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Defending Alice: A Novel of Love and Race in the Roaring Twenties
" Set in 1920s New York, an addictively readable, thoroughly entertaining historical novel involving sex and secrets, race and redemption, and power and privilege—based on a sensational real-life case that made international headlines—in which the marriage between a working-class black woman and the scion of one of America's most powerful white families ends in a scandalous annulment lawsuit.
When Alice Jones, a blue-color woman with at least one Black parent marries Leonard “Kip” Rhinelander, the son of one of New York's most prominent society families, the scandal rocks high society—and eventually sets the city afire when Kip later sues for an annulment, accusing Alice of having hidden her “Negro blood” and intentionally deceiving him that she was white.
While New York society in the Roaring Twenties witnessed more than a few scandals, the real-life Rhinelander case set tongues wagging and became perhaps the most examined interracial relationship in American history. In Defending Alice , Richard Stratton reimagines this remarkable story, from the couple's courtship through their controversial marriage to their shocking divorce trial and its aftermath. Chronicled by Alice's attorney, brilliant trial lawyer Lee Parsons Davis, and told in flashbacks and entries from Alice and Kip's fictional personal diaries, this epic page-turner vividly brings to life the New York of a century ago—a world seemingly far removed yet tragically familiar to our own.
Stratton brilliantly evokes this dazzling era in all its glamour and excess, and in retelling the Rhinelander story, explores issues of sex, race, class, prejudice, and justice that are as relevant today as they were a century ago when this headline-making trial took place. "
When Alice Jones, a blue-color woman with at least one Black parent marries Leonard “Kip” Rhinelander, the son of one of New York's most prominent society families, the scandal rocks high society—and eventually sets the city afire when Kip later sues for an annulment, accusing Alice of having hidden her “Negro blood” and intentionally deceiving him that she was white.
While New York society in the Roaring Twenties witnessed more than a few scandals, the real-life Rhinelander case set tongues wagging and became perhaps the most examined interracial relationship in American history. In Defending Alice , Richard Stratton reimagines this remarkable story, from the couple's courtship through their controversial marriage to their shocking divorce trial and its aftermath. Chronicled by Alice's attorney, brilliant trial lawyer Lee Parsons Davis, and told in flashbacks and entries from Alice and Kip's fictional personal diaries, this epic page-turner vividly brings to life the New York of a century ago—a world seemingly far removed yet tragically familiar to our own.
Stratton brilliantly evokes this dazzling era in all its glamour and excess, and in retelling the Rhinelander story, explores issues of sex, race, class, prejudice, and justice that are as relevant today as they were a century ago when this headline-making trial took place. "
791 pages, Library Binding
First published November 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 109 reviews
December 18, 2022
This book did not need to be 566 pages long. The text just repeats itself.
I was interested in the subject matter: a bi-racial marriage in the 1920’s where the white boy’s father objected to his son marrying a half-black girl. The fact that it went to court was interesting and I expected to read a kind of court room drama after some background of the couple and their immediate families.
Eventually I got bored with the text and went to the end of the book and then looked up the case on Wikipedia.
I was interested in the subject matter: a bi-racial marriage in the 1920’s where the white boy’s father objected to his son marrying a half-black girl. The fact that it went to court was interesting and I expected to read a kind of court room drama after some background of the couple and their immediate families.
Eventually I got bored with the text and went to the end of the book and then looked up the case on Wikipedia.
September 12, 2022
Stratton brings us the real-life story of Alice and Leonard Rhinelander. A once fairy tale love story ruined by deceit and deception by a young man too afraid to stand up to his father for his own beliefs.
Let us begin:
In the fall of 1921, Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander and his friend decided to go into New Rochelle, New York, where supposedly it was "easy" to pick up everyday girls. Leonard is a student at the Orchard School (Asylum) for the wealthy sons of fathers who deem their sons "problematic," he had been hanging out with this older, married fellow (an electrician) who was using Leonard for his car and money and naivete. Convinced Leonard that going into town would be able to score them some locals who would be willing to give it up. Leonard was all for it and took the drive into town. However, once there, he gets left while the friend drives off with a pretty girl named Grace Jones.
A couple of days later, Leonard knocks on Jones's door only to find the most beautiful girl in the world answering the door. Leonard, stammering, asks for Grace, only to be told that Grace is out, and he would like to come in and wait. Whereas Alice tells him, "We don't bite," putting Leonard at ease. While Leonard is waiting for Grace, Alice flirts with Leonard mercilessly because she sees how flustered she is making him. When Grace finally returns, he tells her he is there to get back the ring his friend gave her. Which he, in turn, gives to Alice. When Mrs. Jones tells the girls that neither of them can keep it, all three get a good laugh, which makes Leonard feel extra comfortable around Alice and her family.
Christmas comes, and Leonard decides he is going to take his girl (who he has been courting for a minute now) into Manhattan; they are going to stay at the Marie Antoinette Hotel. When Leonard checks them into the hotel, he does so as husband and wife, affording them the honeymoon suite. Alice is over the moon with love and happiness with her passion for Leonard. The two do everything a married couple would do, minus the rings. They go to Broadway and watch a show, go to the theater with friends, and have dinner. Leonard even buys a book on Karma Sutra, and the two end up performing every pose in the book until Leonard's father sends his goons to bring him to him. Strong and Jacobs come busting through the door and take off w/Leonard, telling him his father requests an audience with him post haste. Two days before, Mr. Strong tells Leonard that Phillip Sr. was not a man to be kept waiting. When he did see him (two whole days later, after being rushed to see his father "post haste")
his father threatened him never to see Alice again or else. Then told Strong not to let him out of his sight.
Alice ended up with a severe case of the flu and was bedridden; Leonard rushed to her side, only to be absconded by his father's men again. This time his father was "NOT PLAYING," he means it, and he meant to keep him away from Alice.
