This work of historical fiction is centred around the courtship and brief marriage of real-life figures J.J. Astor and Madeleine Force in the early twentieth century. At just 17 years old, Madeleine’s relationship with the older, divorced, excessively wealthy Jack catches the eye of both the press and members of New York’s highest society. What follows is an exploration of their relationship, which continues to blossom despite the growing scrutiny, their marriage, honeymoon in Egypt, and journey home aboard the ill-fated Titanic.

I didn’t know much about the Astors, so loved being drawn into their world and relationship. Both Madeleine and Jack are very well drawn, and the supporting cast of characters are also fascinating to encounter. I particularly enjoyed Madeleine’s friendship with Margaret “Molly” Brown, as well as her rivalry with her stepson, Vincent.

The tale was heartbreaking, as I knew it would be, but showed that the Astors’ lives together were so much more than that one night aboard the Titanic. I liked that each chapter started with a letter from Madeleine to her newborn son before continuing in a third person narrative, as it made me feel closer to her as a character. The book is obviously very well-researched and gave a real sense of the era. All in all, I enjoyed this one, despite the desperately sad subject matter, would certainly read more by this author.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

A debutante, a famous gentleman, a marriage, a tragic ending and the world famous ship Titanic come together to form the story 'The Second Mrs. Astor'. I confess I was intrigued by this novel because I remember the scene from the movie where Rose tells Jack the tidbit about both Colonel Astor and his younger wife. Of course anything that mentions Titanic captures my attention.
The novel itself is a leisurely paced fictionalized story of a 17 year old Madeline's journey first as a girl who captures the attention of Colonel Astor's attention, as a fiancée who has to deal with all the attention of press, as a newlywed trying to navigate the societal rejection and disdain, and finally as a young widow. The author has beautifully described the pomp and the divide between old money and new money of this era. Titanic comes to life again in its beautiful glamor and beauty. I enjoyed reading The Second Mrs. Astor. If you like leisure paced novels which really don't have any cliff endings or suspense elements to it this book definitely fits the bill. The only thing I would have liked to read a bit more was Madeline's life after she was widowed in a fictionalized way.

THE SECOND MRS. ASTOR
By Shana Abé
https://bit.ly/2WkzlF9
Historical Fiction
352 Pages

The second marriage of John Jacob Astor, the New York socialite and businessman of the 1900s was to Madeleine Talmadge Force. His family was very high on the social totem pole and he was very successful. When he marries an 18 year old girl, it rocked the society pages. John and Madeleine were truly in love despite what society thinks, and this is the story of their charming yet tragic love story.

I love reading about people from the old social register era and this one did not disappoint. You will fall in love with the Second Mrs. Astor just as I did. Even though other people tried to bring their love down, these two love birds stayed true to each other until the groom's tragic demise leaving his young bride with their first and only child. This is my first book by this author, but I promise it won't be my last. I highly recommend this to all historical fiction fans.

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I had read a few of Shana Abé’s romances, and was intrigued to see she was now writing a historical fiction novel. And the fact that The Second Mrs. Astor was about the Titanic, as well as the scandalous and obscenely wealthy Astor family, piqued my interest further.

I really liked Abé’s nuanced take on Madeleine Astor and her relationship with her husband, John Jacob “Jack” Astor. The exploration of the taboos in a modern vs. historical context, with her being so much younger, and still a teenager at that, plus the different perspective of how society viewed divorce (as it was starting to become more permissible in high society) is fascinating to unpack. While there’s a perception presented of Madeleine in the press as a gold-digger and social-climber, and Jack as primarily focused on chasing his libido, there’s a sense that, at least from Madeleine’s perspective, that it is love, although I can’t help but wonder if the tragedy of the outcome influenced her perspective, at least in this fictional rendition.

While Abé admits there isn’t a lot of information available about Madeleine, I appreciate how Abé did her research among the wealth of information about the Titanic, as well as the Astor family, and worked to fill in the gaps from there.

I did have an issue with the POV and style of this book, with the use of first and third person interchangeably. The book is set up as Madeleine confiding her memories to her son, “Jakey,” with a first person framing narrative. But then, most of the book is told in third person. I could have put up with this, if there weren’t also these first person intros to almost every chapter. What does this serve? I feel like I gained way more emotionally from the first person bits, where she’s confiding her feelings, while I mostly felt detached from the third person POV. Either commit to it being a full-on fictional memoir or don’t do it at all!

This book was enjoyable and I appreciate the work the author did in conveying the complexity of Madeleine and the Astor family relationships. However, as POV is something many readers are picky about, I’d only recommend it to readers of historical fiction who are patient with a “stylized” approach to mixing first and third person.

I had actually preordered this book back in June and then found out a few weeks ago that I had been approved for the galley 😅 I was very excited to be able to read it even earlier than planned!.

