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Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfil her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home - Blenheim Palace.
The 9th Duchess gives unique first-hand insight into life at the very pinnacle of English society in the Edwardian era. An unsnobbish, but often amused observer of the intricate hierarchy both upstairs and downstairs at Blenheim Palace, she is also a revealing witness to the glittering balls, huge weekend parties and major state occasions she attended or hosted. Here are her encounters with every important figure of the day - from Queen Victoria, Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra to Tsar Nicholas, Prince Metternich and the young Winston Churchill.
Causing a scandal by separating from the Duke after 11 years, Consuelo began her new life as philanthropist, public speaker and campaigner for women's suffrage. Her literary soirees would include H G Wells, JM Barrie and George Bernard Shaw. In 1921 she remarried aviator Jacques Balsan moving with him to a chateau in the South of France.
This intimate, richly enjoyable memoir is a wonderfully revealing portrait of a golden age.
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Consoelo Vanderbilt, being the richest heiress around, made the "best" catch, the 9th Duke of Marlborough owner of Blenheim Palance, England's largest private house, built by his ancestor John Churchill, the First Duke. Unfortunately Blenheim, although a fabulous pile, did not have the thousands of acres of land needed to generate revenue to support it and the Duke was in desperate need of the railroad stock that was Consoelo's dowry.
What he was less in need of was Consoelo herself, and, as this book makes clear, had no regard, much less affection for her at all. Consoelo describes living in Blenheim and having to deal with the oddities of the British and the Duke, who would play tricks like "stealing" valuable ornaments from Blenheim so that Consoelo would have to deal with the alledgedly larcenous servants. She also describes the boredom and hassle of entertaining King Edward VII at house parties which involved numerous clothes changes and meal after elaborate meal all in the company of the insular (and sometimes insulting) British aristocrats. Thanks to the "table of precedence" she would have to sit next to the same crashing bores for every meal.
Eventually...well I won't give everything up except to say with the popularity of "Downton Abbey" I think this book should get some attention since it was written by someone who was really among the British aristocracy.
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