THE SPLENDOR SEEKERS

by Allen Churchill ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1974

A chronicle of snobbery and ostentation among the nouveau riche in turn-of-the-century New York, when the prerequisite for an invitation to join the privileged Four Hundred at the annual ball given by the one-and-only Mrs. Astor was the construction of a lavish chateau or palazzo on Fifth Avenue's Millionaire Row. The author treats us to a catalogue of art collections, guided tours of the period rooms of those mansions, menus of formal dinners; to gossip, slurs, and epigrams of questionable Social Darwinist wit, without so much as a critical backward glance. Churchill has taken the three-ring circus as seriously as Mrs. Vanderbilt who lured Mrs. Astor to her costume ball by manipulating the grande dame's impressionable daughter. We were not amused.

Pub Date: May 1, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION