Product Description

A riveting look behind the gates of the house of Astor as a famous family falls apart in public.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2459596 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-01
• Formats: Audiobook, CD, Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 11
• Binding: Audio CD

Amazon.com Review
Product Description
A riveting look behind the gates of the house of Astor as a famous family falls apart in public

The fate of Brooke Astor, the endearing philanthropist with the storied name, has generated worldwide headlines since her grandson Philip sued his father in 2006, alleging mistreatment of Brooke. And shortly after her death in 2007, Anthony Marshall, Mrs. Astor s only child, was indicted on charges of looting her estate. Rarely has there been a story with such an appealing heroine, conjuring up a world so nearly forgotten: a realm of lavish wealth and secrets of the sort that have engaged Americans from the era of Edith Wharton to the more recent days of Truman Capote and Vanity Fair. New York journalist Meryl Gordon has interviewed not only the elite of Brooke Astor s social circle, but also the large staff who cosseted and cared for Mrs. Astor during her declining years. The result is the behind-the-headlines story of the Astor empire s unraveling, filled with never-before-reported scenes. This powerful, poignant saga takes the reader inside the gilded gates of an American dynasty to tell of three generations worth of longing and missed opportunities. Even in this territory of privilege, no riches can put things right once they ve been torn asunder. Here is an American epic of the bonds of money, morality, and social position.

During the summer of 2006, as I began researching Mrs. Astor Regrets, I thought that I was in the midst of a deeply textured family saga about society, money, and betrayal. What I could not have imagined was that just three years later I would have a regular seat on a wooden bench in a shabby New York courtroom as Tony Marshall--Brooke Astor's 85-year-old patrician son--stood trial on charges of looting his mother's $185 million estate while she was still alive. What started in 2006 as a bitter but quaintly old-fashioned family fight over the care and custody of the 104-year-old grande dame of New York society had become an eighteen-count criminal indictment charging Tony Marshall with grand larceny and his trusts-and-estates lawyer, Francis Morrissey, Jr., with conspiracy and forgery.

Mrs. Astor Regrets ends with Tony Marshall's indictment. But rather than becoming outdated by events surrounding the trial, the book is more timely than ever. The father-versus-son theme, which was at the heart of the struggle over Brooke Astor's care, was acted out in court when twin sons Philip and Alec Marshall both testified against their father as prosecution witnesses. Afterward, I saw Tony Marshall and his wife, Charlene Marshall, weeping in the corridor in response to this wrenching Oedipal moment.

Ever since I heard the prosecution's opening argument in late April, I have been seized by a sense of déjà vu. The entire outline of the case has followed the trajectory of Mrs. Astor Regrets. I began my story with a richly detailed account of Brooke Astor's one hundredth birthday party in 2002--given by David Rockefeller at his country estate--because artistically it set up the contrast between the society icon’s glittering life and the sad isolation that would soon follow. The prosecution used the birthday party as a framework for their own narrative, quizzing witnesses like Barbara Walters, Annette de la Renta, Nancy Kissinger, and Viscount Astor (all quoted in Mrs. Astor Regrets) about the same party and showing the jury a video of the festivities on a huge courtroom screen.

The prosecutors and the defense lawyers have told me that Mrs. Astor Regrets was required reading as they prepared for the trial. In the corridor outside the courtroom, newspaper reporters (and even a police detective) have asked me to autograph their copies of the book. About the only group left out of the loop are the twelve jurors and four alternates sitting in judgment of Tony Marshall and Francis Morrissey. They are forbidden from reading it because the judge has not allowed into evidence many of the details from the guardianship lawsuit over Mrs. Astor's care that Philip Marshall (joined by David Rockefeller, Annette de la Renta, and Henry Kissinger) filed against his father in 2006.

As a fan of mystery novels, I get an eerie feeling spending four days a week right in the middle of one. I will say that authors must have a better sense of dramatic pacing than courtroom lawyers. The Astor trial is not expected to go to the jury until early August. I have lived with this story for three years, and there remains only one important question for which I have no answer: Will the jury find Tony Marshall and Francis Morrissey, Jr. guilty as charged?

