The splendor and the excesses of the 400 Families

Even after a hundred years, New York's 400 Families continue to captivate readers. This book brings to life this extraordinary era, from the people and their delicious scandals to their extravagant palaces and opulent balls--a time when Mrs. Astor held sway, the Vanderbilts rebuilt society, and New York was the most glamorous, most envied, and most condemned city in America.

Greg King (Everett, WA) is the author of the British bestseller The Duchess of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson (978-0-8065-2464-1), as well as The Court of the Last Tsar (978-0-471-72763-7), The Fate of the Romanovs (978-0-471-20768-9), and Twilight of Splendor (978-0-470-04439-1). He has appeared as an on-screen commentator for the BBC, the Discovery Channel, and A&E.