Astor Orphan, The - Softcover

"It's the highest of compliments to say that a memoir reads like fiction, and Alexandra Aldrich accomplishes this in her phenomenal debut. With swift, haunting prose, she breathes new life into the Astor clan."--Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of Brain on Fire

"A beautifully-rendered family saga--full of fires, affairs, aristocrats and illegitimate children. At the center is an endearing heroine, whose eccentric childhood on the Grey Gardens-style Rokeby estate would make Dickens gasp. . . . Splendid."--Jennifer Vanderbes, author of Easter Island and Strangers at the Feast

"Evocative. . . . Aldrich astutely portrays a colorful cast of aunts, uncles, cousins and hangers-on--clinging to the family legacy long after the money is gone. One can't help but cheer as she breaks away from the others to make a name for herself."--Elliott Holt, author of You Are One of Them

"Novelistic. . . . Vividly gothic. . . . It's a trick to tell a story this rich and complicated through the eyes of a child without losing the subtleties of character and nuances of history, but Aldrich pulls it off with aplomb."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A sparklingly mischievous debut. . . . Aldrich's narrative tidily and fondly bears witness to the inexorable unraveling of a storied genealogy."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)