So he sends Leonard traveling worldwide, from this country to that, from this state to that. Finally, Leonard ends up in a training camp in Arizona, where he tells Alice the minute he turns 21, he will be there to marry her. He needs her to believe him; soon, his inheritance will kick in, and they will be free. Days before his 21st birthday, Leonard leaves Arizona, picks up Alice, and takes her to Cape Cod, Mass. They are checked in again as husband and wife and enjoy their moments together. On the drive back, Leonard makes one last stop at the county clerk's office, where he officially makes Alice his bride. For two weeks, while living as husband and wife, they live under her parent's roof and are happy and in love, until the goons show up, yet a third time and play on Alice's good-natured parent's hearts. And they believe what the creeps are telling him. When Leonard leaves, it is the last time Alice will see her husband as husband and wife ever again.
The attorneys for Philip Rhinelander filed annulment papers on Alice, stating that she falsified her skin color. When Leonard was in Strong and Jacobs's control, the two forced Leonard on a Subway train to sign the annulment papers. Signing those papers was the moment he signed his and Alice's love and life away "forever."
Anyway, readers, this is where I leave you because even though it was a bit of redundancy, this is the best part of the book. Alice and Leonard's back story was a glimpse into the crux of the "true" foundation of the case. The "REAL" story was that Philp Rhinelander, through his son, filed a slanderously racially charged lawsuit against Mrs. Rhinelander simply because she had a drop of "colored blood."
This case was never about Alice; to begin with, she was just the pawn in between. Instead, this was all about father and son; in this case, the father always wins.
Defending Alice is told in 3 different narratives, one said by Alice, one by Leonard, and the lead is by the attorney Mr. Davis.
The transition between Leonard and Alice by Stratton is not the smoothest; at the time, the reader is left confused about who is speaking, but further reading, you will eventually get the gist.
As others have mentioned, I did not get the feeling about the book lengthwise (I like long books). However, I felt that Stratton drafted the book as if it were an actual trial. Instead, he may have wanted to use proper dialogue form next time.
A few things I did not like, that I must agree and give a total eye roll to, were the many, many, many lines of repetition. OMG! Stratton, what was that? Even if you were using legalese, I do not think anyone speaks like that. I understand a lawyer needing to repeat to remind the jury, but that was overkill for sure.
Then the stellar word building, it was not.
It was like the author was trying to use judicial jargon dating back to that century but then would toss in modern-day terminology. Let us stick with one century and one only. You cannot use both and think people of the reading world will not notice. (Just like the jury, we see)
I also wish the author had put what happened to the real Alice Rhinelander. The book's ending seemed so incomplete to me; it just left off hanging.
When I first heard of this book, I googled the entire story, so I know what happened to her, and I think it would be most important to include that in an afterword.
Overall, the book was fascinating in illuminating their courting and how they met. Brilliant!
Rhinelander v Rhinelander was a famous case that went under the radar for far too long. Thank you, Stratton, for bringing it to light.
And, of course, I thank “MY” excellent state of NY for doing the right thing, “Especially” back then. One just must love NY!!
Thank you, NetGalley/Richard Stratton/Harper Via/ For this amazing eARC for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.
Let us begin:
In the fall of 1921, Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander and his friend decided to go into New Rochelle, New York, where supposedly it was "easy" to pick up everyday girls. Leonard is a student at the Orchard School (Asylum) for the wealthy sons of fathers who deem their sons "problematic," he had been hanging out with this older, married fellow (an electrician) who was using Leonard for his car and money and naivete. Convinced Leonard that going into town would be able to score them some locals who would be willing to give it up. Leonard was all for it and took the drive into town. However, once there, he gets left while the friend drives off with a pretty girl named Grace Jones.
A couple of days later, Leonard knocks on Jones's door only to find the most beautiful girl in the world answering the door. Leonard, stammering, asks for Grace, only to be told that Grace is out, and he would like to come in and wait. Whereas Alice tells him, "We don't bite," putting Leonard at ease. While Leonard is waiting for Grace, Alice flirts with Leonard mercilessly because she sees how flustered she is making him. When Grace finally returns, he tells her he is there to get back the ring his friend gave her. Which he, in turn, gives to Alice. When Mrs. Jones tells the girls that neither of them can keep it, all three get a good laugh, which makes Leonard feel extra comfortable around Alice and her family.
Christmas comes, and Leonard decides he is going to take his girl (who he has been courting for a minute now) into Manhattan; they are going to stay at the Marie Antoinette Hotel. When Leonard checks them into the hotel, he does so as husband and wife, affording them the honeymoon suite. Alice is over the moon with love and happiness with her passion for Leonard. The two do everything a married couple would do, minus the rings. They go to Broadway and watch a show, go to the theater with friends, and have dinner. Leonard even buys a book on Karma Sutra, and the two end up performing every pose in the book until Leonard's father sends his goons to bring him to him. Strong and Jacobs come busting through the door and take off w/Leonard, telling him his father requests an audience with him post haste. Two days before, Mr. Strong tells Leonard that Phillip Sr. was not a man to be kept waiting. When he did see him (two whole days later, after being rushed to see his father "post haste")
his father threatened him never to see Alice again or else. Then told Strong not to let him out of his sight.
Alice ended up with a severe case of the flu and was bedridden; Leonard rushed to her side, only to be absconded by his father's men again. This time his father was "NOT PLAYING," he means it, and he meant to keep him away from Alice.
