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The Last Mrs. Astor Frances Kiernan

The Last Mrs. Astor By Frances Kiernan

The Last Mrs. Astor by Frances Kiernan


$19.99
Condition - Very Good
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Summary

The fabulous life of Brooke Astor, a pioneer of philanthropy and for decades a luminary of New York society.

The Last Mrs. Astor Summary

The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story by Frances Kiernan

Hers is a story out of Edith Wharton. After a disastrous early marriage, Brooke Astor wedded the notoriously ill-tempered Vincent Astor, who died in 1959. In a highly publicized courtroom battle, Brooke fought off an attempt to break Vincent's will, which left some $67 million to the Vincent Astor Foundation. As the foundation's president, Brooke would use this legacy to benefit New York, where the Astor fortune had been made.

Brooke would personally visit each grant applicant and charm anyone she met. At her one-hundredth birthday, princes and presidents honored her, but in 2006 a grandson petitioned the courts to have his father removed as Brooke's guardian. Once again an Astor court battle became the stuff of headlines. This biographybased on firsthand knowledge and interviews with Brooke's friends and the heads of New York's great cultural institutionsgives us back the woman so loved and admired, whose hands-on approach would inspire future philanthropists.

About Frances Kiernan

A former editor at The New Yorker, Frances Kiernan is the author of The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story and Seeing Mary Plain: A Life of Mary McCarthy. She lives in New York City.

Additional information

GOR003555072
9780393057201
0393057208
The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story by Frances Kiernan
Used - Very Good
Hardback
WW Norton & Co
2007-06-22
320
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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