Spencer-Churchill, Lady Elizabeth (Consuelo’s daughter-in-law) 494
Spencer-Churchill, Lady Lilian, see Grenfell, L, Spencer-Churchill, Lady Norah 117, 189
Spencer-Churchill, Robert (Consuelo’s grandson) 494–5
Spencer-Churchill, Lady Rosemary see Muir, Lady R.
Spencer-Churchill, Lady Sarah, see Russell, Lady S
Spencer House, London 222
Stalin, Josef 475
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 308, 309
Staten Island 12, 13, 17–18, 19, 48, 387, 485
Staten Island Railroad 18
Stevens, Doris 346, 416; on Alva as equal rights activist 437–8; and Alva’s funeral 441–4; Alva’s marriage plans for 405, 424; and Alva’s memoirs 376; on Alva as suffragist 326–7, 365, 369, 370; and Alva’s will 404, 433, 439, 448–9; and Consuelo’s non-militant views 348–9; divorce 433; equal rights activist 343, 373, 374, 403, 435–6, 438; law student 438–9, 448; on Maxwell 367; relations with Alva 370, 371, 403–6, 435–6, 439
Stevens, Harry 426
Stevens, Minnie, see Paget, M
Stevens, Paran 41–2, 49, 77
Stevens, Mrs Paran 41, 42, 49, 426
Stewart, Alexander T. 13, 28, 38, 51
Stimson, Robbe Pierce, see Foreman, lohn, and Stimson, R. P.
Stirling, Earls of 21
Stopes, Marie 333
Strachey, Lady 49
Strauss, E. A. 383–4
Suffragette 336, 338
Suffragettes 292, 309, 322, 329, 335–7, 364, 373, 442
Sunday Express 454
Sunderland, Earl of see Blandford, Marquess of (Consuelo’s grandson)
Sunderland House, London 260, 265–6, 336; building of 227, 255; as Consuelo’s home 270, 282, 321; Consuelo leaves 390; literary dinners 354, 355; meetings and conferences 330, 334–5, 362–3; receptions 289, 353, 355; in wartime 362–3
Sutherland, Millicent, Duchess of 116, 207, 229–31, 288
Sweeny, Policeman 138
Tablet 418
Taplow Court, Marlow 269, 355
Tardieu, André 400
Taylor, Myron 473
Tehran Conference 475
Thaw, William 382
Theater Magazine 369
Third Reform Act (1884–5) 188
Tiffany, Jenny (nee Smith, Alva’s sister) 49, 79, 109, 304, 415, 420
Tiffany and Co 185
Times, The 139, 234, 246, 284, 291, 305, 388
Titanic 366
Tomalin, Claire 39
Town and Country 154
Town Topics 99, 103–5, 116, 274, 370; on Alva’s Chinese Ball 349–50; on Alva’s engagement 44–5; on Alva’s fondness for publicity 141, 173, 176, 521n; on Alva’s relations with Belmont 94; on Alva as suffragist 307, 313, 314, 327, 347; on breakdown of Alva’s marriage 105–6, 107, 110–11, 118; campaign against Belmonts 297–9, 300, 301–2, 303–4; on Consuelo’s charity work 261, 360; on Consuelo’s marital problems 237, 245, 249; on Consuelo’s marriage 2, 134, 155, 308; on Consuelo’s social success 222; on Consuelo’s suitors 101, 352–3; on Consuelo’s US visit 264; on deafness 257; on Marlborough 123, 126, 128, 132, 182, 183; on Marlboroughs’ separation 264, 277; on royal visit to Blenheim 218–19; on William K.’s relations with ex-wife 175, 176
Townsend, John and Ruth 379
Trade Board Act (1909) 334
Treanor, William A. 471
Trinity Seaside Home 72, 416–17
Tuckwell, Gertrude 334
Tuke, Dame Margaret 330, 388
Turnure, Mr 141
Tuxedo 136
Twain, Mark 16; The Gilded Age 34
Twombly, Florence (nee Vanderbilt, Consuelo’s aunt) 176, 485–6
Twombly, Ruth 474
Union Club, New York 28–9, 38, 54
United Mail 16
Upton, Harriet Taylor 318, 324
Valiant (William K’s yacht) 89, 95–6, 98–9, 110, 122, 127, 235, 277
Vanbrugh, Sir John 165
Van de Lehaln, Lies 434
Vanderbilt, Alfred Gwynne (Consuelo’s cousin) 366
Vanderbilt, Alfred Gwynne II 502
Vanderbilt, Alice (wife of Cornelius II) 63, 83, 84, 271, 272, 273, 442
Vanderbilt, Alva Erskine, see Belmont, A.
