The Architect of Desire: Beauty and Danger in the Stanford White Family

Being a fan of Gilded Age stories, I really looked forward to this book. The author has used the Stanford White murder as a chorus for several generations of her family history. It's an intriguing approach, but I found the author's writing style to simply get in the way. Way too much verbiage on the symbolism of thisgarden or that ruin...after awhile it just gets too much. I half expected to see the light on Daisy Buchanan's dock to show up.

I wanted to read this book because it recounts the family history of a person I met many years ago, a nun who was a retired, and renowned, English professor at Boston College, who was then living in the retirement home of her religious order in Albany, NY. I knew that she was a granddaughter of Stanford White and I was eager to learn about the family. First of all, let me state that the author writes beautifully; her descriptions of the family home, of her relatives, of the deep Catholic faith that inspired her and so many of her relatives almost brought tears to my eyes. She describes her grandmother's faith in God and love for her family as being a large and precious jewel. The artistic and intellectual talents shared by her family are extraordinary. The information about Stanford White's architectural contributions occupies a large section of the book and is well worth reading carefully. I thought that the main thread that ran through the book was that although some members of the family were deeply flawed, genius and family love, faith and hope were a binding force. A great read!

My interest in this book was piqued when I discovered that I live within walking distance of Box Hill and had probably passed it many times. The history of the area and of the nearby houses and the cemetery where White is buried further increased my curiosity. As I read the book I sat studying a map in order to locate all the familiar and less familiar locations. Since I also love architecture and art, I enjoyed Suzanne Lessard's vivid descriptions as I perused pictures of White's beautiful edifices, some of which are, unfortunately, lost to us. I am now ready to walk through Manhattan with newly education eyes and have strolled the back roads of Smithtown, including the beautiful Rhododendron Drive with a new appreciation. Having read McCulloch's The Greater Journey, I had previously learned about St. Gaudens and other early 20th century artists. This added more depth to my understanding.White and the family certainly had their problems, as do many historical figures whose lives teeter on the cusp of mental instability, but I found these passages interesting, not appalling. However, the letters of Evelyn Nesbitt which are presented by the author as fact are so incredulous that I wonder how much is fabrication and how much is truth. I also like the way Lessard evoked the ephemeral boundary between memory and emotion. I appreciated that a family tree was included because it clarified this complicated saga. If you love architecture, art and history, you will enjoy this book.

Author tries to link Stanford White's sexual excesses to the more recent incest and murder in her own family. Not very convincing. Much symbolic rumination and endless description of the family property, which is very tedious.But definitely some bad genes there.

What a very sad and divisive book! It’s really hard to like Stanny after reading this. He raped that woman and probably countless others and had no remorse or impulse control. What was his motivation for his negligence and overall voracity first , basically , everything?! Gosh ! We will never know!

This was a sad but well written legacy of Stanford White and his descendants.a of Long Island where Ms area of Lon My husband grew up in the area of Long Island Ms Lessard talks about. It was such an idyllic place in those days, 50's and early 60's. John talks about riding his horse down through the woods to Long Island Sound. WWhat a great childhood he was afforded.

This book defies a brief explanation. I sensed deep passion in the author as I read her words, a passion for her family's weaknesses and strengths, a passion for knowing herself, a passion for the power of architecture, and a passion for her great-grandfather, the infuriatingly complex architect, Stanford White. Stanford was generous and careless, creative and self-destructive, maniacally disciplined and utterly irresponsible. While he selflessly gave his heart and soul to his massive stone buildings, he thoughtlessly shattered the hearts and lives of the people around him. Even while he was racked by ill health, he drove himself in his work life AND his recreational life as if he were immortal. He either believed he could never die, or knew he surely must and so didn't care. The sexual portrait of Stanford can be rather harrowing: The countless love nests he set up around New York; his systematic debauchery of young women (many of whom fell in love with him); the attorneys he hired to hush things up; the endless supply of cronies he found to join him in his nocturnal plundering--his appetites--and his ability to feed his appetites--knew no limits. As for Evelyn Nesbit, the celebrated beauty who arguably played a role in Stanford's murder, I'll just say she wasn't the first girl to ride in his red velvet swing. Finally, two notes. This author presents architecture, and its impact on the human psyche, in a beautiful, moving way; she breathes life into the bricks of Stanford's buildings. And her depiction of the Gilded Age is superb. It's the stuff of a great trashy Summer novel. Except it's real. And probably still goes on today.I should also warn future readers that there's a fair amount of incest in this book.

This is a fascinating story. It's dark (I confess that's my favorite kind of story to read or movie to see) but this is also beautifully written. Gorgeous prose by Suzannah Lessard. And what a haunting tale she had to tell. Lots of fascinating details and vivid descriptions.

I bought this book as I was interested in the Stanford White murder by Henry Thaw .This book is written by a member of the Stanford family and is a fascinating account of generations of a family and the reality of how family members avoided speaking to each other and avoided telling the secrets of their childhood.l