Dynasty: The Astors and their times

by David Sinclair

A thorough account of the rise, and of the wealth and power, of the Astors of the United States and England, from the eighteenth-century German butcher's son to today's ordinary millionaires

Genres: History

426 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1987

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strength of this book about John Jacob Astor and his descendants is the period between the founding father's first "empire" - the fur trade - and that of his grand-daughter-in-law Caroline's "reign" over New York City society. There is interesting stuff about John Jacob Astor's getting into the fur business and the cut-throat rivalry between his American Fur Company and the North-West Company, the Hudson's Bay Company and smaller endeavors in the fur trade; about the slum tenements where he owned the ground and leased to sub-landlords; and about Caroline's becoming Queen of New York Society on the strength of her pretentiousness and her diamonds.

After Caroline - the letdown. Although the author is British, he does not make Waldorf, 1st Viscount Astor, or any of his descendants interesting. How he could make Nancy Astor seem boring to read is a feat. What about the Clivden Set? What about the Profumo scandal? They are there, but those events seem as limp as a dirty dust-rag. Very little detail given. John Jacob IV and his death in the Titanic's sinking is hardly made interesting.

There are very few pictures, considering the number of Astors covered, and they are all in black and white.