A lady from a good family

Alva Smith and her two sisters arrive in New York in the late 19th century. After the war of the North against the South, they were left with nothing but a good name. He meets William Vanderbilt – his family has a fortune, but the New York elite don't accept them as rich. Hoping that the union would be mutually beneficial, Alva and William marry.

Alva will do his part – gets the Vanderbilt family into the „ top 400“ by the number of guests who can fit into the Astor family ballroom, and even surpasses the queen of society – Mrs. Astor herself. Alva uses his family fortune to build several important buildings in New York City and Newport, where the family has a family residence, and famously founds the Metropolitan Opera – after the Vanderbilts are denied the privilege of renting a box at the Academy of Art.

But Alva and William's family life is not nearly as glittering as their social life. After Alva discovers that her husband is unfaithful to her best friend, she decides to take the radical step of filing for divorce. At this time, the absolutely shocking decision is existentially and socially risky for her.

Alva also emerges victorious from this battle, and even remarries – as a good friend of her ex-husband Oliver Belmont. Her intelligence and determination eventually lead her into the suffragette movement. She will become a prominent member, advocating, among other things, for women's suffrage.

With unprecedented bravura, The Lady of the Good Family describes not only an extraordinary woman, but also the vibrant cities of New York and Paris during the Gilded Age at the turn of the century. It is the story of a woman who did not let herself be oppressed by the times, but rather changed them. And which humorously fulfilled its own motto: “ The first time marry for money, the second time for love. “