I was pulled into the novel right away! The descriptive writing had each scene playing as if I was there alongside the characters. I enjoyed the switching narratives between first and third person as well. It did take me a few chapters to get used to the switches though! The first person narrative is Madeleine writing a letter to their son about about her and JJ Astor’s love story; while the third person perspective is a more in depth flashback that we the readers get to “see.”

The age difference was weird to think about, especially in today’s standards but my god their love story had me smiling, blushing, and crying. I had to pause at some sentences and reread them because they were so well written or the scene made my heart race! I also loved the descriptions of the interior of the Titanic and what it was like (pre crash). The book is an emotional one, as the last quarter of the book had me crying on and off again.

I became a bit obsessed with Madeleine Astor when I first saw the movie Titanic because I never heard my name often in popular media, so I was excited to finally hear someone else with my name and immediately fell in love with the idea of Madeleine Astor!! Thank you Shana Abe for bringing her to life and deepening my love of her!

Overall a truly fantastic piece of historical fiction that gives a voice to an infamous character. I’m going to need Shana Abe to write more historical fiction!

After reading a book a short time ago about Mrs. Astor, the mother of Jack I have been highly anticipating reading this book detailing Jack's second wife.
Jack Astor was American royalty, the richest man in the world at the time.
Being that historical fiction is my go to genre to read I devoured this. Historical fiction is fascinating because you learn so much from . A well researched book with many details such as this one is just what I am looking for.
This took place in a different time that most of us can not even comprehend. The gilded era, where opulence ruled. I did a little research on the characters myself and saw pictures of the inside of the New York mansion. Nothing was ordinary believe me. It's such a shame it was torn down and not preserved.
A scandal develops when ultra wealthy Jack Astor who is in his 40's courts and marries a teenager.
She came from money so she was used to having high expectations of herself but nothing like she was thrust into after marrying a man three decades older than herself.
This joyful union was not to last as a tragedy upon the Titanic takes his life during the honeymoon.
A haunting love story that will be remembered long after it's read!

Pub Date 31 Aug 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is nicely done historical fiction that purports to take the reader behind the scenes of the controversial marriage of Madeline and John Jacob Astor and their perilous voyage on the Titanic. Fans of Titanic should know there's a long lead in to that fateful trip as Abe explores the relationship between the very young Madeline and the much older (albeit 46 year old at the crucial time) Astor. Her family was on the periphery of his set but once he spied her- when she was 13- they knew. Don't worry- it's not creepy and they don't become a couple until she's of age. He's devoted to her and she to him. The novel is very much a message from Madeline to her son- she was pregnant when Astor put her in the lifeboat- so that he would understand how bound the two were to one another. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Seventeen-year-old Madeleine Force draws the attention of the recently divorced Colonel John Jacob Astor. Despite the scandal surrounding him about his divorce, the disparity of their social rank, and the twenty-nine-year age difference, Madeleine marries the man less than a year later. From the start, she feels the pressure of the press' eye. Things look bright as they rake an extended honeymoon to Egypt and plan to return home on the new, unsinkable Titanic...

Fictional tellings of actual people are always interesting things. Weaving fact with fiction can be a difficult thing to do, especially (as the author states in her acknowledgements) there isn't much information about the main character. I knew little about Colonel Astor and his much younger bride beyond the name. While I was reading, I wondered what was true and how much was artistic license.

The author presents the story as a romantic, love at first sight, kind of match. Maybe it was. However, I couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that I was reading about a much older and wealthy man was using his influence to get a biddable bride. This made it difficult for me to buy into the romance of the story.

Knowing how the marriage ends meant there was a sense of impending doom from the start and it grew as I drew closer to the end of the story. The author did a good job of describing the horror of the Titanic tragedy. The author also leaned heavily into the pressure of the press, drawing inspiration from Diana, Princess of Wales. This seems likely, but I wasn't entirely convinced.

Overall, it was an interesting tale, one I would recommend to readers who enjoy fictional looks at the Gilded Age.

Absolutely loved this book! Shana Abe did a wonderful job writing about the Astor's. I felt like I was there in the story watching the scenes all play out right before me. I love how you get to know the characters before the tragedy of the Titanic. The book is so lovely and heartwarming. You can feel the love between the characters. This was such a well thought out book. The Second Mrs. Astor is guaranteed to touch the hearts of many readers.

The Second Mrs. Astor by
Shana Abe

I love people stories, and I adored this historical fiction novel filled with exquisite descriptions and beautiful details of a prominent couples’ lavish lifestyle.

Colonel John Jacob “Jack” Astor is a gentleman, an inventor, a war hero, and one of the wealthiest men in America. He’s 30 years older than Madeleine Force, the teenage socialite who captures his attention.

