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American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt
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American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt
Unavailable
American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt
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American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

Before there was Meghan Markle, there was Consuelo Vanderbilt, the original American Duchess.  Perfect for readers of Jennifer Robson and lovers of Downton Abbey.

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 Vanderbilt 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.

 

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateFeb 26, 2019
ISBN9780062748348
Author

Karen Harper

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author KAREN HARPER is a former Ohio State University instructor and high school English teacher. Published since 1982, she writes contemporary suspense and historical novels about real British women. Two of her recent Tudor-era books were bestsellers in the UK and Russia. Harper won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for Dark Angel, and her novel Shattered Secrets was judged one of the best books of the year by Suspense Magazine.

Read more from Karen Harper

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Reviews for American Duchess

Rating: 3.9557522123893807 out of 5 stars
4/5

113 ratings23 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved this book……first book I have read by this author. I have never read anything about Consuelo Vanderbilt and found her life very interesting but sad. A wonderful life of privilege and riches but I don’t think she had a happy life until she met her second husband. Very readable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wasn’t sure I’d enjoy a riches to riches story as I usually go for the rags to riches story. The story of heiress and duchess Consuela Vanderbilt is well written with vibrant characters and events that make this book one I couldn’t put down. Very good read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely love this book, I love the plot and everything about this!! I highly recommend it. I want you to know, there is a competition happening right now until the end of May on the NovelStar app. I hope you can consider joining. You can also publish your stories there. just email our editors hardy@novelstar.top, joye@novelstar.top, or lena@novelstar.top.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love learning about different aspects of history, whether they be important events or just about different people through time. I knew absolutely nothing about Consuelo Vanderbilt going into my reading of this book so it was exciting to be introduced to this tiny tidbit of American/English history.Consuelo is the daughter of an overbearing mother and a very, very rich father. Her mother is determined that her daughter will marry well and to that end she takes her on a tour of Europe in search of a title. She finds her one in the Duke of Marlborough who needs a wife with money to save his family’s estate, Blenheim Palace – the only castle not owned by the Crown.Consuelo does not want to marry the Duke as she believes herself to be in love with another man but her mother is determined. So therefore the marriage goes forward and soon Consuelo finds herself as the ninth Duchess of Marlborough. She moves into Blenheim and soon brings some American thinking to the staid English estate. In time she becomes known for her kindness.The book explores the life of Consuelo as she changes from innocent young heiress to a woman running from the German invasion of France in WWII and beyond. It’s not like I can spoil plot as Consuelo’s life if part of the historical record but I suspect that many are like me and don’t know much about her.This was an easy reading book that I read in one long afternoon. I was really rooting for Consuelo because I really had a hard time with her mother. Talk about a social climber – whew! There was a lot of time and material to cover and at times I felt it went a bit too quickly but Ms. Harper did keep the book focused on Consuelo throughout. It is definitely her story. I would like to learn more about her after reading this as I feel there is more to know. Consuelo did write an autobiography and I think it would be quite interesting to read.The period after WWI did find a number of titled Englishmen seeking rich wives to help rebuild/maintain estates that had been in their families for generations. England had been decimated by the war and many of the old families were hurting for money. The US was humming along and there was a lot of money to be found. It’s interesting to learn about this period in history.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    American Duchess is an engrossing fictional account based on the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt. Born into the prestigious wealth of the Vanderbilt family, her arranged marriage to the ninth Duke of Marlborough was one of sorrow and unhappiness. A strong-willed character, Consuelo was a woman of deep compassion and honor. Her father instilled in her the precept that those who have much should strive to enrich the lives of those who do not. Her charitable accomplishments were prolific. As a friend to many historical American and European legends, Consuelo's life piqued my interest into pursuing further research into the story of this remarkable American.