by Craig Unger
First published 1991
Rebekah Harkness inherited vast Standard Oil wealth and used it to transform herself into one of New York's most talked-about socialites. During the tumultuous decades of the 1960s and 1970s, she commanded attention through her generous charitable giving and her outrageous behavior that shocked even jaded high society circles. Unger follows Harkness as she navigates the glittering world of Manhattan's elite, where her fortune opens every door but her unpredictable nature threatens to close them just as quickly. Her story reveals the tensions between old money expectations and new money freedom, between social responsibility and personal expression. At its heart, this is the portrait of a woman who refused to be contained by the conventions of her class and era.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, fish-out-of-water, social-commentary
Setting: Manhattan, New York
Period: 1960s, 1970s
Hardcover · Random House Value Publishing