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The true story of the New York society couple portrayed in the John Singer Sargent painting-an architect and an heiress who became passionate reformers.
Contemporaries of the Astors and Vanderbilts, they grew up together along the shores of bucolic Staten Island, linked by privilege-her grandparents built the world's fastest clipper ship, while his family owned most of Murray Hill. Theirs was a world filled with mansions, balls, summer homes, and extended European vacations. This fascinating biography re-creates the glittering world of Edith Minturn and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes-and reveals how their love for each other was matched by their dedication to others.
Newton became a passionate preserver of New York history and published the finest collection of Manhattan maps and views in a six-volume series. Edith became the face of the age when Daniel Chester French sculpted her for Chicago's Columbian Exposition, a colossus intended to match the Statue of Liberty's grandeur. But beyond their life of prominence and prestige, Edith and Newton battled together on behalf of New York's poor and powerless-and through it all, sustained a strong-rooted marriage.
From the splendid cottages of the Berkshires to the salons of 1890s Paris, Love, Fiercely tells the real-life story behind Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes-one of the Gilded Age's most famous works of art.
Contemporaries of the Astors and Vanderbilts, they grew up together along the shores of bucolic Staten Island, linked by privilege-her grandparents built the world's fastest clipper ship, while his family owned most of Murray Hill. Theirs was a world filled with mansions, balls, summer homes, and extended European vacations. This fascinating biography re-creates the glittering world of Edith Minturn and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes-and reveals how their love for each other was matched by their dedication to others.
Newton became a passionate preserver of New York history and published the finest collection of Manhattan maps and views in a six-volume series. Edith became the face of the age when Daniel Chester French sculpted her for Chicago's Columbian Exposition, a colossus intended to match the Statue of Liberty's grandeur. But beyond their life of prominence and prestige, Edith and Newton battled together on behalf of New York's poor and powerless-and through it all, sustained a strong-rooted marriage.
From the splendid cottages of the Berkshires to the salons of 1890s Paris, Love, Fiercely tells the real-life story behind Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes-one of the Gilded Age's most famous works of art.
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Reviews
"Love, Fiercely is an exquisitely-rendered portrait of passion and privilege in the Gilded Age."
Deborah Davis, author of Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X
"With an impressive amount of research behind every page, Zimmerman manages to capture the sweeping drama of the turn of the century as well as the compelling story of a couple who knew how to love, fiercely. Her superb pacing and gripping narrative will appeal to all who enjoy history, biography, and real-life romance."
Library Journal