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. It leads to learning more about the subject matter and characters after a fictional introduction. This books offers some interesting information about the practice of arranging marriages between British royalty and American wealth, in this case Consuelo Vanderbilt and the Duke of Marlborough. Blenheim Palace is often in the current news, and the descriptions of its interior were fascinating. I found the characters, however, to be one-dimensional and uninteresting with the exception of Winston Churchill's witticisms. Consuelo's infatuations, particularly with Jacques Balsan, read like a romance novel.My thanks to Library Thing and the publisher for this ARC.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a fair review. I love historical fiction but haven't read a lot about Consuelo Vanderbilt so I was glad I won a copy. I also enjoy Ms. Harper's work. What I really enjoyed about the book was the history that Ms. Harper wove through Consuelo's story while still giving us a good idea of what her life may have been like. For me I am taking this as an introduction and am eager to read more but if you like well fleshed out characters and their lives this may not be for you.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I looked forward to reading this book, and I was not disappointed. Harper’s book of historical fiction about Consuelo Vanderbilt was a joy to read. Beginning with Vanderbilt’s struggle with her mother in finding a suitable mate, we learn of her fate in becoming a “Dollar Princess,” or Duchess in her case. Living with heartbreak in her first marriage, and finally finding love in her second marriage, Vanderbilt becomes a strong woman in her own right. Harper describes all of the people and places in beautiful detail, and gives a superb portrayal of the times. It was a delight to read this book, and I hope to read more from Karen Harper.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a biographical novel about Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill Balsan.  A member of the wealthy American Vanderbilt family, she was married off by her ambitious mother to the Duke of Marlborough in England in 1895.  I have a hard time getting interested in the first world problems of the incredibly wealthy, although the section about the escape by Consuelo and her second husband from France during World War II was exciting.  And that is where this book ends.  It would be interesting to see how Consuelo's 1953 autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold, compares with this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a first-person narrative based on the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt, a young American heiress known as one of the "Dollar Brides"--girls whose families paid a huge settlement to marry them off to titled Brits. Consuelo has always been a sympathetic figure with a domineering mother who forced her into a loveless marriage with "Sunny" Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough. It was well known that she was late for her wedding because her maid was trying to repair her tear-stained face. Harper tries to make her even more pathetic by having her leave behind a man she truly loved. The novel details her difficult marriage, childbirth, separation and later divorce; her remarriage and her philanthropic work; her friendship with Winston Churchill, Sunny's cousin; and her difficult but sometimes surprising relationship with her mother. Hers becomes a typical story of the weak woman who finds true love and her own voice.One of the things I missed hearing more about was Consuelo's part in the restoration of Blenheim Palace, the Marlborouogh family estate. I've heard bits and pieces in tours of both Blenheim and, here in America, Biltmore, but Harper makes this strictly Sunny's project. While it's true that Vanderbilt money funded the restoration, Consuelo was instrumental in the choices made, but here she focuses on charity work for the locals instead. I assume the author felt this would be a better set-up for her eventual founding of a children's hospital as well as her departure from Blenheim.It took me a long time to get through this book, not because it was bad, but because other, more interesting books kept grabbing me. If you like happily-ever-after endings for oppressed heroines, you will enjoy American Duchess.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I typically love historical fiction about real life people. I didn't know much about Consuelo Vanderbilt and had hoped this would be a great introduction. While it was that, I had a hard time connecting to her and the other characters.I received an advance copy in from LibraryThings Early Reviewers in return for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story is actually based on the real Consuelo Vanderbilt, an American woman who marries the British Duke of Marlborough. Consuelo's family is very rich, but they do lack a title. Between the late 19th century and World War II, a flood of “dollar princesses” flocked to England looking for love. In return for a coveted title, they offered their much-needed wealth to an aristocracy desperate for cash. However, their was no love match between Consuelo and her husband and their marriage began to suffer early on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took us thru the Gilded Age, the feminist movement, and WW2 as Consuelo attempts to find her independence and true love. I received a complimentary book as part of the Goodreads giveaway program.