{"product_id":"edith-the-rogue-rockefeller-mccormick-9780809338627","title":"Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER, 2021 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year in Traditional Nonfiction! \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Chicago's quirky patron saint \u003cp\u003eThis thrilling story of a daughter of America's foremost industrialist, John D. Rockefeller, is complete with sex, money, mental illness, and opera divas--and a woman who strove for the independence to make her own choices. Rejecting the limited gender role carved out for her by her father and society, Edith Rockefeller McCormick forged her own path, despite pushback from her family and ultimate financial ruin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYoung Edith and her siblings had access to the best educators in the world, but the girls were not taught how to handle the family money; that responsibility was reserved for their younger brother. A parsimonious upbringing did little to prepare Edith for life after marriage to Harold McCormick, son of the Reaper King Cyrus McCormick. The rich young couple spent lavishly. They purchased treasures like the jewels of Catherine the Great, entertained in grand style in a Chicago mansion, and contributed to the city's cultural uplift, founding the Chicago Grand Opera. They supported free health care for the poor, founding and supporting the John R. McCormick Memorial Institute for Infectious Diseases. Later, Edith donated land for what would become Brookfield Zoo.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough she lived a seemingly enviable life, Edith's disposition was ill-suited for the mores of the time. Societal and personal issues--not least of which were the deaths of two of her five children--caused Edith to experience phobias and panic attacks. Dissatisfied with rest cures, she ignored her father's expectations, moved her family to Zurich, and embarked on a journey of education and self-examination. Edith pursued analysis with then-unknown Carl Jung. Her generosity of spirit led Edith to become Jung's leading patron. She also supported up-and-coming musicians, artists, and writers, including James Joyce as he wrote \u003ci\u003eUlysses\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile Edith became a Jungian analyst, her husband, Harold, pursued an affair with an opera star. After returning to Chicago and divorcing Harold, Edith continued to deplete her fortune. She hoped to create something of lasting value, such as a utopian community and affordable homes for the middle class. Edith's goals caused further difficulties in her relationship with her father and are why he and her brother cut her off from the family funds even after the 1929 stock market crash ruined her. Edith's death from breast cancer three years later was mourned by thousands of Chicagoans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRespectful and truthful, Andrea Friederici Ross presents the full arc of this amazing woman's life and expertly helps readers understand Edith's generosity, intelligence, and fierce determination to change the world\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrea Friederici Ross\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eLet the Lions Roar! The Evolution of Brookfield Zoo. \u003c\/i\u003eA native of the Chicago area and a graduate of Northwestern University, Ross works in a grade school library, where she encourages young readers to develop a lasting love of books.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Southern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50483074367762,"sku":"9780809338627","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ea3767e5-8700-45d8-afde-f24eadc52d44.jpg?v=1730356589","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/edith-the-rogue-rockefeller-mccormick-9780809338627","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}