Alva Smith married into one of America's great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Determined to win respect, she designed and built nine mansions, hosted grand balls, and arranged for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. The new novel from the author of "Zelda".