Staunch: The Edies of Grey Gardens

by Fern Bernstein

Two eccentric women. One dysfunctional relationship. Can their shared determination turn disaster into destiny? Grey Gardens, 1972. Little Edie Beale had high hopes of becoming a star. Sole companion and caretaker for her mother on a run-down property full of feral animals, tangled overgrowth, and piles of trash, the unmarried fifty-something craves a way out. But when she attempts to burn away some of the clutter, the loyal daughter is horrified when the fire department arrives and triggers a slew of code violations and threats of eviction. 1923. Big Edie Beale longed to unleash her voice. Born a gifted soprano, she bristled every time her lawyer husband and her father told her to put her stage ambitions aside and manage their sprawling seaside home and gardens. And when she decided to pursue music despite their judgment, the pampered socialite was left divorced with an empty bank account and a house too large to maintain. Driven to the brink by her mother’s resolve to stay in the moldering mansion until her last breath, Little Edie seeks help from their well-connected family. And as a film crew shows up to document the pair’s drastic domesticity, Big Edie seizes the chance to speak her piece as Little Edie shines in the spotlight hoping to secure her dreams of fame. Can mother and daughter reclaim harmony as they share their heartbreaks with the world? Blending her own vivid imagination with fascinating historical facts and cameos from famous figures like Jackie Onassis and Princess Lee Radziwill, Fern Bernstein brings refreshing new perspective to these two staunch characters’ riches-to-rags story. And as she depicts the strong family ties between mothers, daughters, cousins, and nieces, you’ll feel renewed faith in the power of dreams and living life on your own terms. Staunch is an emotional women’s fiction novel. If you enjoy headstrong heroines who stand up to society and truth that's stranger than fiction, then you’ll love Fern Bernstein’s unconventional fairy tale.

Buy Staunch to stand your ground today!

398 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Linda Zagon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fern Bernstein, the Author of “STAUNCH; THE EDIES OF GREY GARDENS” has written a captivating and intriguing novel. The genres are Fiction, Biographical Historical Fiction, and Domestic Fiction. This book is the riches to rags story of Big Edie Beale, and Little Edie Beale, and their home at Grey Gardens.There are two timelines in this story, 1923, and 1972. The author describes her colorful and dramatic characters as complex, complicated, quirky, unique, eccentric, and dysfunctional.Big Edie and Little Edie, were related to Jackie Kennedy, (Jackie Onassis), who did come to bail them out when they were in trouble. Big Edie had a beautiful voice and wanted to entertain. Her father and husband were opposed to the socialite entertaining in public. Big Edie was the mother of three children. Big Edie, and Little Edie were very different from their family, and would beat to the tune of their own drum.

Big Edie and her husband, with her parent’s help had purchased Grey Gardens in East Hampton. After Big Edie’s divorce from her husband, the upkeep became too difficult. Big Edie loved her stray cats, and raccoons. Little Edie came back from New York and was forced to take care of her mother. I love when the author refers to both women as “the garden, and the gardener”. When Little Edie tried to burn some papers, the fire department called in Social Services, and the Beales were forced to update codes and clean up. Jackie Onassis and her sister Lee, gave them money so the two wouldn’t be evicted. Big Edie stood firm that she wouldn’t sell or leave Grey Gardens. Little Edie had her own dreams.

Fern Bernstein has provided a well written novel that vividly describes the scenery, landscape, characters and plot. I was really fascinated by the Beales and Grey Gardens, and continued to look up more information about them. I highly recommend this memorable and thought-provoking novel.

[Sylvia Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Title: Staunch. The Edies of Grey Gardens
Author: Fern Bernstein
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Book Reviewed by Sylvia Jacobs

The story opens in the upscale Long Island town of East Hampton. Little Edie Beale is showing her house which is for sale to a potential buyer. The sale of this particular house, named Grey Gardens, won't be easy. The once beautiful home nestled among mansions, has fallen into shabby disrepair. The walled gardens, once immaculate and award winning, are now overgrown and unruly. A few years earlier, Little Edie and her mother, Big Edie, faced eviction from the town of East Hampton. They had intermittent electricity, running water and heat. Their home had over thirty cats and a family of raccoons lived in the attic. Close family members, Jackie Onassis and Lee Radziwill came to the aid of their aunt and cousin. What happens between the prologue and the epilogue will take you through the riches to rags story of the Edies, two eccentric and complex characters.