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    American Duchess by Karen Harper tells the story of Consuelo Vanderbilt who was a young American heiress conscripted to an arranged marriage by her mother Alva Vanderbilt in 1895. The practice of ‘dollar brides’ was not uncommon during the era. Wealthy American families essentially bought ties and titles through arranging their daughters marriage to financially struggling European aristocracy. Consuelo is indeed her mother’s strong willed daughter and uniquely expresses her independence, something quite rare in that time period and social circle. I enjoyed the book and really appreciate the research that Karen Harper put into this book. I am a fan of historical fiction and this reads more towards historical romance. I recommend it for those who enjoy that genre. Thank you to LibraryThing and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy and the opportunity to review American Duchess.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Consuelo Vanderbilt was born into the Gilded Age of fame, wealth, excess, and grandeur. At eighteen years of age, she is forced into a loveless marriage arranged by her social-climbing mother, Alva Vanderbilt, to the 9th Duke of Marlborough. Though she is in love with another, Consuelo vows to be the best mother and wife that she can be. Though it is difficult adapting to her husband's homeland with its' strict customs and rules, she quickly enjoys being a mother and also benefactress of the estate's very poor residents. However, Consuelo begins to realize that no matter her social standing, wealth, or charity work, what she really wants is to be loved for herself. Will this wealthy Duchess find lasting love to fill her poor heart?This was a really great book and made me very interested in the Vanderbilt family and empire...which still exists today! If you enjoy turn-of-the-century history, you will enjoy this novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Recently I read a novel about Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and I was excited to learn about this novel about Alva's daughter Consuelo who married a British duke and eventually divorced him. Consuelo was one of several wealthy American heiress to marry into the British aristocracy. However, her marriage was hardly a fairy tale, as Consuelo and her husband initially separated, then divorced after several years of marriage. She did remarry - to a pioneering French pilot - and this novel traces the ups and downs of her life through two world wars, a depression, and numerous family upheavals. She was a fascinating woman and many historical figures make their appearances in this novel. Highly recommended for those interested in Consuelo and this era.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It is hard for us, in this day and age, to reconcile ourselves to the idea of a forced marriage. Most of us choose to marry for love and even those people who I know who have had arranged marriages have had a more modern version where they were allowed to decline if the prospect was too horrible to contemplate. But it's really not that long ago that marriage was a business transaction and not a love match, especially in the upper classes, as Karen Harper shows in her latest historical fiction novel about Consuelo Vanderbilt, American Duchess.In 1895, at only 18 and in love with another man, Consuelo is forced by her overbearing, social climbing mother into marriage with the ninth Duke of Marlborough, her money for his title and palace estate. One of the Gilded Age's "Dollar Brides," Consuelo was perhaps the most famous among the American heiresses who left America for England and the chance to marry into a cash strapped aristocracy. Trapped in a loveless marriage with a cold fish husband, Consuelo turned towards doing good for those less fortunate than she was, earning the sobriquet of Angel of Woodstock for her ministering in the village near Blenheim Palace. Her life continued to be glittering on the surface even as she stretched her philanthropic muscles and poured herself into her two beloved sons. Being the Duchess of Marlborough, especially with her financial means, brings her into contact with many of the famous, the glamorous, and the royal of her time although she regarded her life as like to being in a gilded cage. And it is only later in life that she finds the freedom and love that she searched for for so long.The book is narrated in the first person by Consuelo herself and opens with the day of her wedding, the wedding of the century, before moving backwards two years to show just how she ended up on the verge of this unwanted marriage and then forwards into her life as Duchess of Marlborough and beyond. Early on in the story, Consuelo is immature, alternately defiant and compliant, while her mother is firmly dictatorial and her father is a complete milksop. Husband Sunny is unemotional and a hidebound traditionalist but not really as present in the novel as one might expect, and certainly not portrayed as horrible a person as our narrator asserts that he is. In fact, none of the characters is completely fleshed out and they feel a little one dimensional as a result. Even Consuelo as the narrator has no flaws nor does she share the little human details that would have made her character realistic and fully realized, making this read more as a superficial biography, removed from the subject, than as a personal account, which a first person narrative historical fiction should surely have mimicked. Consuelo's story has all the makings of a fascinating one, an activist, an heiress, and American Duchess whose life spanned both world wars and who found her own happiness later in life