by Meryl Gordon
First published 2008
Brooke Astor commanded New York society for decades as a beloved philanthropist bearing one of America's most famous names. In 2006, her grandson Philip filed a shocking lawsuit against his own father, Anthony Marshall, accusing him of abusing the aging matriarch. The family war erupted into global headlines. Brooke died in 2007, and prosecutors soon charged Anthony with stealing from her estate. Journalist Meryl Gordon interviewed Astor's elite social circle and the household staff who witnessed her final years. Gordon reconstructs the private moments behind the public scandal, revealing three generations of family dysfunction within America's upper crust. The Astor empire crumbles as money, status, and blood ties turn toxic. Even vast wealth cannot repair bonds once they break.
Genres: american-fiction, abuse, crime, biography-memoir, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, social-commentary
Setting: New York
Period: 2006, 2007
367 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt
Content warnings: abuse