Poor Eddie Quirk! Butler at Slanderley, he observes the deLoverly family's ridiculous intrigues. Naïve Eddie is trapped in a web of ridiculous intrigue, with no help from Sloth or Mrs. Anvil. Nasty deaths drop like spiders. The haunted ancestral mansion, scheming housekeeper, skulking servants, chinless aristocrats, and a naïve bride get a delightful re-vamp in this briskly-paced, hilarious spoof on the woman in jeopardy genre. The story is told by Quirk, intent upon correcting a best-selling book about muders at the manor. Alert readers will recognize Rebecca serving as the inspiration, yet it stands alone as a twisted romp for those unfamiliar with the original.

Based on never–before used letters, diaries, and photographs from the Rockefeller Archive, The Rockefeller Women reveals the life of four generations of an extraordinary family: Eliza Davison Rockefeller, the Mother of John D., who instilled in her sons drive for success in business and Christian service; Laura Spelman Rockefeller, the wife of John D., the daughter of an Underground Railway operator and early supporter of racial freedom; Edith Rockefeller McCormick, the daughter of John D. and Laura, who became the queen of Chicago society, studied under Carl Jung and became a lay analyst; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John Jr. and mother of six children — Winthrop, Laurence, Nelson, John III, David and Babs — who helped found the Museum of Modern Art; Margaretta "Happy" Rockefeller whom married Nelson.

This brief text is for sociology of deviance courses and may be used as a supplement to courses in sociology, criminal justice, urban studies or social work that feature heavily on social control issues. The authors use a critical perspective as a theoretical framework, giving their text a thought-provoking edge and providing for spirited classroom discussion.

The story of the women in the life of an American icon

Lucius Beebe said that "The nearest thing to a royal family that has ever appeared on the American scene was the Vanderbilts ... their vendettas, their armies of servitors, partisans and sycophants, their love affairs, scandals, and shortcomings, all were the stuff of an imperial routine." Stasz reveals new facts and insights into the fascinating lives of three generations of Vanderbilt women who dominated New York society from the middle of the eighteenth century through the twentieth. Of special interest are the discovery of unpublished letters and a pseudonymous lesbian novel that shed light on the complex character of the most currently famous Vanderbilt woman, Gloria Vanderbilt.