So he sends Leonard traveling worldwide, from this country to that, from this state to that. Finally, Leonard ends up in a training camp in Arizona, where he tells Alice the minute he turns 21, he will be there to marry her. He needs her to believe him; soon, his inheritance will kick in, and they will be free. Days before his 21st birthday, Leonard leaves Arizona, picks up Alice, and takes her to Cape Cod, Mass. They are checked in again as husband and wife and enjoy their moments together. On the drive back, Leonard makes one last stop at the county clerk's office, where he officially makes Alice his bride. For two weeks, while living as husband and wife, they live under her parent's roof and are happy and in love, until the goons show up, yet a third time and play on Alice's good-natured parent's hearts. And they believe what the creeps are telling him. When Leonard leaves, it is the last time Alice will see her husband as husband and wife ever again.
The attorneys for Philip Rhinelander filed annulment papers on Alice, stating that she falsified her skin color. When Leonard was in Strong and Jacobs's control, the two forced Leonard on a Subway train to sign the annulment papers. Signing those papers was the moment he signed his and Alice's love and life away "forever."
Anyway, readers, this is where I leave you because even though it was a bit of redundancy, this is the best part of the book. Alice and Leonard's back story was a glimpse into the crux of the "true" foundation of the case. The "REAL" story was that Philp Rhinelander, through his son, filed a slanderously racially charged lawsuit against Mrs. Rhinelander simply because she had a drop of "colored blood."
This case was never about Alice; to begin with, she was just the pawn in between. Instead, this was all about father and son; in this case, the father always wins.
Defending Alice is told in 3 different narratives, one said by Alice, one by Leonard, and the lead is by the attorney Mr. Davis.
The transition between Leonard and Alice by Stratton is not the smoothest; at the time, the reader is left confused about who is speaking, but further reading, you will eventually get the gist.
As others have mentioned, I did not get the feeling about the book lengthwise (I like long books). However, I felt that Stratton drafted the book as if it were an actual trial. Instead, he may have wanted to use proper dialogue form next time.
A few things I did not like, that I must agree and give a total eye roll to, were the many, many, many lines of repetition. OMG! Stratton, what was that? Even if you were using legalese, I do not think anyone speaks like that. I understand a lawyer needing to repeat to remind the jury, but that was overkill for sure.
Then the stellar word building, it was not.
It was like the author was trying to use judicial jargon dating back to that century but then would toss in modern-day terminology. Let us stick with one century and one only. You cannot use both and think people of the reading world will not notice. (Just like the jury, we see)
I also wish the author had put what happened to the real Alice Rhinelander. The book's ending seemed so incomplete to me; it just left off hanging.
When I first heard of this book, I googled the entire story, so I know what happened to her, and I think it would be most important to include that in an afterword.
Overall, the book was fascinating in illuminating their courting and how they met. Brilliant!
Rhinelander v Rhinelander was a famous case that went under the radar for far too long. Thank you, Stratton, for bringing it to light.
And, of course, I thank “MY” excellent state of NY for doing the right thing, “Especially” back then. One just must love NY!!
Thank you, NetGalley/Richard Stratton/Harper Via/ For this amazing eARC for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.
September 23, 2022
The Roaring Twenties is a time of change in New York, women shingle their hair, dress as flappers and listen to jazz music. However the great divide between classes hasn’t altered, society family’s mix and marry within their own tight knit social circle.
Philip Rhinelander owns an up market real estate company, his son Leonard works at the Manhattan office and as a bookkeeper. When Kip falls in love with Alice Jones, a young colored woman who works as a maid and nanny he’s furious. He’s determined to annul his son’s marriage, he doesn’t care that they love each other and have made plans for the future and he sets about destroying Alice’s reputation. He does this by taking her to court in his son’s name, saying she deceived Leonard by not telling him about her colored blood and she’s pretending to be white woman?
Alice Jones lives at home with her parents George and Elizabeth in New Rochelle, and two sisters Emily and Grace. Elizabeth is English and has a white complexion, her husband George is of West Indian decent and is clearly a colored man. The Jones are hounded by the media, have bricks thrown through the windows of their house, followed and called vile names. Interracial marriage isn’t illegal in the state, Alice hasn’t broken any laws and Leonard clearly knew his wife’s background and he lived with the Jones for a short time.
When the case goes to court, Alice’s lawyer Mr. Davis has to take on Philip Rhinelander’s legal team, and prove Alice is innocent of any wrong doing. Using entries in both Len and Alice’s fictional diaries, letters they sent to each other, statements from witnesses and Alice and Leonard have to testify. A stuttering Leonard is thoroughly questioned about how the couple met, their courtship, marriage and sexual relationship.
I received a copy of Defending Alice by Richard Stratton from Edelweiss and HarperVia in exchange for an honest review. It’s a story about power, money, social standing, prejudice, racism, injustice, and weakness. Philip Rhinelander is a bully, he always gets his own way, and he doesn’t play fair. A slow paced and long narrative about love, loss, hurt and four stars from me.
Philip Rhinelander owns an up market real estate company, his son Leonard works at the Manhattan office and as a bookkeeper. When Kip falls in love with Alice Jones, a young colored woman who works as a maid and nanny he’s furious. He’s determined to annul his son’s marriage, he doesn’t care that they love each other and have made plans for the future and he sets about destroying Alice’s reputation. He does this by taking her to court in his son’s name, saying she deceived Leonard by not telling him about her colored blood and she’s pretending to be white woman?
Alice Jones lives at home with her parents George and Elizabeth in New Rochelle, and two sisters Emily and Grace. Elizabeth is English and has a white complexion, her husband George is of West Indian decent and is clearly a colored man. The Jones are hounded by the media, have bricks thrown through the windows of their house, followed and called vile names. Interracial marriage isn’t illegal in the state, Alice hasn’t broken any laws and Leonard clearly knew his wife’s background and he lived with the Jones for a short time.
When the case goes to court, Alice’s lawyer Mr. Davis has to take on Philip Rhinelander’s legal team, and prove Alice is innocent of any wrong doing. Using entries in both Len and Alice’s fictional diaries, letters they sent to each other, statements from witnesses and Alice and Leonard have to testify. A stuttering Leonard is thoroughly questioned about how the couple met, their courtship, marriage and sexual relationship.
