A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts

The 1875 marriage of Alva Smith and William Vanderbilt is one of convenience. Alva needs a rich husband to save her family from poverty after her father's losses in Confederate investments, and the Vanderbilts hope the Smith lineage of generations of prominent Americans and European royals will help them join the top ranks of New York society. Alva combines wit, intelligence, and connections to move up the social ladder yet chafes at the restrictions, longs for love, and finds her greatest satisfaction in designing ever grander mansions. Her discovery of William's unfaithfulness leads to an unprecedented divorce settlement that scandalizes society but leaves her independently wealthy. While readers catch glimpses of Alva's social concerns, only the final three chapters devote time to her second marriage to Oliver Belmont, with an exploration of her work for women's rights appearing in a final author's note.