Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

In 1908, society journalist Rebecca Insley received an invitation to come to the fashionable neo-Gothic mansion at 840 Astor Place to interview the Mrs. Astor: Caroline “Lina” Webster Schermerhorn. Mrs. Astor, then in her 80s, had a nervous breakdown in 1906 and withdrew from society yet continued to have delusions of interacting with fans or planning grand galas. She greeted Insley with vigor as she laid out her philosophy of a republic in which those who had the talent to make money wielded proportionate influence. This social elite ought to remain grounded in tradition and decorum rather than vicious excesses (which she believed her circle, even the youth, avoided despite rumors to the contrary). The authors use Insley’s interview as a frame for their story, interspersing insights and provocative quotations from her article with the story of Lina’s life.

Lina was born into a wealthy, established family in 1830. She married William Backhouse Astor Jr., one of the elder William’s sons. The two sons had split the family fortune. The elder son, John Jacob Astor III, took the helm at the family business, while William pursued a life of leisure. Lina and he soon drifted apart.