by Natalie Robins

A spellbinding tale of money and madness, incest and matricide, Savage Grace is the saga of Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune; his beautiful wife, Barbara; and their handsome, gentle son, Tony, who destroyed the whole family in a violent chain of events.

Savage Grace unfolds against a glamorous international background (New York, London, Paris, Italy, Spain); features a nonpareil cast of characters (including Salvador Dalí, James Jones, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and European nobility); and tells the doomed Baekelands' story through remarkably candid interviews and private letters and diaries, not to mention confidential hospital, State Department, and prison documents. A true-crime classic, it exposes the envied lives of the rich and beautiful, and brilliantly illuminates the darkest corners of the American Dream.

Member Reviews

 Disappointing
by Laura on August 02, 2008

I had high hopes for this book after recently seeing the movie. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the book and found such a jarring format. The book is comprised mostly of excerpts of letters and interviews with very little narrative to tie everything together. Readers are left to read the thoughts of people with no context of their relationship to the Baekelands, and the 1-line biographical notes in the back provide little insight.

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

See All Member Reviews of This Book