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A review by avieherman
The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.75
I absolutely love Consuelo Vanderbilt, I’ve read a novelization of her life and a biography of her (Consuelo and Alva). This book wasn’t all I’d hoped it would be, though I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.
The writing itself was good and sharp, if a little stuffy at times.
I was hoping it would be more personal/emotional and talk more about feelings and relationships, but, published in the 50s, it is far from contemporary confessional celebrity memoirs.
She explains towards the end:
“My readers will, I trust, forgive this digression, remembering family feelings they no doubt themselves indulge; and since these memoirs have, against my wishes, become a personal record, rather than simply the picture of a period I had at first envisioned, something must be said of those dear to me.”
In fact, I would have preferred if the entire book had focused on those dear to her and if it had indeed been a personal record.
As it was, it was interesting. I was most interested in the early chapters, describing her early life and then marriage, detailing the work of running her large estate. And the final chapter on the dramas of the second World War was very “exciting” and had a lot of forward motion. The chapters in the middle felt like they dragged on, sharing little of her own feelings and “those dear to her,” but focusing instead on a whole host of people she hosted and was hosted by. Interesting, but not really what I was most interested in. The sharpest bits were direct quotes from specific people.
The writing itself was good and sharp, if a little stuffy at times.
I was hoping it would be more personal/emotional and talk more about feelings and relationships, but, published in the 50s, it is far from contemporary confessional celebrity memoirs.
She explains towards the end:
“My readers will, I trust, forgive this digression, remembering family feelings they no doubt themselves indulge; and since these memoirs have, against my wishes, become a personal record, rather than simply the picture of a period I had at first envisioned, something must be said of those dear to me.”
In fact, I would have preferred if the entire book had focused on those dear to her and if it had indeed been a personal record.
As it was, it was interesting. I was most interested in the early chapters, describing her early life and then marriage, detailing the work of running her large estate. And the final chapter on the dramas of the second World War was very “exciting” and had a lot of forward motion. The chapters in the middle felt like they dragged on, sharing little of her own feelings and “those dear to her,” but focusing instead on a whole host of people she hosted and was hosted by. Interesting, but not really what I was most interested in. The sharpest bits were direct quotes from specific people.