I received a copy of Defending Alice by Richard Stratton from Edelweiss and HarperVia in exchange for an honest review. It’s a story about power, money, social standing, prejudice, racism, injustice, and weakness. Philip Rhinelander is a bully, he always gets his own way, and he doesn’t play fair. A slow paced and long narrative about love, loss, hurt and four stars from me.
December 8, 2022
This novel could have been so good - the bones of a good story (a real 1920s court case, a high society family, a mixed-race heroine) were present and I think a good editor could have made this novel much better. Too much, in my opinion, of this book was told from the perspective a bloviating attorney, who repeats his points and talks on and on for pages and pages. I was much more intrigued by the brief portions of the story told from Leonard and Alice's perspectives. Overall, I just can't recommend this book - I've encountered to many others which explore similar themes that I enjoyed reading much more.
March 11, 2023
This book was so good. I am taking a little while to do more reading and less writing but I loved this book. I feel compelled to do a review.
I’ve read reviews that thought it was too wordy. That the same thing was repeated over and over. Having worked as a Paralegal for 17+ years, I know that during a trial, a high profile one especially, both sides hammer the facts into the jury’s mind as well as any spectators. Trials are not like you see on TV. They are tedious.
This book is based on a real story set in 1924. In my opinion it is one of the best renderings of the racial bigotry and class distinction during that period in time.
I gave it 4* instead of 5 simply because the author wrote LONG sentences. More punctuation please.
The following is a Wikipedia page on this real life trial in 1924. Fascinating case.
“American court case
Rhinelander v. Rhinelander was a divorce case between Kip Rhinelander and Alice Jones. Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander (May 9, 1903 – February 20, 1936) was an American socialite and a member of the socially prominent and wealthy New York City Rhinelander family. His marriage at the age of 21 to Alice Jones, a biracial woman who was a working-class daughter of English immigrants, made national headlines in 1924.
Their 1925 divorce trial highlighted contemporary strains related to the instability of the upper class, as well as racial anxiety about "passing" at a time when New York was a destination for numerous blacks from the South in the Great Migration and immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. The trial also touched on the vague legal definition of the time as to who was to be considered "white" or "colored," alternately portraying race as biologically determined and knowable or as more fluid.
Interracial marriages in New York State were legal, but rare.”
I’ve read reviews that thought it was too wordy. That the same thing was repeated over and over. Having worked as a Paralegal for 17+ years, I know that during a trial, a high profile one especially, both sides hammer the facts into the jury’s mind as well as any spectators. Trials are not like you see on TV. They are tedious.
This book is based on a real story set in 1924. In my opinion it is one of the best renderings of the racial bigotry and class distinction during that period in time.
I gave it 4* instead of 5 simply because the author wrote LONG sentences. More punctuation please.
The following is a Wikipedia page on this real life trial in 1924. Fascinating case.
“American court case
Rhinelander v. Rhinelander was a divorce case between Kip Rhinelander and Alice Jones. Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander (May 9, 1903 – February 20, 1936) was an American socialite and a member of the socially prominent and wealthy New York City Rhinelander family. His marriage at the age of 21 to Alice Jones, a biracial woman who was a working-class daughter of English immigrants, made national headlines in 1924.
Their 1925 divorce trial highlighted contemporary strains related to the instability of the upper class, as well as racial anxiety about "passing" at a time when New York was a destination for numerous blacks from the South in the Great Migration and immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. The trial also touched on the vague legal definition of the time as to who was to be considered "white" or "colored," alternately portraying race as biologically determined and knowable or as more fluid.
Interracial marriages in New York State were legal, but rare.”
May 21, 2022
This novel, based on a true story, is entirely too long. I had to skim much at the end just to finish it. Redundant, redundant, redundant! How many times can you write the same thing over and over and over again? I felt myself getting so agitated to the point of not wanting to finish it!! This novel could have been truncated by 2/3. And without the constant rehashing, and rehashing and rehashing, it would have been a good read for me. It’s a historical case and an interesting case of race prejudice. Unfortunately, there is no diplomatic way for me to write this review, in order to express my opinion. Thank you NetGalley and HarperVia for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. #DefendingAlice, #NetGalley.
Read
May 23, 2023Dnf.
I don’t know if this was written with a very male voice pretending he knows women or if I’m just not in the right mood for such a book. Either way, I’m quitting it for now
I don’t know if this was written with a very male voice pretending he knows women or if I’m just not in the right mood for such a book. Either way, I’m quitting it for now
February 26, 2024
Defending Alice is a historical fiction book I've read based on actual events and people.
Chronicled by Alice’s attorney, trial lawyer Lee Parsons Davis, taking place during the Roaring 20's when interracial marriages weren't as accepted as today.
Leonard “Kip” Rhinelander comes from a high-class New York upper crust high society family and is white. Alice Jones is a working woman and their relationship set the tongues to wagging and caused a scandal. Kip is perceived as a weak individual unable to stand up to his father who wants the marriage annulled immediately. According to the father Kip was seduced into the marriage having no experience with women by a woman who passed as white but didn't tell him of her mixed-race blood. Alice claims she did not hide the fact she has at least one black parent and the couple is in love. The grounds for annulment were Alice married into this prominent family for the money and social standing she would receive with the marriage.
What follows is flashbacks of the couple's relationship and the long trial case.
As you can imagine the trial drags on and on with Alice's name being drawn through the mud and her spineless husband not sticking up for himself or his wife. Sex, lies, prejudice, race and class, just as relevant today as they were back nearly a century ago when this trial took place figure prominently into the story.
Pub Date 22 Nov 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Chronicled by Alice’s attorney, trial lawyer Lee Parsons Davis, taking place during the Roaring 20's when interracial marriages weren't as accepted as today.
