Book Description Marcel Proust wrote of Gladys ‘I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness and charm.’ A friend and muse also to Rodin, Epstein and Hoffmansthal, the daughter of wealthy Americans, Gladys’s childhood was overshadowed by her father’s imprisonment for murdering her mother’s lover. Leaving the States for Europe, with her glamorous yet formidable mother, at the height of the belle epoque, she became adored and admired in the finest literary and aristocratic circles. In England she became a favourite guest at Blenheim during the Duke of Marlborough’s first marriage to the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. Despite many offers of marriage, Gladys kept her independence until, aged 40, she received the invitation she could not refuse – to marry the Duke of Marlborough and, as his second wife, become the Duchess of Blenheim Palace. But it was to be unhappy, Gladys loathing the Duke, and in the end finding herself cruelly evicted from Blenheim. Her final years were spent in lonely, eccentric isolation, never losing her fiercely independent spirit.Acclaimed royal biographer Hugo Vickers, editor of the bestselling The Quest for Queen Mary, knew Gladys towards the end of her life. He draws on his vivid recollections, diaries, and Gladys’s personal archive to bring us the tale of a fascinating, alluring, complex, largely forgotten woman of her age. Customers Review: I’m reading the book now.Hugo Vickers does an excellent job of researching his subjects.The chapters are not overly long and quick to get through.Gladys is a subject that does not have much about her so this is all new information for me.This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Marlborough family. I will also recommend Princess Alice of Greece and his Queen Mother biographies by Hugo Vickers.
Arriving in excellent time and condition (kudos to dealer) this compendium of a most unusual woman was extremely satisfying. It was detailed and jaunty – everything you’d expect from Mr. Vickers. It might be a bit dry for those who aren’t familiar with the time frame and the players in it, but it was otherwise an excellent journey into the life and times of a woman whose life line crossed the most unique periods of time and often stood above them.
I absolutely loved this book..a glamorous and fascinating woman..great read!
Great book
SO enjoyed this book. What a fascinating life.
Good
In Gladys: Duchess of Marlborough, Hugo Vickers once again provides us with an engaging subject, but makes it less so with his writing. Gladys is a story that ranges from memorable to haunting to tragic.Gladys Deacon was born in Paris in 1881 to American parents. The Deacons were wealthy enough to be able to live in Europe, although they weren’t in league with the Astor’s or the Vanderbilt’s. Still, they lived life as if on a perpetual vacation. Gladys was one of the great beauties of her generation. She also possessed a cutting wit, a sharp intelligence and was a brilliant conversationalist. Unfortunately, she was also self-absorbed, vain, jealous, petty, a liar, a user and undependable. She loved the power she had from preying on the emotions of others–especially the many men who fell under her spell. She loved the arts, mythology, poetry and literature, and had many famous men and women among her admirers including Proust, Monet, Rodin, Epstein, Boldini, Trevelyan, etc. She had marriage proposals too numerous to count from dukes, earls and royal princes. From the time she was 14, she laments that Consuelo Vanderbilt was to marry the Duke of Marlborough and claims that “if only I was a little older I might `catch’ him.”Life for the idle rich at this time was the “pursuit of happiness,” and Gladys spent her days going from one stop to another–almost always staying with others. Her travels brought her into the orbit of the Marlborough’s (Consuelo and Sunny). At first, Consuelo and Sunny were captivated by Gladys. But soon enough, their marriage crumbled and Gladys becomes Sunny’s mistress. They finally married in 1921 with disastrous results.In Gladys, Vickers gets bogged down with name dropping to the point of ad nauseam. The index is packed with names that appear only once or twice as guests at this house party or that dinner. These names are not of well known people, and they should have been omitted. Gladys is divided into thirds with most of the book dedicated to the years of her birth until the duke dies in 1934. The last section, which covers the long span of her last 44 years, is only a mere 37 pages. There are many questions about her life during this period that go unanswered. For instance, who had her committed to a psychiatric hospital? And where did she get the money to live? Vickers claims that Gladys received no Marlborough money after the duke’s death, but I’ve read elsewhere that her husband’s heirs supported her until her own death. Also, there were some minor research errors. The cottage of Gladys’ grandmother in Newport, RI was not directly across the street from Marble House (the childhood summer home of Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough).Still, I enjoyed reading about one of the most famous women of this time period, who is now a relative unknown. This riches to rags story is definitely haunting and as someone said, you should be careful what you wish for as you just might get it. Gladys paid a heavy price for wanting to wear a coronet, and in the process, lost her beauty, her fortune, her friends, her freedom and as some would claim, her sanity. |
17 reviews