What I do know is that Brooke Astor was so devoted to the rituals of society that she still dressed for dinner, with matching evening bag and dress, at the age of 104. Part of the code that governed Mrs. Astor's life was a sense of personal privacy even when she was a renowned philanthropist to New York's leading charities. To have all this being argued in open court--in a way that has torn her family asunder--is something that Mrs. Astor would indeed regret. --Meryl Gordon

(Photo © Nina Subin)

From Publishers Weekly
The indictment in November 2007 of Anthony (Tony) Marshall, the only child of the late legendary philanthropist Brooke Astor, for misuse of his mother's fortune led to an unheard-of scrutiny of America's discreet aristocracy. Gordon, a journalist whose New York magazine article on the scandal in August 2006 formed the germ of this extended work, delivers a balanced, dogged—and ultimately sad—detective account of how Astor's grandson Philip Marshall ended up betraying Tony, his own father. Horrified by accounts of the shamefully reduced conditions under which his then 103-year-old grandmother was being cared for (attested to by servants and Astor's good friends Annette de la Renta and David Rockefeller), Philip legally challenged his father, the custodian of her considerable estate, and Tony's wife, Charlene, citing in particular the uncharacteristic altering of Brooke's will in the last years before she died (she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's). Gordon sifts painstakingly through the rubble of the extended Astor family history, from Brooke's disastrous first marriage at age 17 to her dazzling reinvention in her 50s as the celebrity widow of Vincent Astor (who died in 1959), firmly ensconced at the helm of the venerable and very useful Astor Foundation. In the end, Gordon tells a sad and moving story of elder abuse. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Amanda Vaill

If you've ever heard Cole Porter's classic song "Miss Otis Regrets," with its ironic use of the formal third person, you know that the reason the eponymous heroine can't accept her lunch invitation is that she has shot the man "who led her so far astray." There's no shooting in Meryl Gordon's Mrs. Astor Regrets -- everyone is much too polite and repressed for that -- but this story of the vicissitudes of the late New York grande dame Brooke Astor is also, in its way, about a crime of the heart.

Left a fortune on the death of her third husband, the irascible real-estate magnate Vincent Astor, the former Brooke Russell Kuser Marshall became an icon of New York society, as well as one of the city's most generous and discerning philanthropists. Instantly recognizable in her Chanel suits, ornate hats, pearls and trademark white gloves, she was famous for personally visiting every one of the causes to which she gave money, from the Bronx Zoo to after-school programs in inner-city neighborhoods -- continuing to do so well into her 90s. Her 100th-birthday celebration in 2002 was attended by such diverse luminaries as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Barbara Walters, George Plimpton, Henry Kissinger, the past and current directors of the New York Public Library (Vartan Gregorian and Paul LeClerc) and the designer Oscar de la Renta, and made headlines around the globe. But these were superseded a mere four years later when her grandson Philip Marshall filed a petition in a New York City court charging his father -- Mrs. Astor's only son, Anthony Marshall -- with elder abuse of the now frail 104-year-old woman. "DISASTER FOR MRS. ASTOR," screamed the front page of the New York Daily News. There was worse to come: In November 2007, Tony Marshall and the man he had hired to be Mrs. Astor's lawyer, Francis X. Morrissey, were indicted on charges of criminal fraud and grand larceny in the handling of her fortune.

Thus began what New York Magazine journalist Meryl Gordon calls an "upper-crust reality soap-opera" that illustrates what happens when families confuse money with affection. Cantering briskly through the first nine decades of Brooke Astor's life (a pace that may account for the breathless prose style), Gordon points out the essentials: the cash-poor but well-connected upbringing; the early marriage (at 16) to a wealthy boor who beat her when he wasn't cheating on her; the birth of an only son, who friends say would always be a reminder of his "terrible" father and who was quickly shunted off to boarding school; divorce and remarriage to the love of her life, Buddie Marshall, who died in her arms after 20 years and left her "feeling poverty-stricken"; the five-year marriage of convenience with Astor, one of the richest men in America, who ignored his now-grown stepson but adored his twin step-grandsons; Astor's death and his widow's apotheosis. But the bulk of Gordon's book is given over to her painstakingly researched account of the events surrounding the lawsuit and the subsequent indictments, a tale that is more sad than scandalous, but nonetheless riveting.

Drawing on sources as varied as caregivers' notes and videotapes of ceremonial speeches, as well as interviews with everyone from David Rockefeller to Mrs. Astor's gardener, Gordon details her inexorable slide into fragility and dementia, beginning with the forgetfulness about names and details that led to her decision to close down the Astor Foundation; the making of inappropriate, meandering remarks during public appearances; the falls and fractures and seemingly baseless fears. And she follows the steps by which Anthony Marshall, a former CIA recruiter and diplomat turned Broadway producer, gradually assumed a larger and larger role in running his mother's affairs -- and a larger and larger share of the proceeds.