Vanderbilt, Anne (nee Harriman, Consuelo’s stepmother) 245, 271, 526n
VANDERBILT, CONSUELO
LIFE: admirers 352–3, 356–8, 501; affairs 248, 268–9, 270, 272, 273, 274–5, 358–9, 386–8; at Alva’s funeral 441–2; as Alva’s heir 448; annulment of marriage 412–25, 427–8, 493; arranged marriage 98–103, 112–21, 151–8, 178, 237; arrival at Blenheim 192–7, 503; arrival in England 187, 189–91; birth 50, 64, 485; as chatelaine of Blenheim 199–205, 210–12, 214, 219–20, 224–5; childhood 64–5, 67–72, 81, 181, 239, 240; courted by Marlborough 103, 116–17, 130, 132–3, 139; cruises on family yacht 81, 95–6, 277; death 501; as debutante 100–102, 106, 380; divorce 361, 389–91, 423; education 69–71, 81, 82–3, 221; engagement 133–6, 157; escape from France 466–9, 489; family background 11–45; firs love 112–15, 119–20; foreign trips as Duchess 228–31, 233–5; funeral and interment xxii, 498, 501–4; as grandmother 482–3, 500–501; as heiress 4, 68, 75, 101, 113; honeymoon 149–50, 172–5, 177–86, 238; honours 455, 479; as hostess 260, 383, 387–400, 482, 498; houses 355–6, 362–3, 395–7, 400–401, 431, 451–2, 455–6, 471, 477–81, 496–7, 500; interests in female higher education 329–30; interests in maternal and child health 331, 332, 362, 388; journalism 287, 291–3, 305, 329, 331, 498; local councillor 332–3, 383–4, 386–7, 390; marriage difficulties 236, 237–41, 244–5, 248–50, 256–7, 261; marriage proposals 101, 114–15, 142; marriage settlement xxi, 2, 114, 135, 143, 157, 172, 182, 289; marries Marlborough 1–7, 11, 132–3, 135, 139–49, 155–8, 418–19, 494; memoirs, see Glitter and the Gold; motherhood 222–4, 241, 250, 282; moves to France 388, 392, 455; nationality issue 470–71; and parents’ marital problems 89, 99; Paris home 390, 395–6; Paris visits 81–2, 99–101, 115–16, 245, 248, 380; philanthropy 261, 282–6, 289–90, 307, 329–34, 354, 358, 359, 386, 455–65, 474, 478, 498, 501;
Vanderbilt, Cornelius (‘Commodore’, Consuelo’s great-grandfather) 11–13, 20; affection for Alva 48, 51; children and family of 15, 17, 18–20, 51–2, 73; death 50–51; personal characteristics 13, 15–16, 52, 513n; railroad empire 14–15, 18, 33, 512n; remarriage 51–2; shipping business 13–14, 16, 36; social standing 16–17, 20, 28, 36; wealth 14, 16, 38, 48, 51; will 16, 51–2, 74
Vanderbilt, Cornelius II (Consuelo’s uncle) 63; death of son 366; house-building 18, 57, 60, 76, 78; inheritances 51, 75; joins railroad business 20, 51, 73; marriage 59; in Newport society 118, 129; as parent 83; social standing 84
Vanderbilt, Cornelius III (Consuelo’s cousin) 290, 391, 485
Vanderbilt, Cornelius Jeremiah 15, 17, 20, 52, 60
Vanderbilt, Frederick (Consuelo’s uncle) 18, 51
Vanderbilt, George (Consuelo’s uncle) 18, 51
Vanderbilt, Gertrude (Consuelo’s cousin) 271, 272, 273, 505; education 69; freedom as teenager 83; as heiress 1, 47; social life 65, 68
Vanderbilt, Gertrude (Harold’s wife) 451, 496
Vanderbilt, Gloria 397
Vanderbilt, Grace Wilson (wife of Cornelius III) 290, 485
