American Duchess : A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt

American Duchess A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt

Karen Harper

Book - 2019

Before Meghan and Harry, another American 'princess' captured the hand of an English aristocrat. Now, Karen Harper tells the tale of Consuelo Vanderbilt, her The Wedding of the Century to the Duke of Marlborough, and her quest to find meaning behind the glitter and the gold. On a cold November day in 1895, a carriage approaches St Thomas Episcopal Church on New York City's Fifth Avenue. Massive crowds surge forward, awaiting their glimpse of heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. Just 18, the beautiful bride has not only arrived late, but in tears, yet her marriage to the aloof Duke of Marlborough proceeds. Bullied into the wedding by her indomitable mother, Alva, Consuelo loves another. But a deal was made, trading some of the vast Va...nderbilt wealth for a title and prestige, and Consuelo, bred to obey, realizes she must make the best of things. At Blenheim Palace, Consuelo is confronted with an overwhelming list of duties, including producing an heir and a spare, but her relationship with the duke quickly disintegrates. Consuelo finds an inner strength, charming everyone from debutantes to diplomats including Winston Churchill, as she fights for women's suffrage. And when she takes a scandalous leap, can she hope to attain love at last...? From the dawning of the opulent Gilded Age, to the battles of the Second World War, American Duchess is a riveting tale of one woman's quest to attain independence--at any price.

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Subjects
Balsan, Consuelo Vanderbilt > Fiction.
Nobility > England > Fiction.
Americans > England > Fiction.
Biographical fiction.
Historical fiction.
Genres
Biographical fiction
Historical fiction
Published
New York : HarperCollins 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Karen Harper (-)
Physical Description
368 p.
ISBN
9780062884299
9780062748331
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Consuelo Vanderbilt is no stranger to the public eye. The press covers her prominent family's every business acquisition, philanthropic endeavor, and high-profile social appearance, always with an ear to the ground for more salacious stories. Consuelo's notoriously social-climbing mother finds her greatest triumph in engineering Consuelo's engagement to the duke of Marlborough. Consuelo must leave the glitz and glamour of New York behind and begin anew at Blenheim, the duke's British estate. In this marriage founded on not love but sociopolitical advancement, Consuelo discovers a slew of other unexpected compromises. Harper's (The It Girls, 2017) latest immerses readers in British high society, with intrigue and gossip around every corner. Sure to please historical fiction fans and those who enjoy Harper's previous novels or the works of Kristin Hannah, Kathleen Tessaro, and Lucinda Riley, this tender, well-researched novel lets readers see the economic, social, and political highlights of the nineteenth-century Gilded Age brought to life through Consuelo Vanderbilt's eyes.--Stephanie Turza Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Harper (The It Girls) entices readers with this lively novel about wealthy American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. Forced into marriage by her mother, 18-year-old Consuelo marries Sunny, Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. Embarking on her new life at Blenheim, the vast palace owned by the Churchills, Consuelo befriends villagers and tenants alike while Sunny spends her dowry to replenish Blenheim's coffers. Sunny and Consuelo have two sons together, though he remains emotionally distant toward her. She later decides to live separately from him in London, enjoying her freedom, charity work, and friendship with Winston Churchill, one of Sunny's cousins. Though Consuelo has crossed paths with French businessman Jacques Balsan during her marriage, it isn't until she is separated that she is able to contemplate the possibility of a future with him. Harper's story highlights how the wealth that prevented Consuelo from making her own decisions also enabled her to better the lives of those less fortunate. This immersive novel believably puts the reader in Consuelo's shoes. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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