but this skims lightly across the surface of this complicated woman. The writing is simple and easy to read and although it is not a full portrait of Consuelo (oddly ending on a romance novel note of happily ever after and in the midst of WWII despite the fact that Consuelo lives another 20 odd years), it is a light and fast read perfect for those with a fascination with the English aristocracy, those who like to see how the other half lives, and historical fiction fans looking for an easy beach read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love learning about different aspects of history, whether they be important events or just about different people through time. I knew absolutely nothing about Consuelo Vanderbilt going into my reading of this book so it was exciting to be introduced to this tiny tidbit of American/English history.Consuelo is the daughter of an overbearing mother and a very, very rich father. Her mother is determined that her daughter will marry well and to that end she takes her on a tour of Europe in search of a title. She finds her one in the Duke of Marlborough who needs a wife with money to save his family’s estate, Blenheim Palace – the only castle not owned by the Crown.Consuelo does not want to marry the Duke as she believes herself to be in love with another man but her mother is determined. So therefore the marriage goes forward and soon Consuelo finds herself as the ninth Duchess of Marlborough. She moves into Blenheim and soon brings some American thinking to the staid English estate. In time she becomes known for her kindness.The book explores the life of Consuelo as she changes from innocent young heiress to a woman running from the German invasion of France in WWII and beyond. It’s not like I can spoil plot as Consuelo’s life if part of the historical record but I suspect that many are like me and don’t know much about her.This was an easy reading book that I read in one long afternoon. I was really rooting for Consuelo because I really had a hard time with her mother. Talk about a social climber – whew! There was a lot of time and material to cover and at times I felt it went a bit too quickly but Ms. Harper did keep the book focused on Consuelo throughout. It is definitely her story. I would like to learn more about her after reading this as I feel there is more to know. Consuelo did write an autobiography and I think it would be quite interesting to read.The period after WWI did find a number of titled Englishmen seeking rich wives to help rebuild/maintain estates that had been in their families for generations. England had been decimated by the war and many of the old families were hurting for money. The US was humming along and there was a lot of money to be found. It’s interesting to learn about this period in history.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Consuelo Vanderbilt was brought up strict by her socialite mother, Alva. Taught all the things a society lady was supposed to know, and confined to a corset with a steel rod in the back to make sure her posture was perfect, she was expected to marry well and provide heirs to continue the line. When the Duke of Marlborough showed some interest, a deal- strictly a business deal- was made: Consuelo would get to be an English duchess, and the Duke would get the money he needed to save his palace and live life the way he wanted to. Problem was, Consuelo was already in love with another man. Under threats from her mother, Consuelo gave in and married the Duke. She was now a provider of huge sums of money and of heirs. Consuelo wasn’t one to just sit around and spend money, though. She was quite the philanthropist, and was active in the women’s suffrage movement. She did her part during WW I, running a sort of hospital. And she finally left her husband so she could live her own life. It’s an interesting book and I enjoyed reading it. But it has some flaws. First is that Consuelo is flawless; she is never in the moral wrong. Of course, it’s written in the first person, so that’s kind of to be expected. The second is that I feel like the book was possibly written for the Young Adult crowd, even though it is being advertised for adult readers. Finally, there is a bit of a flat affect. None of the characters- not even Consuelo- really come to life. And one (Alva) makes a total 180 degree turn about in character, which seemed odd. Four out of five stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book did something that I think good historical fiction should do: it sent me off researching Consuelo Vanderbilt and separating the fact from the fiction. The good news is that there is a lot of fact in this novel. But it is a novel, and so there are definitely fictional elements to heighten the story of a very interesting woman.The book is an easy read. In fact, my initial impression was that it was written for a YA audience, until I got farther into the story and encountered more of the complexities of the characters. It is a nice combination of relationship drama set against historical settings and events. At times it feels as if it is an historical romance, and I felt as if it downplayed some of Consuelo's philanthropic work. But it was engaging and enjoyable.My thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    American Duchess, A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt, by Karen harperAfter reading Therese Fowler’s “A Well-Behaved Woman”, about Alma Vanderbilt, Consuelo’s overbearing mother, I eagerly awaited reading this book, which I hoped would fill in the spaces on the life of Consuelo. Overall, I got the impression that