Leonard “Kip” Rhinelander comes from a high-class New York upper crust high society family and is white. Alice Jones is a working woman and their relationship set the tongues to wagging and caused a scandal. Kip is perceived as a weak individual unable to stand up to his father who wants the marriage annulled immediately. According to the father Kip was seduced into the marriage having no experience with women by a woman who passed as white but didn't tell him of her mixed-race blood. Alice claims she did not hide the fact she has at least one black parent and the couple is in love. The grounds for annulment were Alice married into this prominent family for the money and social standing she would receive with the marriage.
What follows is flashbacks of the couple's relationship and the long trial case.
As you can imagine the trial drags on and on with Alice's name being drawn through the mud and her spineless husband not sticking up for himself or his wife. Sex, lies, prejudice, race and class, just as relevant today as they were back nearly a century ago when this trial took place figure prominently into the story.
Pub Date 22 Nov 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
July 9, 2023
I received a complimentary ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, the author Richard Stratton, and publisher Harper. I have read "Defending Alice" of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to add Richard Stratton to my favorite authors. He writes a compelling novel with excellent historical background and a story to find you reading late into the night. This story was based on an actual case that was fought in the courts of New York state in the 1920s.
Based in the NYC area during the 1920s, Defending Alice is a novel to open your eyes and play your heartstrings. Alice is the daughter of English immigrants who settled in New Rochelle, New York many years ago. Our story is told in the first person by Alice's lawyer, Lee Parsons Davis, and with snippets from Alice's Diaries and Alice and Len's letter to each other.
Alice's father George Jones is of West Indian descent, a black man with dark skin but European facial features. His wife Elizabeth Jones is a white Englishwoman. Prior to their immigration to the US, they were both in service to a wealthy family in England. Their three daughters are a pleasant and attractive combination of their parent's combined DNA. The Jones family is middle-class, well-liked, and active in schools, church, and community in New Rochelle. George owns a fine home, the local Taxi stand and taxis, and several other properties in New Rochelle. The daughters are all well-brought-up ladies who are mannerly and soft-spoken.
The youngest daughter is Grace, still in school and living at home, as does Alice who works two jobs in service. The oldest daughter Emily is married to Robert Brooks, a black man, and they have a young daughter, Roberta. Alice Jones falls in love with and eventually marries Leonard Kip Rhinelander, son of a widowed NYC high society real estate mogul. The couple is joyously happy and living with Alice's parents as they acquire an apartment and begin furnishing it. The future is bright, and the world is their oyster.
And then Leonard is snatched from the Jones home in Pelham Manor by his father's lawyer and spirited away to parts unknown - and Alice is served with papers demanding an annulment of the marriage and charging her with unscrupulous ambition and fraud, with hiding her Black heritage and tricking Leonard into a marriage for financial gain and to elevate her family into the higher strata of society in NYC. With the charges a note was delivered from Len, telling Alice to fight the annulment, but Alice was not allowed to retain that note. And there was an offer of a cash settlement if she would just agree to the annulment. When she refused, the offer was doubled. When she refused that, a trial date was set.
And the world was watching as the case unfolded into the public eye.
pub date November 22, 2022
Reviewed on November 19, 2022, at Goodreads and Netgalley. reviewed on November 22, 2022, at AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookkBub, and Kobo.
Based in the NYC area during the 1920s, Defending Alice is a novel to open your eyes and play your heartstrings. Alice is the daughter of English immigrants who settled in New Rochelle, New York many years ago. Our story is told in the first person by Alice's lawyer, Lee Parsons Davis, and with snippets from Alice's Diaries and Alice and Len's letter to each other.
Alice's father George Jones is of West Indian descent, a black man with dark skin but European facial features. His wife Elizabeth Jones is a white Englishwoman. Prior to their immigration to the US, they were both in service to a wealthy family in England. Their three daughters are a pleasant and attractive combination of their parent's combined DNA. The Jones family is middle-class, well-liked, and active in schools, church, and community in New Rochelle. George owns a fine home, the local Taxi stand and taxis, and several other properties in New Rochelle. The daughters are all well-brought-up ladies who are mannerly and soft-spoken.
The youngest daughter is Grace, still in school and living at home, as does Alice who works two jobs in service. The oldest daughter Emily is married to Robert Brooks, a black man, and they have a young daughter, Roberta. Alice Jones falls in love with and eventually marries Leonard Kip Rhinelander, son of a widowed NYC high society real estate mogul. The couple is joyously happy and living with Alice's parents as they acquire an apartment and begin furnishing it. The future is bright, and the world is their oyster.
And then Leonard is snatched from the Jones home in Pelham Manor by his father's lawyer and spirited away to parts unknown - and Alice is served with papers demanding an annulment of the marriage and charging her with unscrupulous ambition and fraud, with hiding her Black heritage and tricking Leonard into a marriage for financial gain and to elevate her family into the higher strata of society in NYC. With the charges a note was delivered from Len, telling Alice to fight the annulment, but Alice was not allowed to retain that note. And there was an offer of a cash settlement if she would just agree to the annulment. When she refused, the offer was doubled. When she refused that, a trial date was set.
And the world was watching as the case unfolded into the public eye.
pub date November 22, 2022
Reviewed on November 19, 2022, at Goodreads and Netgalley. reviewed on November 22, 2022, at AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookkBub, and Kobo.
October 18, 2022
When I read the summary for Defending Alice, I was excited. A scandalous high society trial? A mixed-raced heroine? The 1920s? Count me intrigued.
In the mid 1920s, Alice Jones, a mixed race woman married Leonard Rhinelander, son of one of the richest men in the country. When the marriage is discovered, Rhinelander’s father forcibly separates the couple and insists they divorce in order to protect the “purity” of future generations. Stratton’s story is the recounting of the divorce trial, which at the time, was one is the country’s juiciest scandals.