Vanderbilt, Harold Stirling (Consuelo’s brother) 6, 21, 112, 405, 450–51; at Alva’s funeral 441–2; and Alva’s will 448; at Balsan’s funeral 496; birth 66; on Consuelo’s engagement 134; cruises on private yacht 95, 96; education 294, 524n; in family business 450, 484; Florida house of 451–2; illness 502; intellect 450, 451; inventor of contract bridge 450; Marble House bought back by 499; military service 377; personality 451; and suffragists 314; visits Augerville 440, 451; visits Blenheim 210, 245; America’s Cup 450–51
Vanderbilt, Lila (Consuelo’s aunt) 59
Vanderbilt, Maria Kissam (Consuelo’s grandmother) 18, 19, 75, 215
Vanderbilt, Rosamund Warburton (second wife of Willie K. Jr) 397, 449, 451
Vanderbilt, Sophia (Consuelo’s great-grandmother) 15
Vanderbilt, Virginia Fair (‘Birdie’, first wife of Willie K. Jr) 294, 299, 303, 304, 349
Vanderbilt, William H. 502
Vanderbilt, William Henry (Consuelo’s grandfather) 17–19; affection for Alva 48, 57, 87; and Commodore’s will 51, 52; conspicuous consumption 73; death 72–3, 75, 85, 87; family of 18, 19; in family business 17, 18, 51, 73–4; houses 48, 57, 60, 73; passion for horses 73; personality 17, 19, 74; relations with Commodore 17, 18–19, 73; reputation 72–3; social standing 29, 48–9; wealth 73, 74; will 74–5
Vanderbilt, William Kissam (Consuelo’s father): aristocratisation 52–3, 78; and Balsan 382–3; business career 20, 51, 73; childhood 19; and Consuelo’s marriage 6, 122–3, 135, 144–7, 156; and Consuelo’s separation 270, 273, 277, 353; cruises on private yacht 79–80, 95; death 387; divorce 106–9, 123, 176; education 19–20, 42, 70; engagement 45; finances Sunderland House 227; gifts to Consuelo 390, 395, 532–3n; godfather to Consuelo’s son 224; home in France 105, 107, 245, 250, 382, 387, 526n; houses 52–3, 56–7, 60, 75; infidelities 87–9, 92, 105, 109–11, 114, 299; inheritances 51–2, 75; marital difficulties 86–8, 95, 99; meets Alva 42–3; personality 20, 42, 94, 122–3; and press 298–9; relations with Commodore 20, 51; relations with Consuelo 20, 156, 184, 270; relations with ex-wife 175, 176; relations with Marlborough 123, 127, 298; remarriage 245, 526n; separation from Alva 99, 103, 106; social standing 29, 42, 43, 53–4, 60, 84, 123, 156; supports American war effort 382; at Vanderbilt ball 63; visits Consuelo and Marlborough 173, 298; wealth 51, 75, 85, 395, 532–3n; wedding 46; as yachtsman 131
Vanderbilt, William Kissam Jr (Consuelo’s brother) 6, 311, 449–50; and Alva’s funeral 441–2, 444; and Alva’s will 448; birth 66; childhood 65, 71–2; death 476; death of son 452; education 69–70, 95, 524n; in family firm 528n; Florida home of 451; gambling 72; marine specimen collection 450; marriages 294, 303, 304, 405, 449; military service 377; motoring interests 299–300, 449–50, 528n; personality 449; visits Balsans 397; as yachtsman 450, 528n
Vanderbilt, William Kissam III (Alva’s grandson) 392, 436, 452
Vanderbilt ball (March 1883) 60–64, 65
Vanderbilt Cup Races 300, 449
Vanderbilt Mausoleum, Staten Island 387–503
Vanderbilt Museum 450
Vanderbilt University 75
Van Rensselaer, Mrs John 16, 77
Vansittart, Sir Robert 456
Vaux, Calvert 27
Verdict 301
Vetsera, Baroness 80–1
Vichy France 472–3, 474
Vickers, Hugo 252, 256, 258, 453, 454
