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The Astor Orphan A Memoir Alexandra Aldrich 9780062207937 Books

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The Astor Orphan A Memoir Alexandra Aldrich 9780062207937 Books

I bought this memoir thinking I would learn something about the descendants of John Jacob Astor and I did but not in the way I expected. This is the poor, bohemian offspring of the Astor orphans, William Backhouse Astor, Sr.'s eleven grandchildren who were orphaned when their parents died of pneumonia within a short time of each other. They were raised by family in the enormous mansion called Rokeby in the Catskills. The author's great grandmother bought out her siblings to be sole owner of Rokeby, but after she died in 1963 the place began to deteriorate. Eventually the estate of some 400+ acres was co-owned by brothers Harry and Ted Aldrich. Ted's only child Alexandra is the author of this memoir.

Since Harry had a job as a civil servant in Albany, Ted ran the estate and rented out cottages and other outbuildings. He also supposedly kept the place in good repair. Actually he rented to various oddball friends and artists who drove staid Harry and his wife up the wall. They lived in the main part of the mansion while Ted and his wife and daughter were relegated to the servants quarters and attics of the house. Alexandra's father, classically educated but a born mechanic and farmhand, didn't like to bathe, her mother didn't know how to keep house and, what's more, didn't care to learn, and they usually had to borrow money to buy groceries. Alexandra was largely unsupervised, a free spirit at home in the woods and with the artists who lived in the creamery.

Alexandra was also a good student devoted to playing the violin. She had two younger cousins to play with; they staged plays in the best rooms wearing gowns found in trunks. Youngest Maggie would lie on a couch dramatically announcing that she was dying of "ammonia." As young children they seemed to live a kind of charmed life, but as Alexandra grew near her teens she needed more guidance than her parents and her alcoholic grandmother could give her. She became ashamed of her clothing and her life, was bullied relentlessly by cruel "in" girls, and her grades suffered accordingly.

At 14 she was shipped off to a private school, relieved at having escaped Rokeby but sad that she was leaving her now-sober grandmother alone and sad, and her parents to bicker endlessly to no purpose. The story of these people and other family, the estate, and the escapades of the strange friends Ted attracted is at times sad, at other times hilarious, but always made me thankful I came from more ordinary folks. You'll want to cry for Alexandra as she is bullied and humiliated. On the other hand, you'll be angry at the way her parents neglected her so much she had to get her drunken grandmother to drive her to her violin recital.

Rokeby itself sounds like a shell of its former glory, like her Uncle Harry putting on airs and reminding everyone of his family background while struggling to keep up financially. Such is the fate of the 450 acres granted to Robert Livingston, Sr. by King James II in the 1680s and passed to the Astors when they married into the Livingston family, then on to the Aldrich family. From such famous history, decrepit in the 1960s.

Recommended only for fans of memoirs
Source: purchased from amazon.com


Tags : The Astor Orphan: A Memoir [Alexandra Aldrich] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <em>The Astor Orphan</em> is an unflinching debut memoir by a direct descendant of John Jacob Astor,Alexandra Aldrich,The Astor Orphan: A Memoir,Ecco,0062207938,New York (State);Biography.,Upper class;New York (State);Biography.,Aldrich, Alexandra,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Personal Memoirs,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Rich & Famous,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Women,BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Family,GENERAL,General Adult,New York,New York (State),Non-Fiction,Personal Memoirs,Rich & Famous,United States,Upper class,Women

