two extraordinary socialites as three-dimensional women with worries, heartbreaks, and ambitions that—had they not been hamstrung by the limitations placed on their gender—would have propelled them into running corporations or countries. Instead they ran society.
At the beginning of the era, Carolina Astor is the anointed queen of society, but Alva has designs on the crown. As the front guard of the new money, Alva breaks through barriers not only for herself but for all the wealthy newcomers who have been shut out of society by the Knickerbockers. “Alva watched those women sitting just a bit higher in their plush seats, shoulders back, heads held high. They were no longer second best; now they were right where they’d always wanted to be.” But life is not always kind to these two women, and eventually their rivalry becomes an alliance out of sheer necessity.
The book is structured with alternating chapters from the two women’s points of view with the occasional Greek chorus of “society ladies” thrown in to shed some light on the larger social spectrum. Fans of Therese Anne Fowler’s A Well-Behaved Woman, an earlier novel about Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, will find this added perspective on Alva’s life enthralling. So, bring a spoon to devour this story and hankie to dry your tears for the sadder events. It’s high time we had our own American versions of Downton Abbey and Bridgerton. Netflix and Hulu should take note