This is a mid-life coming of age story. It depicts the themes of the power of women both individually and collectively, of fighting for what you believe in and never giving up on your dreams. It’s an emotional mother-daughter story, showing the strength of their bond, their determination to stay in their home and their desire to live life on their own terms.

I highly recommend this book. You can escape into the dual timeline story that spans from the 1920s to the 1970s. It is written very well and the pacing makes you want to keep turning the pages. It will leave you believing in your own dreams and reflecting on your own mother-daughter relationship. After reading Staunch, I saw the famous documentary titled Grey Gardens. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars for the writing and character development.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, let's be clear - this is historical fiction.

However, Fern Bernstein's exhaustive research into "the Edies" - Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie) and her daughter, Edith Bouvier Beale ("Little Edie"), cousins of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, informs this re-imagining of the lives of these two eccentric women with truth. In addition to many of the described events coming straight out of fact, she has filled in the gaps in what is known about them with sensitive, invented portrayals of mother and daughter that ring with an emotional plausibility which seamlessly blur the lines between fact and fiction.

Bernstein brings us back and forth between first person narratives of each Edie as they transform over decades from high society icons to cat-laden curiosities in a Hamptons estate that crumbles around them, a home that is as much a character in the book as they are.  The book explores not only the relationship of the women between each other, but also that of each of them with a male-centered society, giving mother and daughter each her own separate voice, attitude, and way of grappling with that society.

Staunch is an enjoyable read, and enjoyable not because it puts the Beales into a display cage to gawk at like a circus freak show, but instead because of the respect and humanity it gives them.

[Jamie Lindemulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I'm a big fan of BE (Big Edie) and LE (Little Edie). I watched their documentary that the Maysles did and read a book about them. I know that this book is a work of fiction, but a lot of the information in here is based on facts that I've read on various fan websites. With that being said, after reading this book I really want to know - why and how did they get Grey Gardens into such disrepair? There is cat poop on the floor on 5 or more occasions and no one even picks it up? BE and LE act like brats. BE wants to keep her house after the divorce but doesn't want to take care of it. She says that she loves her house, but she never takes care of it. How can you love something (or someone) and can't even keep it clean? That was mind boggling. And the way LE speaks to other people. Bite your tongue, girlie.

[Mike Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fern Bernstein has written a fascinating historical fiction novel based on the lives of Big Edie and Little Edie, residents of a decaying large home in East Hampton on Long Island. I’m confident that it will be read by many of the 20,000 people who have downloaded the Grey Gardens podcast and listen to it as faithfully as I have.

It’s a pleasure to read about these two quirky women as it mixes together some unique ingredients - a rotting Cadillac outside the collapsing home, relatives to the Bouvier and Kennedy privileged families, stubborn women choosing the life of the arts over the life of the social Register and two women determined to never give up as they followed their independent directions - in a word, to always be Staunch!

[Savannah Gilbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Having heard the story of The Edies of Grey Gardens before (via the documentaries), I was always left wondering WHY and HOW things got this way. Who were these women, REALLY? Fern Bernstein offers her unique perspective on what made these women special—and I walked away from the story thinking about the women in my own life. How were THEY being held back by what society says a woman should be? Or, conversely, how some of them were being staunch, just like the Edies. Highly recommend this story to anyone who wants to spend just a little more time at Grey Gardens with these two inspiring women—you won't be disappointed!

[Chrissi Sepe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for any Grey Gardens fan. Although a work of fiction based on Big Edie and Little Edie Beale, I enjoyed the subtle references to the famous "Grey Gardens" documentary of the 1970's. This is an emotional but also fun read about the beautiful bond between a mother and a daughter told through different decades. Very enjoyable!

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

poignant

Thank you, Fern Bernstein, for this powerful story of mother-daughter love. Very well written, I couldn’t put it down. And you are in my thoughts and prayers. You are staunch.

[Bonnie J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It’s a wonderful read. I think a lot of people could relate to the family relationships

[Yolanda Roche · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great tale about our Edies! No detail was left out!