Alas, I did not get the taut, dramatic historical fiction was not to be. The story is told mainly through Alice’s lawyer and Leonard while Alice’s POV is limited to her diary or the recounting of her testimony. As a result, her character is two dimensional. In fact, all three characters are flat. Leonard is so weak and self-pitying, I was left wondering what she saw in him.
I hate not finishing books, but after 11 chapters, I couldn’t work up the interest to finish.
I’m sure Defending Alice will appeal to some readers, but it was not for me.
DNF
In the mid 1920s, Alice Jones, a mixed race woman married Leonard Rhinelander, son of one of the richest men in the country. When the marriage is discovered, Rhinelander’s father forcibly separates the couple and insists they divorce in order to protect the “purity” of future generations. Stratton’s story is the recounting of the divorce trial, which at the time, was one is the country’s juiciest scandals.
Alas, I did not get the taut, dramatic historical fiction was not to be. The story is told mainly through Alice’s lawyer and Leonard while Alice’s POV is limited to her diary or the recounting of her testimony. As a result, her character is two dimensional. In fact, all three characters are flat. Leonard is so weak and self-pitying, I was left wondering what she saw in him.
I hate not finishing books, but after 11 chapters, I couldn’t work up the interest to finish.
I’m sure Defending Alice will appeal to some readers, but it was not for me.
DNF
March 25, 2023
What a great story, but as many have said in their reviews...TOO LONG WINDED! This book could have been pared down to under 300 pages...seriously! I don't know how many times the author said over and over and over and over and over again the same exact thing. The same thing within the chapter or would return to it in a different chapter and say it again several more times.
I blame the editor for being a poor editor or not being strong enough with the writer to PARE IT DOWN!
I give this two stars because of the writing style not because of the story line as it was absolutely fascinating and the only reason why I kept reading.
I blame the editor for being a poor editor or not being strong enough with the writer to PARE IT DOWN!
I give this two stars because of the writing style not because of the story line as it was absolutely fascinating and the only reason why I kept reading.
January 24, 2023
I wanted to love this book. It had a great story but the lawyer kinda ruined it for me. I get that lawyers are kinda like that but the book really overdid it and 1/4 of the book (or more) could have been taken out and it wouldn't be missing anything.
December 4, 2023
This was a DNF for me. After about 10% in, I decided life is just too short to waste hours reading the same thing over and over again. I ended up looking up this case online to see what happened.
February 5, 2025
Author was too verbose. Same things were repeated over and over…blah blah blah. Could have made the book 1/3 the length and it would have been a better read.
May 1, 2023
Confession:
I skipped ahead to the verdict. Either way, the marriage was over. Wayyyyyyyyyyyy too repetitive. It could have been good. And to think, I checked it back out from the library to “finish it.”
I skipped ahead to the verdict. Either way, the marriage was over. Wayyyyyyyyyyyy too repetitive. It could have been good. And to think, I checked it back out from the library to “finish it.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2022
I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperVia for allowing me to read this book. The subject interested me because it was once again a story of forbidden love. Alice marries Kip and Kip's family, influential as all get out, doesn't accept the marriage. They want the marriage annulled but Alice fights it. This book was really good!
May 22, 2022
I received an e-ARC version of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.
“Defending Alice” by Richard Stratton is a historical fiction book based upon a true trial. I found the idea of this book extremely fascinating.
I have to be honest - it took me a week to read the opening chapter. I knew that this book was going to be a bit of a long slog after that. However, the book did pick up once the reader was introduced to Alice and Len’s stories. However, their voices are limited in this book and the bulk focuses on Alice’s lawyer.
My one huge issue with the book is that there is a LOT of repeated information, as other reviewers have noted. This book could have easily been pared down by maybe 1/3 and I still think it would need more tightening. Additionally, a lot of this book dragged - there’s a lot of legal jargon (and I just got off of a two day jury appearance) and a lot of long ruminations. I ended up skimming a lot of this book to get the gist or it might’ve taken me six weeks to read it word for word. Additionally, while I’m okay with “sexy time” in doses, the descriptive details about Len and Alice’s sexual relationship I was extremely uncomfortable reading after a time.
I think this was an interesting idea, but poorly executed.
“Defending Alice” by Richard Stratton is a historical fiction book based upon a true trial. I found the idea of this book extremely fascinating.
I have to be honest - it took me a week to read the opening chapter. I knew that this book was going to be a bit of a long slog after that. However, the book did pick up once the reader was introduced to Alice and Len’s stories. However, their voices are limited in this book and the bulk focuses on Alice’s lawyer.
My one huge issue with the book is that there is a LOT of repeated information, as other reviewers have noted. This book could have easily been pared down by maybe 1/3 and I still think it would need more tightening. Additionally, a lot of this book dragged - there’s a lot of legal jargon (and I just got off of a two day jury appearance) and a lot of long ruminations. I ended up skimming a lot of this book to get the gist or it might’ve taken me six weeks to read it word for word. Additionally, while I’m okay with “sexy time” in doses, the descriptive details about Len and Alice’s sexual relationship I was extremely uncomfortable reading after a time.
I think this was an interesting idea, but poorly executed.
May 21, 2022
This novel, based on a true story, is entirely too long. I had to skim much at the end just to finish it. Redundant, redundant, redundant! How many times can you write the same thing over and over and over again? I felt myself getting so agitated to the point of not wanting to finish it!! This novel could have been truncated by 2/3. And without the constant rehashing, and rehashing and rehashing, it would have been a good read for me. It’s a historical case and an interesting case of race prejudice. Unfortunately, there is no diplomatic way for me to write this review, in order to express my opinion. Thank you NetGalley and HarperVia for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. #DefendingAlice, #NetGalley.
