A Well-Behaved Woman

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, mar ...

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