<DIV></DIV><P>Carolyn Heilbrun, in <I>Writing a Woman's Life</I>, states that books about the real lives of women aren't written often enough. <I>Women of Privilege</I> is an attempt to fill that gap. The book describes three generations of women at Grasmere—a country estate in Rhinebeck, New York--who suffered because of the patriarchal attitudes of the men in their lives. On the surface, everything seemed enviable; but below the surface was mental illness, alcoholism, and yearning for divorce, as well as questions about sexual identity. Written by the great-great granddaughter of Sarah Minerva Schieffelin, the book is part biography, part memoir, and part social history. Based on journals and diaries that span more than a hundred years, <I>Women of Privilege</I>" reveals how easy it is to create a family myth, when there is money to keep up appearances. Written with skill and grace, this is an insightful exploration of how the absence of human warmth can harm a child, and of how little inherited money matters in the end.