Consuelo was immature, but since she was married in her teens, it was to be expected. Brought up with all the class money could buy, I found her to often be shallow and selfish, taking advantage of her station in life, without fully appreciating it. However, she was shown to mature in some ways, and in adulthood she was depicted as a genuinely philanthropic and compassionate woman interested in elevating women to a position more equal to that of men and in aiding those less fortunate than she was. Yet often, she spent her money with abandon when it could have been used to promote higher ideals.Both are imagined books, billed as historic fiction, about the lives of two women who were not only successful, but who were benevolent and charitable, and who played a role in the history of the women’s movement. Both of them were interested in suffrage and equal rights. Both were interested in the care and protection of women and children, of those less fortunate, who were, in their time, very much under the thumb of the men in their lives, living in a male dominated world. Both of the women were strong-willed and intelligent, single-minded and perseverant.The writing style is simplistic and often juvenile, giving it the aura of a romance novel, designed for the Young Adult genre, more than historic fiction designed for the adult reader. It often felt shallow as it talked about ghosts and decorating and gardening without offering evidence of more substantial life events, that would made me feel the information was, in fact, legitimate and the book, authentic. That said, it is a story which is engaging, at times, charming at times, informative occasionally, if not truly revealing. It offers a history of the time, about the class distinction, the culture and the wars, but the overriding theme for me was the concentration on the love affairs and marriage difficulties, rather than any new information on Consuelo, her life or her mother’s. In fact, the two books, this and the one by Fowler, are quite different in approach and interpretation of events, which I had not anticipated. I did enjoy the tidbits about Winston Churchill, but I have no idea which of them are accurate, and which of them are imagined. I did enjoy the book since it was an easy read, the words flowed smoothly, but it never seemed to fully grow up, and neither did Consuelo. As a matter of fact, although decades passed, she always seemed like a young girl. The book offered a smattering of the history, but never fully developed into a novel which informed me about Consuelo, but rather it dealt with the general history of the time of her life, which is rather well known. There were wars and an economic depression, followed by a time of prosperity, many of us still enjoy, although women are still demanding more rights than they have been able to achieve. In Fowler’s book, the main theme seemed to be the grooming of Consuelo to be a wife and aristocrat, to marry well and be protected in a way that women had not been before. In this book, Alma’s control over Consuelo seems more important than the intent or underlying reasons for the authoritarianism. I never felt fully invested in the book or the characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the fictional story, based on a few facts, about Consuelo Vanderbilt who was married to the Duke of Marlborough at a very young age. The Duke needed the Vanderbilt money in order to save his family estate. Consuelo's mother wanted a title for her daughter. There was no love in this marriage. Though she bore the Duke two son, the marriage ended in divorce. It is an interesting take on the facts. I liked the first half of the book but the second half dragged until the story reached WWII. I felt in the later part of the book events of the time and Consuelo's life got glossed over. It felt like the author got tired of writing about her life and just rushed to the end.I wish I could have give this 3.5 stars. It was not good enough to be four and yet not average enough to warrant three stars. In the end, I decided on four because it was not the technical part of the writing that warranted my feelings on this book but more of the feeling about the story as a whole. This book would be a good choice for a historical fiction book club. Just talking about feminism could take an entire evening.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this book in huge gulps, and as I neared the end I thought nononono…..I want more! Consuelo Vanderbilt was basically sold for the title of Duchess of Marlborough, to a man she neither knew or loved. Harper created characters that popped with life and welcomes the reader into their lives.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    American Duchess by Karen Harper tells the story of Consuelo Vanderbilt who was a young American heiress conscripted to an arranged marriage by her mother Alva Vanderbilt in 1895. The practice of ‘dollar brides’ was not uncommon during the era. Wealthy American families essentially bought ties and titles through arranging their daughters marriage to financially struggling European aristocracy. Consuelo is indeed her mother’s strong willed daughter and uniquely expresses her independence, something quite rare in that time period and social circle. I enjoyed the book and really appreciate the research that Karen Harper put into this book. I am a fan of historical fiction and this reads more towards historical romance. I recommend it for those who enjoy that genre. Thank you to LibraryThing and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy and the opportunity to review American Duchess.