Victoria, Princess 216
Victoria, Queen 169, 171, 206, 233, 438; congratulatory telegram 149; death and funeral 228, 242, 249; Diamond Jubilee 221, 298; invitations to ‘dine and sleep’ 212–13, 501; on Lady Sarah
Wilson 247; rumoured anger with Marlboroughs 249
Vienna 257–8
Vincent, Sir Edgar (Viscount D’Abernon) 265, 331, 357, 358
Vincent, Lady Helen 207
Virginia 39
Vogue 140, 141, 479, 499, 505, 509
Voronoff, Dr Serge 400, 481
Vreeland, Diana 499, 505–6, 509
Waid, Candace 426
Waldegrave, Lady 49
Warburton, Rosamund, see Vanderbilt, R.
Ward, Mrs Humphrey 290–91, 305
Warren, Dr George 5
Warwick, Frances, Countess of 207, 522n
Washburn, Dr 46
Washington 339–41, 366, 385, 497; Alva Belmont House 430, 438; Alva’s proposed monument 444; White House picket 373–5, 385
Washington Post 320
Washington Star 403
Washington Times 318
Waterhouse, Lady Caroline (Consuelo’s granddaughter) 503
Webb, Creighton 120, 125
Webb, J. Louis 95
Webb, Sydney and Beatrice 330, 331, 354
Webb, William Seward 59–60
Wells, H. G. 354
West Ham Hospital, see Queen Mary’s Hospital
Westmeath, Lord 6
Westmorland, Lady 207
Wetherspoon, George 104
Wetmore, Edith 300
Wharton, Edith 114, 226, 487; ‘After Holbein’ 295; The Age of Innocence 58–9; on American wives 153; The Buccaneers xxii, 50, 102fn, 123, 190, 402, 425–6; The Custom of the Country 44, 104; illness and death 426; as gardener 401–2; The House of Mirth 44, 153; relations with Alva 130, 402, 447; relations with Consuelo 401–2, 426; on Vanderbilt excess 73
Wharton, Teddy 130
White Sulphur Springs, Virginia 44, 88
Whitehorn, Katherine 491
Whiting, Sara 93
Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany 253–4, 489
Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany 225, 228, 253, 254
Williams, Roger 75
Wilson, Richard T. Jr 126, 128
Wilson, Lady Sarah 189–90, 211–12, 220, 247, 271–3, 391
Wilson, Woodrow 348, 364, 366, 372–4, 385, 445
Windsor Castle 212–13, 228
Winsor, Mary 409
Winthrop, Miss 6, 146
Wolf, Elsie de 383
Woman and Home 223
Woman’s Party 370, 371, 372–4; see also Congressional Union; see also National Woman’s Party
‘Women as Dictators’ (Alva’s article) 407–8, 416, 534n
Women’s Emergency Corps 362, 388
Women’s Land Service Corps 363
Women’s Municipal Party 333–4, 336, 383, 386–7, 388
Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) 443; Alva’s support for 336–8; Consuelo’s support 292; militancy 309, 320, 322; Paul in 339; Royal Albert Hall rally 310, 329
Wood, Charles Erskine Scott 46, 86, 152, 370, 371, 376–8
Woodlawn Cemetery 303, 443, 448, 503
Woodstock, England 165, 192–4, 197, 215–16, 218, 246, 421
World Conference for Codification of International Law 437
World War I 351, 361, 364, 366, 373, 381–2
World War II 461–5, 471–7
Worth, Jean 100, 180, 184, 221, 522n
Wyndham, George 228, 354
Yeats, W. B. 354
Yonine, Boris 352
Young, Ella Flagg 342, 345
Young, Mary 47, 72, 88, 128, 434, 438–40, 451, 513n, 535n
Young, Matilda 78, 440, 451, 513n, 535n
Young, Robert 484
Yule, Revd Dr 193
Yznaga, Consuelo, see Manchester, Duchess of
Yznaga, Fernando 30, 49, 110
Yznaga, Jenny, see Tiffany, J.
