The Astor Orphan

A Memoir

By: Alexandra Aldrich

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Alexandra Aldrich, a direct descendant of the famous Astor dynasty, grew up in the servants' quarters of Rokeby, the 43-room Hudson Valley mansion built by her ancestors. Her childhood was one of bohemian neglect and real privation. But it was fairly stable until the summer of her tenth year, when her father took up with an alluring interloper, Giselle.

Alexandra idolized her father, Rokeby's charismatic lord of misrule, who had attended elite private schools as a child but inherited only landed property, not money. To him, she says, "poverty was amusing, a delightful challenge." All of the family's resources - emotional and financial - went to the maintenance of the Astor house and legacy. If the family had sold the house and its 450 acres, they all would have been able to live comfortably. Instead, Alexandra and her parents lived precariously in the grand house, scavenging for the next meal.

Her mother, an icy Polish artist, disguised her maternal indifference by extolling the virtues of independence. Relatives preyed on Alexandra's low status in the household. Once her father got involved with Giselle, Alexandra's only stalwart was her affectionate grandmother (whose great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Fish, was a close friend of Alexander Hamilton's and an executor of his estate). Grandma Claire held Alexandra's life together with family dinner parties, rides to violin lessons, and snacks after school. But as she grew progressively more debilitated by alcohol, she soon became too frail to provide a safe haven for her granddaughter.

Determined to impose order on her anarchic world and prove her worth, Alexandra awoke promptly at six-thirty each morning, adhering to a strict personal regimen of exercise, grooming, and intensive violin practice. With money borrowed from the owner of the local gas station, she did the grocery shopping, occasionally setting aside four dollars to buy herself clean white socks. The betrayal of her father's flagrant affair, however, ignited a series of familial feuds that shook her hard-won stability and set her on a path toward escaping the Astor legacy.

Reaching back to the Gilded Age, when that legacy first began to come undone, Alexandra has written an unflinching, mordantly funny account of neglect and class anxiety amid the ruins of a once prominent family. More than an insider's look at a decaying American institution, The Astor Orphan is the debut of a thrilling new voice able to render the secret pains and glories of childhood afresh.

©2013 Alexandra Aldrich (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Unsatisfying ending to a frustrating story

The story told in this book is tragic, certainly. The decline of the Astor family and fortune means the main character is raised in hunger and squalor, amidst the adults of the family warring with each other about who is worthy of the few remaining assets left to the family and refusing to sell the mansion and grounds which could finance the next generation. Neither of her parents work, one clearly receding into depression while the other appears to have an illicit affair and child. Most of the happenings aren’t particularly terrible, and there are certainly a few bright or interesting spots in the tale, but it generally comes off as whiny and generates little sympathy or empathy in the reader/listener. I persisted, hoping for some sort of happy ending or at least uplifting twist as the child ages. Instead, the memoir ends abruptly as she goes off to boarding school. While she feels abandoned by everyone, she is not actually orphaned. I wish I had also abandoned the book, as it added nothing to my life and was generally depressing and frustrating to listen to. The narrator’s whiny childish tone is spot on, but unpleasant. If you want to read a memoir of bygone glamour, this is NOT it.

Exceptionally Disappointing

A better written historical account of the family could have been riveting and more engaging. This was just a series of complaints and characterizations

Pathetic

I don’t know what the point of this book was it a memoir of people or other place? The people are pathetic, there is not one redeeming quality of anybody discussed here. I don’t know why I listen to the end but don’t waste your time. It’s very self indulgent.

It was just getting interesting and then the end..

I wanted to like this - it had an interesting premise, but for me, it just sort of ended when I was getting most interested in the main character. There was potential here but I wanted more.

Not the best book

Some parts of this did resonate, I think all or many of us raised in the 60’s and 70’s felt a sense of abandonment and lack of parenting. But this book was snively. I just listened to Shallow End Gene Pool- that was a better book about growing up in a storied family. And kind of similar

Very disappointing

This book had so much potential. Great premise, one of my favorite narrators, such an interesting period. But I dragged through it, being so disjointed, superficial and purposeless. When I thought the main character would finally have a chance to fulfill her hopes and dreams, it ended! Not even an epilogue to give us closure.

Too short

I wanted to know What happened after she went to school. that's where the story ends it leaves you hanging?

The Disappointing Orphan

Great premise, but no real story line. A collection of disparate memories that never had a plan as to where to go.

Disappointing

I normally love memoirs and this one has an interesting premise. However, there is very little insight or growth in the main character and her self awareness is limited. We feel sorry for her but she is not overly likable. I found the narrator annoying and the ending completely unsatisfying. It’s like the story just stops mid stream and we are left hanging.

A snapshot that doesn't quite satisfy

There's so much which is compelling about this book but, in the end, I am frustrated because it *feels* unfinished. I trust that somewhere down the road Alexandra Aldrich will share more of her life story but, right now, the ending is abrupt - I feel like Teddy just ran one of his vehicles into a wall! :/