May 14, 2023
The story & characters I found to be good, I felt like there needed to be more back story & character development. I did find the book to be to wordy & repetitive, repeating stories/facts/statements 3-4-5 times in different order & in the same connecting paragraphs which in my opinion drug the book out much longer then need be, almost like a child writing an essay for school trying to meet a word requirement. Had the book been more direct, to the point & less long winded I think it would of been much better but as it is, it was an agonizingly long & boring read, I’m glad it’s over, hopefully the next time this author writes a book he can focus on character & story development instead on being so long winded
November 19, 2022
I was so excited to crack this book open. A story based on the love story of Alice Jones and Leonard Kip Rhinelander and what went so very wrong. The 1920s was a time of exploration. The flapper, jazz, and the most important the women's right to vote. It is one of my favorite eras to learn about and to be taken back to the high energy and the questionable morals that were occurring. I love that Richard Stratton decided to focus on this interracial couple. Alice from a blue-collar family. Her father from the Caribbean and her mother English. Leonard's family is the exact opposite, they are rich and incredibly powerful. When Leonard's father hears about his son's marriage, he acts quickly to have it annulled. He hauls Leonard out of the Jones' home and locks him up, so he is out of sight and out of mind. Instead of standing up for his relationship and his wife. Leonard shuts down and cannot escape his father's grasp.
This leads to the Jones' family being terrorized by the media and any racist nobody. Bricks thrown through windows, horrifying comments screamed, and their story is plastered everywhere. Alice is incredibly strong and will not back down from her love. She is determined to fight what they are saying that she married only for the money. They are using the excuse that Leonard did not know she was black. Even though he lived with her obviously Black father before his father stepped in. I am still floored by Alice's strength and tenacity during the trial.
I was never pulled into the story. The way in which the book was written made it incredibly hard to become lost in Alice and Leonard's story. It was told through their diaries, letters, and retold by Alice's attorney. There is a ton of repetition being told over and over again. I really wanted to be transported back to the 20s. To be swept away by their love story and what really happened. Instead, I found myself skimming and jumping around the pages, not really being able to focus. Thank you to Richard Stratton and Harpervia for the opportunity to read this book.
This leads to the Jones' family being terrorized by the media and any racist nobody. Bricks thrown through windows, horrifying comments screamed, and their story is plastered everywhere. Alice is incredibly strong and will not back down from her love. She is determined to fight what they are saying that she married only for the money. They are using the excuse that Leonard did not know she was black. Even though he lived with her obviously Black father before his father stepped in. I am still floored by Alice's strength and tenacity during the trial.
I was never pulled into the story. The way in which the book was written made it incredibly hard to become lost in Alice and Leonard's story. It was told through their diaries, letters, and retold by Alice's attorney. There is a ton of repetition being told over and over again. I really wanted to be transported back to the 20s. To be swept away by their love story and what really happened. Instead, I found myself skimming and jumping around the pages, not really being able to focus. Thank you to Richard Stratton and Harpervia for the opportunity to read this book.
March 2, 2023
DEFENDING ALICE by Richard Stratton was a @Goodreads giveaway by @harperviabooks from last Fall.
I was really excited to get this historical fiction story that pitted a mixed race woman against the elite white aristocracy of New England in the 1920's. A saucy story of love and passion that was affirmed in marriage until daddy intervened.
I tried to read this physical arc, and at a 564 pages, it was heavy. It started out strong and I was engaged in the lawyer's retelling, and then the journal entries from Alice and Len. And then it begun to get bogged down in details for me.
I ended up shelving this hefty tome until I could get the audio, narrated quite wonderfully by James Anderson Foster, Imani Jade Powers and Joel Froomkin. This format helped the story immensely for me. I was then able to feel the courtroom drama unfold and hear the angst Alice endured.
There was some salacious goings on back then, let me say! It did go into some detail describing the activities that the couple enjoyed in their private quarters, all to discredit Alice as an overly sexual Black woman. Len was a spineless sap of a human and had only his family wealth to save him. Alice was an incredible woman to be sure.
This story is a true one, though this is a novel and fiction. It felt more like a narrative nonfiction with the repetitive details, which I think hurt the story with drawn out pacing.
I did enjoy learning about this case, and believe it is a story worth telling, but maybe in a different, more concise manner.
I was really excited to get this historical fiction story that pitted a mixed race woman against the elite white aristocracy of New England in the 1920's. A saucy story of love and passion that was affirmed in marriage until daddy intervened.
I tried to read this physical arc, and at a 564 pages, it was heavy. It started out strong and I was engaged in the lawyer's retelling, and then the journal entries from Alice and Len. And then it begun to get bogged down in details for me.
I ended up shelving this hefty tome until I could get the audio, narrated quite wonderfully by James Anderson Foster, Imani Jade Powers and Joel Froomkin. This format helped the story immensely for me. I was then able to feel the courtroom drama unfold and hear the angst Alice endured.
There was some salacious goings on back then, let me say! It did go into some detail describing the activities that the couple enjoyed in their private quarters, all to discredit Alice as an overly sexual Black woman. Len was a spineless sap of a human and had only his family wealth to save him. Alice was an incredible woman to be sure.
This story is a true one, though this is a novel and fiction. It felt more like a narrative nonfiction with the repetitive details, which I think hurt the story with drawn out pacing.
I did enjoy learning about this case, and believe it is a story worth telling, but maybe in a different, more concise manner.
