THERESE ANNE FOWLER is the New York Times bestselling author of A Good Neighborhood, A Well-Behaved Woman, and Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Raised in the Midwest, she migrated to North Carolina in 1995. She holds a B.A. in sociology/cultural anthropology and an MFA in creative writing from North Carolina State University.
"Delicious." --People (Best Books of Fall 2018) "Fowler's Alva is
tough, cagey and unwilling to settle for the role of high-society
ornament -- what's not to like?" --The Washington Post "A
Well-Behaved Woman draws beauty from paradox: it is both detailed
and fast-paced, loving and critical, heart-breaking and hopeful."
--Chicago Review of Books
"A tale well-researched and honest, it returns to Alva Vanderbilt
that which many historians have taken away: her voice." --New York
Journal of Books
"Fascinating....This novel looks below the surface of the
Vanderbilt family during the Gilded Age from the little-known
perspective of this fiery heroine." --Real Simple (Best Books of
2018) "Nothing short of mesmerizing." --Kirkus Reviews (starred
review) "Genius....Though the novel's lavish sweep and gorgeous
details evoke a vanished world, Fowler's exploration of the way
powerful women are simultaneously devalued and rewarded resonates
powerfully." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "With
you-are-there immediacy fueled by assured attention to biographical
detail and deft weaving of labyrinthine intrigue, Fowler (Z, 2013)
creates a thoroughly credible imagining of the challenges and
emotional turmoil facing this fiercely independent woman."
--Booklist "A striking portrait of a woman ahead of her time and a
true feminist icon." --Popsugar ("The 28 Best New Books to Curl Up
With This Fall") "Like Gossip Girl minus more than a century."
--The Skimm "In this captivating novel about the indomitable Alva
Vanderbilt, Therese Fowler plunges us with wonderful energy into
New York's Gilded Age. Alva provides a fascinating prism for the
challenges and pleasures of era, and is endlessly engrossing as a
character, full of action and vision and will--just the sort of
woman I love knowing more about. I dare you not to dive right
in."--Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin "Oh
how I loved every instant I spent in the world Fowler has recreated
here. The story of Alva Vanderbilt is elegantly and empathetically
told. Prepare to be enthralled!" --Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times
bestselling author of The Perfect Couple "A Well-Behaved Woman is a
gem: a fascinating tale of Gilded Age manners and mores, and one
remarkable woman's attempts to transcend them. Therese Anne Fowler,
the immensely gifted writer who gave us all new insights into Zelda
Fitzgerald in her novel, Z, has done it again for Alva Vanderbilt
Belmont." --Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
of The Flight Attendant "History comes alive in this immensely
readable novel. Therese Anne Fowler takes us behind the velvet
drapes of the Vanderbilt mansions in the late 19th century,
exposing a world of passions and betrayal in which all is not as it
seems. A Well-Behaved Woman is an extraordinary portrait of a
strong, fascinating woman who rose above societal convention and
even her own expectations to become so much more than anyone might
have predicted." --Christina Baker Kline, New York Times
Bestselling author of A Piece of the World and Orphan Train "The
story of Alva Vanderbilt is long overdue for a telling, but it was
worth the wait. Therese Anne Fowler has brought this compelling,
complex woman to such dynamic life that she leaps off the pages.
This is a delicious book, as well as a timely one." --Melanie
Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls in the
Picture "In another writer's hands, Alva Vanderbilt's immense
wealth and carefully calculated life might have proved barriers to
readerly sympathy. But Fowler's portrait is so nuanced, so
complicated by context, and so informed by her own capacious
generosity that we can't help being drawn in. A Well-Behaved Woman
is a deeply and sympathetically imagined guess as to who Alva might
have been. This is a wonderful book!"
-- Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of The Jane
Austen Book Club "The best biographical novels reveal a life we
never expected to know, and here, in Fowler's jaw-droppingly
brilliant A Well-Behaved Woman, she uncovers Alva Smith, who was
supposed to be proper and conventional, but instead she not only
launched the Vanderbilt's Guilded Age dynasty, but dug in her heels
to defy her times in ways that were nothing short of revolutionary.
Not just breathtakingly alive, but dazzlingly and profoundly
timely. A must-read masterpiece." --Caroline Leavitt, New York
Times bestselling author of Pictures of You, Is This Tomorrow, and
Cruel Beautiful World "Activist, egalitarian, philanthropist,
trailblazer--these are the qualities of a historic leader. In A
Well-Behaved Woman, Therese Fowler illuminates the leading legacy
of American heiress Alva Vanderbilt. Alva's gumption and glamour
will resonate with modern women and remind all that history belongs
to those who courageously persevere. A sparkling, powerful story
that needs to be heard now more than ever." --Sarah McCoy, New York
Times and international bestselling author of Marilla of Green
Gables and The Baker's Daughter "To step into Therese Anne Fowler's
stunning novel is to step into Alva Vanderbilt's rarefied world of
sprawling homes, delicious society intrigue, and incomparable
Gilded Age luxury. But there's so much more to this world than
appearances would indicate--as Alva and the reader both learn.
Fowler's heroine is drawn with care and complexity, a woman of
exquisite taste and depth, and one who dares to dream beyond the
stifling role which society has assigned her." --Allison Pataki,
New York Times Bestselling author of 'The Accidental Empress'
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