Employing flashbacks and letters to her newborn son, Madeleine tells the bittersweet story of the couple’s controversial romance, engagement, and marriage. After their honeymoon overseas—a lengthy one where the press didn’t hound them—they set sail for New York on a luxurious ocean liner’s maiden voyage. What could go wrong with the Titanic?

This book is available on August 31, so pre-order your copy now!

The Second Mrs. Astor was vibrant in the description of the times, characters, and events which typically ranks high in my rating. Overall though, I found it a sloggy read that gave me little motivation to keep turning pages. Thus the middle of the road three stars.

Before I get lots of negative comments about this review (and I'm sure I will), remember it's all subjective and relative folks. I'm sure many will love this book!

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel set for publication on 8/31/21.

Who doesn't like a book about the Titanic?

The Second Mrs. Astor is a work of historical fiction which focuses on Madeline Force (Astor). This piece covers the time period of Madeline's first memory of John Jacob (Jack) Astor, their subsequent courtship, marriage, and travels. Of course, everything is leading up to their time aboard the Titanic which ultimately transforms Mrs. Astor into one of the most famous widows in the world.

This book started off quite strongly and gave off vibes similar to Wild Women and the Blues. However, this book read a bit YA to me. First of all the foreshadowing was way too heavy to the point that it came off as incredibly fake (such as the time that Jack rescues passengers from another ship and Madeline asks about how cold the water is or a fortune teller saying that bad things will happen on a ship). The book seemed a bit low on excitement. Keep in mind most of us have seen the movie, Titanic, so I really was expecting this portion of the book to be really entertaining. The romance wasn't written particularly well, and the book went into way too much detail about how invasive the press was (the author channeled Princess Diana too much). When I read the author's closing notes, she said that she wanted to write this book as an older version of Princess Diana. But I really craved something that was unique. In the end, the book end up feeling ho hum with an entirely forgettable ending. In terms of historical fiction, this book did inspire me to look up additional information about John Jacob Astor and Madeline Force Astor.

Overall, a solid historical fiction book about John Jacob Astor's wife, Madeline, but it was a bit too low key for my tastes.

*Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.

The first real “trip” I got to take after being fully vaccinated this spring was a day trip down to Newport. As timing would have it, that was also around the time Shana Abe’s upcoming The Second Mrs. Astor appeared in one of the various new/upcoming release newsletters I’ve subscribed to. I was quickly able to track down a preview copy while my investment and attention were still piqued by Newport and its infamous social set. Beyond just being a historical fiction novel about real, exorbitantly wealthy people, The Second Mrs. Astor is in many ways an exploration of the earliest days of modern celebrity/tabloid culture and especially the impossible standards it’s always imposed on women. And even though it can be difficult at times to feel too badly for someone with such wealth-specific problems, there is no denying the heartbreaking trauma experienced by all (regardless of wealth or status) as the novel reaches the most familiar part of Madeleine Astor’s story – being left a young, pregnant widow when her husband perishes along with so many others on the Titanic.

Madeleine’s family doesn’t exactly run in the same circles as the Astors, though their circles do occasionally bump into one another. For Madeleine, the fateful initial bump is during the summer of 1910 in Bar Harbor. She’s just turned seventeen and is playing Ophelia in a local production of Hamlet where recently divorced John Jacob “Jack” Astor happens to be in the audience. Her performance catches his attention and they’re introduced backstage – an introduction that is captured by a member of the press and it doesn’t take long for photographers and newspaper reporters to start haunting every interaction Madeleine has with Jack as he begins courting her. Madeleine soon learns that attention from the press and from the rest of Jack’s judgmental societal set are going to be an ever-present aspect of her life if she chooses a life with Jack. She needs to decide if he’s worth the scrutiny and if so, how to face those constant pressures whenever Jack isn’t there to protect her.

The toughest thing to get past – especially in the beginning of the book – is Madeleine’s age (and specifically the age difference between her and JJ Astor). It’s one of those things where you have to remind yourself just how different a time it was back then. And to be clear, it isn’t the 29-year-age difference so much as just how young Madeleine was when they first met (only weeks past her seventeenth birthday and then married shortly after her eighteenth birthday – a widow by the time she reached nineteen and a mother soon after). It didn’t help that Abe calls extra attention to it by including a scene of thirteen-year-old Madeleine spotting Astor at the beach in Newport very early in the novel. For the most part though, Madeleine’s narration and behavior in the novel read as far more mature than her age would suggest. The romance isn’t entirely childish, though there is certainly an innocence and naivete to it at times – usually when it comes to Madeleine’s frustrations with the press and the ways they follow and harass her and her family as her relationship with Astor progresses.

