THE SOCIAL GRACES

In Manhattan's Golden Age, power was the name of the game, and no one played it better than two remarkable women: Alva Vanderbilt and Caroline Astor. Performing both women, narrator Hillary Huber effects vocal changes that are so subtle that she almost disappears. In intermittent chapters we hear the snide comments and self-serving speculations of Society, wonderfully delivered by narrator Saskia Maarleveld. The Astors were Old Money who considered the Vanderbilts to be nouveau riche. After Mrs. Astor deliberately snubs Alva Vanderbilt, Alva determines to unseat the "Queen of Society." Huber highlights their spiteful behavior toward each other, but she also allows their better angels to emerge, showing how each became less involved with feuds and fêtes and more involved with philanthropy. This is engaging, witty listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2021]