Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Mother and a Daughter in the Gilded Age

(Paperback)

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A fabulously wealthy New York beauty marries a cold-hearted British aristocrat at the behest of her Machiavellian mother then leaves him to become a prominent Suffragette.
Consuelo Vanderbilt was one of the greatest heiresses of the late 19th-century, a glittering prize for suitors on both sides of the Atlantic. When she married, a crowd of over 2,000 onlookers gathered, and newspapers frenziedly reported every detail of the event, right down to the bridal underwear. Even by the standards of the day the glamorous, eighteen-year-old had made an outstanding match: she had ensnared the twenty-four-year-old Duke of Marlborough, the most eligible peer in Great Britain.

Yet the brides swollen face, barely hidden under the veil, presaged the unhappiness that lay in the couples painful twelve-year future. It was not Consuelo, but her domineering mother who had forced the marriage through. This captivating biography tells of the lives of mother and daughter: the story of the fairytale wedding and its nightmarish aftermath, and an account of how both women went on to dedicate their lives to the dramatic fight for womens rights, in the light of their own suffering.

Reviews

'Skilfully and sympathetically told by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart ! It is brilliant ! Mackenzie Stuart has treated us to some marvellous vignettes of life at Blenheim in the "Gilded Age".' Antonia Fraser, The Times 'It moves, entertains and intrigues.' Independent on Sunday 'Fashionable society on Fifth Avenue and in Newport is ! brought vividlly to life. In this well-researched book Amanda Mackenzie Stuart is a shrewd observer of the goings-on of high society.' Spectator 'Here at last is a book that does full justice to Consuelo, to her story and, most remarkably, to the other protagonists ! I thoroughly enjoyed the book.' Country Life

Author Bio

Amanda Mackenzie Stuart has worked in British film since the 1980s, having taken a first-class degree in history at Oxford. She has written about history for Renegade films, and a stage play for singer Morag Maclaren about the life of lyricist Dorothy Fields. This is her first book.