It is in Madeleine’s relationship with the press – and with the others in Astor’s societal set – that Abe’s writing says the most. From first being hyper-critical and comparing her to Astor’s first wife, always exaggerating and twisting her words and actions into the least-flattering portrayal, to then showing little (if any) compassion as they seek to capitalize on her loss in the wake of the Titanic’s sinking, it shows how impossible the standards for her (and for all women) were (and still are). Casting her first as an opportunist, a greedy social climber and then as the pitiful and tragic young widow, broken by her loss. It’s through Abe’s narrative, focused so entirely on Madeleine’s perspective – including a framing device of Madeleine writing an extended account of the love that was between his parents and that his father had for them both – that Madeleine is humanized in a way that the newspaper accounts could never fully accomplish.

The Second Mrs. Astor will be available on August 31, 2021.

Madeleine Talmage Force is just 17 when she attracts the attention of John Jacob "Jack" Astor. Jack is dashing and industrious--a hero of the Spanish-American war, an inventor, and a canny businessman. Despite their 29-year age difference, and the scandal of Jack's recent divorce, Madeleine falls headlong into love--and becomes the press's favorite target.
On their extended honeymoon in Egypt, the newlyweds finally find a measure of peace from the paparazzi. Madeleine, happily, becomes pregnant. The couple plans to return home in the spring of 1912, aboard an opulent new ocean liner. When the ship hits an iceberg close to midnight on April 14th, there is no immediate panic. The swift, state-of-the-art RMS Titanic seems unsinkable. As Jack helps Madeleine into a lifeboat, he assures her that he'll see her soon in New York...
4 months later, at the Astors' Fifth Avenue mansion, a widowed Madeleine gives birth to their son. In the wake of the disaster, the press has elevated her to the status of virtuous, tragic heroine. But Madeleine's most important decision still lies ahead: whether to accept the role assigned to her, or carve out her own remarkable path.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Historical fiction is my absolute favourite genre. This does not disappoint

Gorgeous book. A real love story

loved it

I really enjoyed this book. The author did an excellent job moving between Madeleine’s narration and the omniscient narrator telling us the rest of the story. While the relationship between Jack and Madeleine seems to move along quite quickly in the book it is difficult to understand how she could have married so young to someone so old - I mean yes he was one of the richest men in the world, but still. I was anxious to get to the part on the Titanic and was well pleased with the description of the ship and the awful events surrounding the sinking. But I also felt the ending left too much unsaid. I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what happened to the rest of her life and it seems it was quite an interesting life. I also realized after reading the author’s notes that this was meant to be a book about the Titanic and she chose to tell Madeleines story as it was so closely linked to the Titanic. Overall a good read. I received an ARC of this e-book from the publisher through NetGalley and appreciate the opportunity to read it.

What a hauntingly beautiful book and love story. I’ve never seen the movie Titanic, so this is my first real brush with anything related to the ship. And man was it heartbreaking! You obviously knew the end of the story, but getting there still tears your heart out! Especially since Abé talks about the dog too.

I found the fact that part of the chapters were Madeleine writing a letter to her son, and the other part written as a story about Madeleine a little back and forth while reading. I’m not sure if this is because I read on my kindle and the physical book makes it more clear of the difference or what. But I perspective changed randomly and that wasn’t my favorite as far as writing style. Overall though this book was amazing and really did grip your heart and throw it into the sea.

This book told a different story from any I have ever read about Madeline. I have always read about the aftermath of the sinking. What she did, how she handled things, and the like. This book took us to the beginning of the story where she met John Jacob Astor and the bonds that pulled them together. Madeline made for an ok character, but it is hard to judge a woman character that lived in that time period. I mean, most women then took a backseat to men and weren't allowed to do things other than run social clubs. I liked that this book showed her with the press and a few other "modern" pro-women moments, which is rare for the early 1900s. While the Titanic is a big part of Madeline Astor's life, I did very much enjoy how that was not the center point of this book. All in all, I enjoyed my time spent with this book.

A beautiful story of ,love, second chances, and forgiveness. I loved the storyline and The amazing characters. This is a fantastic read I highly recommend to anyone who loves historical reads. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Based on the true story of the whirlwind romance of Madeline Force and John Jacob Astor.

I suppose when I delved into this one, I expected there to be more about the Titanic and the time the Astors spent on it. In reality, the sinking of the Titanic was a footnote in this novel. While well written, I didn't really feel a connection to Madeline or Jack. The details of their romance seemed very vague and glossed over and so maybe a little forced? Then again, in reality, the pair only knew each other for less than a year when married. Madeline was barely 18, Jack was 47. "Simpler times", I suppose? The story of this pairing just didn't resonate with me very much and so I can't give it more than a 3 star rating. As others have stated in some of their reviews, my favorite character was probably Jack's Airedale terrier "Kitty".