First there was the puzzling sale of a beloved Childe Hassam painting, "Flags: Fifth Avenue," which Mrs. Astor had long promised to the Metropolitan Museum -- "Tony wanted me to sell because I'm running out of money," she explained -- and Marshall's pocketing of a $2 million commission on the deal. There was the transfer of the title of her cherished Maine retreat to Marshall, who then deeded it to his third wife, a woman Mrs. Astor reportedly loathed -- all the while billing the former owner for its considerable upkeep. Then there were the restrictions placed on Mrs. Astor's visitors' list and the firings of key personnel: the social secretary, the butler and finally the lawyer -- all replaced by people Marshall hired. Finally, fully two years after Marshall had discussed with his mother's geriatrician the fact that she had Alzheimer's disease, there were the codicils to her will -- documents signed by a frail, disoriented old woman, who had to be "dragged down a hallway" to do so -- in which she withdrew the substantial bequests originally made to the institutions she had always supported and instead bestowed the bulk of her fortune on her son. No wonder the 102-year-old Mrs. Astor cowered in a car rather than emerge for a lunch date with her old friend David Rockefeller: She was afraid he was one of "the men in blue suits [who] make me sign things."

None of these pitiable and appalling facts would have come to light if Marshall had not tried to isolate his mother from her friends and associates or to economize by selling off properties -- like the Hassam painting and her Westchester estate, Holly Hill -- that gave her comfort. But in Gordon's view, Marshall suffered from the feeling that he "never had the security of unconditional love" from his mother, and when she was too ill and addled to protest, he comforted himself with the money and property looted from her estate. Gordon further develops this theme by suggesting that Philip Marshall sued his father for Mrs. Astor's guardianship not only because he was outraged by what he felt was neglectful care of the grandmother he revered, but also as a way of acting out against the father he believed "neither knew nor liked him."

Thankfully, Gordon doesn't overdo the Freudian components of her story; she doesn't have to with protagonists like these. Listen to Tony Marshall, giving Brooke Astor's funeral eulogy to a packed congregation at St. Thomas Church that has just heard from David Rockefeller, one of the co-signers of Philip Marshall's guardianship petition: "New York and her many friends have lost a wonderful person," he says. Then, adds Gordon, "his voice choked up, as he added in a tone of almost childish disbelief, 'But I've lost my mother.' " To judge by Mrs. Astor Regrets, he never had her to begin with.


Copyright 2008,The Washington Post.. All Rights Reserved.

Customer Reviews

Fabulosity just in time for the holidays
This is a fabulous book. Not in the dictionary sense of "hard to believe" or exceptionally good. It is fabulous in the "must be read with a bonbon and preferably a cocktail nearby." What hundreds of chick-lit books try to achieve every year this one does in the first few pages.

The Astor scandal was perfect tabloid fodder. Brooke Astor was a NYC institution well-known for her philanthropy, impeccable name and a hat collection that rivaled Queen Elizabeth. Even in the 90s, Brooke Astor always dressed to impress; she considered it her job to impress the common folk. When news hit that Mrs Astor's grandson was accusing her son of denying her the very luxuries her name conjures the tabloids worked themselves into a ritual frenzy of indignation. As author Meryl Gordon notes, every New York summer needs a scandal and Brooke Astor provided in 2006 like a last bequest to the city she loved.

Meryl Gordon's book reads like an extended, very well-research magazine article, which is suitable to the task. If you want erudition, see Frances Kiernan's fine biography "The Last Mrs Astor." If you want fabulousness, this is the book for you.

How fabulous, you ask. Custom de la Renta gowns, wives (who may be lesbians) who pick out a suitable successor so they can get a divorce, dogs named Boysie and Girlsie, loyal butlers and minister's wives who leave their husbands for rich older men - we're talking 10 out of 10 on the fabulous scale. That last ingredient on the fabulous list is Charlene, the third wife of Mrs Astor's son Tony Marshall, and she appears to come from central casting. She's from a proverbial good family of limited means complete with Southern Gothic levels of dysfunction, she follows her Episcopal minister husband to tony Northeast Harbor in Maine where she meets Tony Marshall at a church function. Before you can say gold-digger (not that I'm implying anything) Charlene and Tony are meeting at sunrise for walks that last all day. Throughout the book Charlene is peeved whenever anyone implies that she was interested in Tony primarily for this proximity to the Astor millions. Hilariously, she's usually expressing this outrage at the same time she's expressing outrage at the avarice of others.

Gordon tries hard to present both sides of the story. She makes it clear that Brooke's maternal instincts were limited to her dogs. Tony Marshall comes across as a sad character, without a real father most of his life, he then becomes the stepson of the incredibly wealthy Vincent Astor. So close to untold millions and yet so far. Everyone knows his mother for her gleeful sharing of her bounty, yet Tony must rely on Brooke to get him "suitable" employment. But even $450K a year is a pittance if you set your sights high enough and Tony and Charlene's minds are in the stratosphere.

