![]() And this is before Chapter One starts! There is something not quite credible in presenting this book as being written by Consuelo Vanderbilt. This account is rather lightweight and obviously fluffed up. I should have heeded the other reviews but I was thinking "No one can mess up a story which is basically a true-life Cinderella story gone awry." WRONG!!!! Yeah, we can Google or Wikipedia all we need to know about one the more famous Vanderbilts but it's really better to get it from the actual "horse's mouth". This intimate, richly enjoyable memoir is a wonderfully revealing portrait of a golden age. Here are her encounters with every important figure of the day - from Queen Victoria, Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra to Tsar Nicholas, Prince Metternich, and the young Winston Churchill. 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. The ninth Duchess gives unique first-hand insight into life at the very pinnacle of English society in the Edwardian era. ![]() ![]() ![]() 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. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. ![]()
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