The last Mrs. Astor
Subtitle: a New York story
By: Frances Kiernan ; [with a new afterword].
Edition: 1st Norton paperback.
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 317
ISBN-13: 9780393331608
Subjects: Astor, Brooke; Socialites -- New York (State) -- New York -- Biography; Philanthropists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Biography; New York (N.Y.) -- Biography
Genres: Biography.
Other titles: Last missus Astor
Description: The fabulous life of Brooke Astor, a pioneer of philanthropy and for decades a luminary of New York society. 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. She would personally visit each grant applicant and charm anyone she met. At her 100th 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 made headlines. This biography--based on firsthand knowledge and interviews--gives us back the woman so loved and admired, whose hands-on approach would inspire future philanthropists.--From publisher description.
Table of contents: title: The Union Club, November 18, 1998; title: The patchwork childhood, 1902-1919; title: Mrs. Dryden Kuser, 1919-1929; title: Charles Marshall, 1929-1952; title: Vincent Astor, 1953-1959; title: Vincent's legacies, 1959-1968; title: A great small foundation, 1968-1976; title: Brooke, 1977-1996; title: A courageous act, 1996-2001; title: A full life, 1996-2001; title: Timing is everything, 2002-2006.