The Rockefeller Women
Dynasty of Piety, Privacy, and Service
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Based on never–before used letters, diaries, and photographs from the Rockefeller Archive, The Rockefeller Women reveals the life of four generations of an extraordinary family: Eliza Davison Rockefeller, the Mother of John D., who instilled in her sons drive for success in business and Christian service; Laura Spelman Rockefeller, the wife of John D., the daughter of an Underground Railway operator and early supporter of racial freedom; Edith Rockefeller McCormick, the daughter of John D. and Laura, who became the queen of Chicago society, studied under Carl Jung and became a lay analyst; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John Jr. and mother of six children — Winthrop, Laurence, Nelson, John III, David and Babs — who helped found the Museum of Modern Art; Margaretta "Happy" Rockefeller whom married Nelson.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In another solid exercise in restorative history, Stasz, professor of history at Sonoma State University in California, tries to do for the Rockefeller women what she did in The Vanderbilt Women. Tracing the billionaires from John D. and Laura Rockefeller (married in 1864) to Governor Nelson and Happy Rockefeller (married in 1963), she chronicles the women's philanthropic activities (John Jr.'s wife, Abby, was a founder of the Museum of Modern Art) and eccentricities (John D.'s daughter, Edith, became a Jungian lay analyst and financially supported James Joyce, advising him in vain to go into therapy with Carl Jung). It is all conscientiously recorded, and Stasz draws a convincing picture of a more genuine religious commitment than the rich are usually given credit for. But it is impossible to escape the fact that men and money inexorably shaped the Rockefeller women's lives, despite the author's diligent efforts to give them historical independence. A comprehensive and careful portrait such as this brings valuable information together, but the tale of making money has more narrative drive than that of spending it. Let's face it: robber barons are, on the whole, more fun to read about than wealthy society women. Photos not seen by PW.
