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Riches to Rags

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This memoir caught my eye.  Alexandra Aldrich recounts her story of growing up in the shadows of the Astor family in a sprawling 43-room house in Rockeby, New York, where her father was reduced to pawning family heirlooms to make ends meet.  Her Polish mother thought she was marrying into a rich family only to find the kitchen cupboard bare.  It has all the making of a frightful childhood tale, but comes off as a misspent childhood journal.  Nevertheless, it is apparently enthralling to read if you are into tales of decaying aristocratic families.

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