{"product_id":"the-astor-orphan-a-memoir-isbn-9780062207951","title":"The Astor Orphan: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Astor Orphan is an unflinching debut memoir by a direct descendant of John Jacob Astor, Alexandra Aldrich.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe brilliantly tells the story of her eccentric, fractured family; her 1980s childhood of bohemian neglect in the squalid attic of Rokeby, the family’s Hudson Valley Mansion; and her brave escape from the clan. Aldrich reaches back to the Gilded Age when the Astor legacy began to come undone, leaving the Aldrich branch of the family penniless and squabbling over what was left.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllustrated with black-and-white photographs that bring this faded world into focus, The Astor Orphan is written with the grit of The Glass Castle and set amid the aristocratic decay of Grey Gardens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow does one of America’s most famous families fall into such magnificent, heartbreaking decay?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGilded Age Legacy:\u003c\/b\u003e From the immense wealth of John Jacob Astor to the squabbling, penniless descendants left behind in a crumbling mansion.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Dysfunctional Family:\u003c\/b\u003e Witness a world of eccentric relatives, bohemian neglect, and deep-seated family secrets inside the 43-room Rokeby estate.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBohemian Upbringing:\u003c\/b\u003e A childhood spent in a squalid attic, surrounded by artists, drifters, and the ghosts of a once-great American dynasty.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Search for Identity:\u003c\/b\u003e The powerful true story of a young woman’s brave escape from her family’s suffocating history to find her own place in the world.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003eHeir to the Astor legacy, Alexandra Aldrich tells the astonishing story of her eccentric, fractured family and her decision to flee its storied legacy\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“The book is a meditation on a way of life. . . a bit like getting lost in a world somewhere between fantasy and nightmare, where the ghosts of a particular type of antique American greatness confront the realities of the modern world.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A wistful memoir of an isolated childhood spent among assorted bohemian heirs of one eccentric branch of the storied Astor family” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A sparklingly mischievous debut. . . . Aldrich’s narrative tidily and fondly bears witness to the inexorable unraveling of a storied genealogy.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This unflinching memoir of childhood chaos and neglect is relieved and enlivened by Aldrich’s wittily sharp observations and her obvious affection for her peculiar relations.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Deftly weaving together family history and simple but powerful scenes from her childhood, Alexandra Aldrich brings to life the story of a bohemian clan living under the shadow of its aristocratic ancestry.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Astor Orphan\u003c\/i\u003e. . . reads like a cross between \u003ci\u003eJane Eyre\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRunning with Scissors\u003c\/i\u003e.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Observer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSusannah Cahalan, bestselling author of Brain on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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 \u003ci\u003eGrey Gardens\u003c\/i\u003e-style Rokeby estate would make Dickens gasp. . . . Splendid.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJennifer Vanderbes, author of Easter Island and Strangers at the Feast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eElliott Holt, author of You Are One of Them\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888129470693,"sku":"NP9780062207951","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062207951.jpg?v=1730228217","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-astor-orphan-a-memoir-isbn-9780062207951","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}