The Astor Orphan A Memoir Alexandra Aldrich 9780062207937 Books Reviews

I really enjoyed this inside look at Alexandra's childhood. Wha rtf a brave author. I only wish there was an epilogue.
I found this memoir to be intriguing. It gave a complete picture on how the other half lives.
We assume too much because of family name when actually they are worst off than the
majority. An eye opener to be sure.
This is a great look at an aristocratic family fallen on hard times through heartbreaking the eyes of child just wishing for more structure and more love.
Why am I so interested in the lives of these people with famous names? I can't answer that myself except to say that these stories are often fascinating and I usually find myself grateful I lived a normal life with loving, educated ancestors. I wish this memoir had been written even later so that more of her story could be known.
The pathos of being an impoverished child of a once wealthy family is well written
The reader can feel her pain as she struggles to survive her dysfunctional family living in a decrepit mansion. I asked myself if I was enjoying this because it was a comeuppence to Mrs
Astor's 400?
Part of the reason I love this book is that I know the people, I know the history of the Astor house in which the book takes place, Rokeby. It is remarkably well written by a very young lady who has managed to convey both the humor and the history of the family as well as a delightfully imaginative history of Rokeby itself.
If you are looking for an interesting book to read this is the one for you. Alexandra Aldrich tells us the story of her life up to the age of 14 when she leaves for boarding school. She lived with her parents and various Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and a Grandmother at the "big house" Rokeby. These people are all descendants of the eleven children who were left orphans by parents Maddie Astor Ward and her husband John Winthrop Chanler who both died of pneumonia within a space of two years. Alexandra's Great Grandmother Margaret Chanler (one of the orphans) bought Rokeby from her siblings and became sole owner. However various members of the family continued to live in the many buildings on the property and in the "big house" itself ruled over by Great Grandma Margaret who had the power as owner of Rokeby to "banish any family members who defied her standards and expectations. For her the greatest threats to the family's respectability were divorce and religious conversion". And I must also mention that they were all impoverished except Great Grandma Margaret and are living in quickly deteriorating homes. I loved every page of this
book - there was not a boring moment in it.
I bought this memoir thinking I would learn something about the descendants of John Jacob Astor and I did but not in the way I expected. This is the poor, bohemian offspring of the Astor orphans, William Backhouse Astor, Sr.'s eleven grandchildren who were orphaned when their parents died of pneumonia within a short time of each other. They were raised by family in the enormous mansion called Rokeby in the Catskills. The author's great grandmother bought out her siblings to be sole owner of Rokeby, but after she died in 1963 the place began to deteriorate. Eventually the estate of some 400+ acres was co-owned by brothers Harry and Ted Aldrich. Ted's only child Alexandra is the author of this memoir.

Since Harry had a job as a civil servant in Albany, Ted ran the estate and rented out cottages and other outbuildings. He also supposedly kept the place in good repair. Actually he rented to various oddball friends and artists who drove staid Harry and his wife up the wall. They lived in the main part of the mansion while Ted and his wife and daughter were relegated to the servants quarters and attics of the house. Alexandra's father, classically educated but a born mechanic and farmhand, didn't like to bathe, her mother didn't know how to keep house and, what's more, didn't care to learn, and they usually had to borrow money to buy groceries. Alexandra was largely unsupervised, a free spirit at home in the woods and with the artists who lived in the creamery.

Alexandra was also a good student devoted to playing the violin. She had two younger cousins to play with; they staged plays in the best rooms wearing gowns found in trunks. Youngest Maggie would lie on a couch dramatically announcing that she was dying of "ammonia." As young children they seemed to live a kind of charmed life, but as Alexandra grew near her teens she needed more guidance than her parents and her alcoholic grandmother could give her. She became ashamed of her clothing and her life, was bullied relentlessly by cruel "in" girls, and her grades suffered accordingly.

At 14 she was shipped off to a private school, relieved at having escaped Rokeby but sad that she was leaving her now-sober grandmother alone and sad, and her parents to bicker endlessly to no purpose. The story of these people and other family, the estate, and the escapades of the strange friends Ted attracted is at times sad, at other times hilarious, but always made me thankful I came from more ordinary folks. You'll want to cry for Alexandra as she is bullied and humiliated. On the other hand, you'll be angry at the way her parents neglected her so much she had to get her drunken grandmother to drive her to her violin recital.

Rokeby itself sounds like a shell of its former glory, like her Uncle Harry putting on airs and reminding everyone of his family background while struggling to keep up financially. Such is the fate of the 450 acres granted to Robert Livingston, Sr. by King James II in the 1680s and passed to the Astors when they married into the Livingston family, then on to the Aldrich family. From such famous history, decrepit in the 1960s.

Recommended only for fans of memoirs
Source purchased from