July 16, 2023
As an attorney (retired), I wanted very much to like this 2022 novelization of a real 1924 jazz age story of a young man (Leonard Kip Rhinelander), the white heir of a NY fortune and a New Rochelle NY mixed race woman (Alice Jones) who are deeply in love and who, after a whirlwind courtship, get married, only to have his powerful father have the young man kidnapped and an action brought on Leonard's behalf to annul the marriage on the ludicrous basis that she hid, or failed to disclose, her Black blood. It's an important story that illustrates that strides have been made in the area of race relations since the 1920's, but that in some respects little has changed. Unfortunately, the writer proves not to be up to the task. Perhaps intending to ape the tendency of lawyers to harp on a theme throughout a trial, author Stratton felt constrained to repeat himself over and over, particularly that Leonard wasn't really responsible for the the sham of a claim for annulment, but that his father, the imperious Philip Rhinelander, was the real bad guy here. There's a difference between effectively mimicking an attorney's speech patterns from the 1920's and the dreary repetitiveness on display here. Sadly, this author, a professional writer of screenplays, doesn't get that difference.
My intent is to read one of several available books about this important case. You can safely skip this novelization.
My intent is to read one of several available books about this important case. You can safely skip this novelization.
March 16, 2023
I haven't had a lot of luck lately in my book picks, and this is another one I wish I hadn't picked up. The story is good and based on fact: In 1921, Alice Jones, a mixed-race young lady with little education and a working-class background, but beautiful, is courted by Leonard Kip Rhinelander, the white son of a wealthy and socially prominent New York family. Leonard beds Alice and eventually weds her. When his father finds out, Leonard is strong-armed away from where he is staying with her family and forced to sign papers stating that she told him she was white and coerced him into marriage. The trial that ensues pits the two against each other. What isn't good is the writing. We read over and over Alice's same thoughts about the situation, and written as if she were at least a high school if not college graduate instead of someone with a 5th grade education - just a bit unrealistic. Then there is the author's ubiquitous use of semi-colons, usually used improperly and just lengthening sentences until you had to reread the beginning to remember what the sentence is even about, which drove me nuts. I quit reading after detail upon detail of the trial weighted me down. This story, centered on race and class, could have been effectively told in half the number of pages.
March 19, 2024
The Roaring Twenties is a time of change in New York, women shingle their hair, dress as flappers and listen to jazz music. However the great divide between classes hasn’t altered, society family’s mix and marry within their own tight knit social circle. This novel, based on a true story, is entirely too long. Leonard is snatched from the Jones home in Pelham Manor by his father's lawyer and spirited away to parts unknown - and Alice is served with papers demanding an annulment of the marriage and charging her with unscrupulous ambition and fraud, with hiding her Black heritage and tricking Leonard into a marriage for financial gain and to elevate her family into the higher strata of society in NYC. With the charges a note was delivered from Len, telling Alice to fight the annulment, but Alice was not allowed to retain that note. And there was an offer of a cash settlement if she would just agree to the annulment. When she refused, the offer was doubled. When she refused that, a trial date was set.
January 9, 2023
Narrative historical novel telling the story of the Rhinelander vs. Rhinelander court case in 1924 in New Rochelle, New York. Wealthy NY social lion tries to annul his son’s marriage to a young lady of color. The son acts on fear of his father and does not actively support his wife. The wife, Alice, was offered large monetary settlements to avoid the family name being dragged through a trial, but she turns them down in order to clear her name of supposedly being a gold-digging opportunist (or slut). The trial itself is narrated in detail and parts of it demonstrate a text-book model for a lawyer aggressively conducting cross examinations to get at the underlying truths regarding all the issues.
SPOILER ALERT: If a reader gets curious as to the outcome of the dramatic and historic trial, they might simply google the family name and get a 5-minute summary of the actual events on Wikipedia. Frankly, I advise against doing this since the narrative is so well and suspensefully told.
SPOILER ALERT: If a reader gets curious as to the outcome of the dramatic and historic trial, they might simply google the family name and get a 5-minute summary of the actual events on Wikipedia. Frankly, I advise against doing this since the narrative is so well and suspensefully told.
June 28, 2023
I had heard of the Rhinelander trial before, but I really only knew the very basics and didn't even remember what the outcome was, so I was intrigued when I saw this book. It is interesting, but I found it very repetitive - I think at least a hundred pages or so could be cut and the story and key information would be the same. And unfortunately much of the story was very dry. The author's note states that Stratton got the idea to write about the trial after reading a book on trial law, and I feel like that shows - it reads a lot like a lawyer's report. While the imagined diary entries of both parties are interspersed throughout the book, they are really few and far between, and I wish there were more of them because I think that would give the book a more human element that felt somewhat lacking. It did inspire me to learn more about the real-life case, though, so that's something.
September 20, 2022
The story here itself, the history is fascinating. The real life rich boy, poor girl story, about the controlling evils of money and power could have been captivating. Only this story about poor girl Alice Jones and rich boy Leonard Rhinelander and the scandal that ensued after they secretly married and his family forced them to divorce lost something in the translatio. A story that had all the elements to make it exciting and great ended up bogged down in details and long wordy chapters until it bores the reader forcing a person to skim through to the end. least sleep overtakes one. This really could have been so much better. I will still give 3 stars for a interesting history lesson.
Thank you to Harper Via and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.
Thank you to Harper Via and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.
January 29, 2023
I so badly wanted to love this story, and many parts of it I did, the historical aspect of the court case of Rhinelander Vs Rhinelander from the 1920’s based on race & social status had my itching to start it as soon as it came in the mail! Many parts of this book truly were wonderful but, NOT 564 pages wonderful. This story could easily be knocked down 200 pages. I’m a huge historian fan and had to put this down SO. MANY. TIMES. It’s just so repetitive in so many places.
While so many times on this story my heart was aching for Alice I’d turn the page for more repetition and have to roll my eyes and toss the book aside. It really needs some major cutting & I think it would be an amazing book.
**I received this book free from the publishers for my honest review**
While so many times on this story my heart was aching for Alice I’d turn the page for more repetition and have to roll my eyes and toss the book aside. It really needs some major cutting & I think it would be an amazing book.
**I received this book free from the publishers for my honest review**
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