The Vanderbilt Family in America's Gilded Age

The Vanderbilt's were a real-life rags to riches story, but no matter how wealthy they were, the old money New York families wouldn't accept them. Alva Erskene Smith was intelligent with refined tastes, but no money. Her formerly prosperous family had lost their money in the years following the Civil War and she needed to marry well. She found her perfect target in William Kissum Vanderbilt, a party boy.