Savage Grace

A spellbinding true-crime classic of money and madness, incest and matricide, Savage Grace is the saga of Brooks and Barbara Baekeland and their son, Tony.

Tony Baekeland lived a childhood of extremes. Alternately neglected and smothered by his parents, he was driven to destroy the whole family in a violent chain of events.

The story of the Baekeland family unfolds against a glamorous international background (New York, London, Paris, Italy, Spain); features a nonpareil cast of characters (including Salvador Dalí, James Jones, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and European nobility); and tells the doomed Baekelands' story through remarkably candid interviews, private letters, and diaries, not to mention confidential hospital, State Department, and prison documents.

Perfect for fans of In Cold Blood, Savage Grace exposes the envied lives of the rich and beautiful—and brilliantly illuminates the darkest corners of the American Dream.