Try as you might, you'll find it hard not to infer that Tony and Charlene saw Brooke linger on (and on and on) past 100, and suffering from Alzheimer's, soaking up the millions that they see as practically their's anyway. She won't notice the difference between Creme de la Mer and Sauve, they must have told themselves. Whether she noticed or not, her servants were outraged. Mrs Astor never skimped. That said, it's equally hard to feel sorry for Tony Marshall, especially when he hooks up with a lawyer famous for his shady billing practices to "help" Brooke make adjustments to her will. Rarely will you find so many people fighting over so much money that they have so little claim to.

I could go on about how the Astor case is a tale of adults who never learned to bond emotionally as children but, really, why bother? That's not the point of this book. The point is diverting enjoyment and this is the perfect diversion from the hassles of the holiday season. It's like a bonbon in holiday wrapping. Think of it as Mrs Astor's last bequest to the common folk.

A Juicy Dish
I had only seen headlines about the Astor case, and not really paid attention. I don't usually concern myself with the affairs of the stupendously wealthy, but this book sounded interesting. Boy, am I glad I gave it a shot.

First, the story is a real page-turner. As I began to learn about the history of the Astor family and how Brooke became The Last Mrs. Astor, I was intensely interested in how all of this was going to end up being tabloid fodder. Though meticulous in her research and sourcing for this book, Meryl Gordon has a prose style that skillfully weaves a narrative of the various facts.

The complexities of the story are fiction-worthy. While she doesn't pass judgment, Gordon gives all of the characters room to be. By the end, I had grown fond of almost all of them, and had sincere feelings of empathy even for those I felt were villains.

One thing I like about a book like this is the opportunity to see how the upper crust live. When I find myself taking sides between Brooke Astor, her son and his wives, her grandson, Annette De La Renta, Mrs. Astor's butler, her nurses and other staff, and even a Rockefeller or two, I get a delicious sense of how everyone's problems are real, no matter their station in life.

While a biographical treatment of someone who's famous for being rich is not generally my cup of tea, this book was a fascinating read. That someone with so much money and power could have been a potential victim of elder abuse was a startling concept to confront. My feeling initially was that it would be hard to give a hoot about people who have homes with names, who wear millions of dollars in jewelry and furs and receive flowers from Prince Charles on their birthdays. However, I grew quite fond of that tough old bird as her character was fleshed out by recollections of such luminaries as Barbara Walters and Nancy Reagan. By the time the private family matter leaked to front page headlines pitting a son against his father over the mistreatment of his grandmother, I was seriously scandalized myself, worried even that Mrs. Astor might learn of her family secrets being common knowledge.

Part of the power of this book is the lure of Brooke Astor. The rest is solid reporting and good storytelling.

No one wins
Several months ago a Vanity Fair article focused on the battle between Tony and Charlene Marshall and Tony's son Phillip, over the care of Tony's elderly mother. Not a matter of public curiosity, except Tony Marshall was the son of Brooke Astor, the grand dame of New York and the care of Mrs. Astor included access to her homes and possessions as well as her monies. Their battle captivated New York headlines and resulted in eventual indictments.

Meryl Gordon has gone behind the headlines and crafted a thoughtful, incisive look at the life of Brooke Astor and the forces that eventually brought a father and son to loggerheads. Brooke Astor was born into a time when families readily gave their daughters to marriage to gain wealth, influence and noble title. After an unhappy first marriage, Brooke married Buddie Marshall, who she referred to as the "love of my life" and bore her only child Anthony. Six months after Buddie's unexpected death Brooke accepted Vincent Astor's marriage proposal and life changed for her and Tony. She began her ascent to the top of society and Tony was often at boarding schools. Though there was never again a financial worry, mother and son were never able to be close. The birth of twins to Tony and his first wife brought some temporary family closeness that later fflounders after Tony marries his third wife.

Meryl Gordon has crafted a well balanced, even handed account of the events leading to the court fight and Mrs. Astor's final days. Using Brook's autobiographies, letters, articles, public court documents and the recollections of countless friends and staff, she has provided insight into the tawdry headlines. Despite becoming New York's beloved philanthropist and social leader; Brooke Astor was unable to prevent the disintrigation of her own family. While it would be easy to vilify several of the participants, Gordon has managed to stay objective and allows the reader to see the sadness in a situation where family turns on itself and the object of their attentions is almost lost in the fray.