Yznaga, Natica 46
Yznaga family 30, 49, 76
Zueblin, Prof. Charles 313
PRAISE
AMANDA MACKENZIE STUART has worked as a screenwriter and independent film producer for a number of years, most recently co-writing and co-producing Khaled El Hagar’s award-winning film Room To Rent. She has also made forays into music theatre, including Rhythm of Life, a musical biography of Broadway lyricist Dorothy Fields. This is her first book.
From the reviews of Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt:
‘The sumptuous lives Alva and Consuelo led on their respective sides of the Atlantic; the complex bonds that united them – such are the central themes of Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s riveting dual biography … Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan left an ineffable legacy of style and grace that Stuart narrates with an elegance equal to her subject’s’
New York Times
‘There can be no more dramatic a story than that of the American Vanderbilt heiress who was forced to become an English duchess … Skilfully and sympathetically told … It is brilliant of Mackenzie Stuart to focus as much on the woman who arranged the marriage – Alva – as on her victim and daughter, Consuelo’
ANTONIA FRASER, The Times
‘Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s fascinating duel biography … is above all a saga of reinventions. Between Alva’s famous 1883 Van
derbilt ball and Consuelo’s death in 1964, the pair led at least six lives between them in more than a dozen fabulous houses’
Elle
‘Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt reads like a non-fiction collaboration between novelists Edith Wharton and Henry James with a hefty dollop of provocative social history thrown in … Just fascinating’
USA Today
‘Consuelo told the story well, if one-sidedly, in her memoirs, The Glitter and The Gold, published in 1952 … Only inadequate studies of her have followed. Here, at last, is one that does full justice to her, her story, and, most remarkably, to the other main protagonists’
HUGO VICKERS, Country Life
‘A dual life story that reads as pleasurably as the best fiction but with all the intelligence of a first-rate biography … completely absorbing’
AMANDA FOREMAN
‘In this deftly contextualised account, Alva’s actions, rooted in her own unhappiness, take on a surprising nuance’
Vogue
‘Alva’s death in 1933 and Consuelo’s in 1964 closed long eventful lives in which bitterness and discontent had been transformed … Mackenzie Stuart traces those transformations in a lively narrative that skilfully incorporates scholarly material … Her smooth synthesis of storytelling and analysis vividly captures two remarkable women and the gaudy world they inhabited’
Newsday
‘Fascinating … Mackenzie Stuart writes compellingly about the ways in which the vast fortunes made in America were translated into social status during the Gilded Age’
Literary Review
‘Consuelo and Alva wanted to be valued, respected and useful for something other than their bank accounts and dowries. Mackenzie Stuart tells their story of tragedy turned into triumph with a sure touch for the bigger social and moral picture’
Independent on Sunday
‘Mackenzie Stuart has skilfully integrated a great deal of research, including interviews with family members and an extensive bibliography, into her twinned biographies and she gives a rich sense of both women’
Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt Page 67
