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In a Gilded Cage: From Heiress to Duchess
In a Gilded Cage is the thoroughly entertaining and lavishly illustrated story of five turn-of-the-century heiresses who captured the hands of British dukes in marriage. Laced with a bracing dash on 1990s feminism, Marian Fowler paints an intimate portrait of five individualistic women who defied convention, and provides a sparkling and richly detailed view of the extraordinary excesses of the Gilded Age.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Marian Fowler
11 books1 followerMarian Fowler holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Toronto and was the recipient of the Canadian Biography Award. She has taught at York University and is the author of a number of books, including In a Gilded Cage, Below the Peacock Fan, The Embroidered Tent, Blenheim and The Way She Looks Tonight. She lives in Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 26, 2011
In the late Victorian and Edwardian eras (1870 to 1914), a number of American girls wed British nobles. This is the tale of five heiresses of the time who each married a British duke.
Consuelo Yznaga, a woman so free-spirited that she attended a dance without a corset on, was the first. At 18, she caught the attention of George Victor Drogo Montagu, always called Kim, the future Duke of Manchester, then 23 years old. Their engagement was scandalously short (the usual length was a year), and after the newspapers had finished their frenzied coverage of the wedding, they sailed for England. His parents were less than pleased with their new daughter-in-law. Soon, Consuelo was less than pleased with Kim. He came from a culture that prized the veneer of respectability over actual monogamy, whereas she was utterly shocked at his philandering. Unable to depend upon her new husband and in-laws for emotional support or faithfulness, she turned her burbling laugh and prankster spirit to high society. Soon, she had New York Society in the palm of her hand, and shortly after became King Edward's close friend. She took lovers for herself, inherited even more money, and (despite her husband and son's problems) seems to have ended her life having spent it with sparkling talk, hearty humor, and a great deal of fun. She was the model for Conchita Closson in Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers.
Lilian Price was born into the middle class, not particularly well educated or cultured. She married the wealthy Louis Hammersley at twenty five, and four years later was left a very wealthy widow. Then she married George Charles Spencer-Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. They were utterly unlike--she was kind but not in the least intellectual, while he knew Urdu, higher mathematics, was a great believer in Edison and spent his time in chemical and metallurgic experiments. And love affairs. Lily quickly realized that no matter how much money or affection she showered on her ducal groom, he would never love her back. He was dead within four years of their wedding, too, and Lily was left once more a widow. Her kindly, maternal nature is clear in that her step-children and in-laws looked on her as a member of the family ever after. (Her step-nephew, btw, was Winston Churchill!) Last of all she married Lord William de la Poer Beresford, who loved her passionately, used her fortune to buy race-horses, and abruptly died five years into their marriage. Lily died a few years later. Not a particularly entrancing heroine.
Consuelo Yznaga's goddaughter, Consuelo Vanderbilt, was raised in strict seclusion by her mother Alva Vanderbilt, who intended to use her to get into high society. She fell in love with Winthrop Rutherfurd, but was forced to marry Sunny Spencer-Churchill (Lilian Price's late husband's son). The young Duke of Marlborough was soft and frail, more interested in clothes than women, but most of all interested in maintaining Blenheim and his pomp and image as Duke. It was a loveless marriage, made worse when Consuelo became deaf at age 25 from an ear infection. She separated from Sunny, increased her travels, and then became a committed social worker, philanthropist, and feminist. She spent the rest of her life using her title and riches to fight for the well-being of the poor and women's suffrage. Eventually she married again, this time for love, and wrote an autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold.
Helena Zimmerman was a physically fit, mentally stubborn heiress who pressured her father into letting her marry Consuelo Yznaga's son Kim, then the Duke of Manchester. Kim spent wildly and was always in debt; at one point his housekeeper at Tandragee Castle (herself owed weeks of back wages) was buying canned food and whiskey for his guests out of her own pocket. He tried to marry every heiress he could lay hands on, but Helena was the one who wanted him. Unfortunately, he was lazy, self-aggrandizing, and hungry for any kind of fame he could get. She eventually separated from him and lived as quietly as she was able, while his reputation (and debt) plunged ever further. They divorced, and while he married an actress, tried to pawn his mother's jewels, and was repeatedly arrested for bankruptcy, she married Lord Arthur George Keith-Falconer and lived a quiet, happy life in Scotland.
May Goelet was the only heiress whose marriage went well. Unlike the others, she came from Old Money, and unlike the others, she was already well-entrenched in British Society. She spent six seasons as a much-admired, sought-after beauty, and then chose the handsome Sir Henry John Innes-Ker, the Duke of Roxburghe. Unlike the other marriages, the families of the bride and groom were pleased with the match. The newlyweds were deeply happy together. They sent soppy letters to each other when they were apart ("Lots of love and kisses. I hate being very cold and lonely in that big bed all by myself but promise to be good," wrote the fully grown Duke). They were each ridiculously rich and perfectly happy with their place in Society. They were terribly, horribly, utterly boring.
Overall, a great little collection of biographies. Fowler is good at winnowing out each woman's personality, and provides quick but comprehensive sketches of the cultural expectations and historical events each woman dealt with. Enjoyably gossipy without being fluff.
Consuelo Yznaga, a woman so free-spirited that she attended a dance without a corset on, was the first. At 18, she caught the attention of George Victor Drogo Montagu, always called Kim, the future Duke of Manchester, then 23 years old. Their engagement was scandalously short (the usual length was a year), and after the newspapers had finished their frenzied coverage of the wedding, they sailed for England. His parents were less than pleased with their new daughter-in-law. Soon, Consuelo was less than pleased with Kim. He came from a culture that prized the veneer of respectability over actual monogamy, whereas she was utterly shocked at his philandering. Unable to depend upon her new husband and in-laws for emotional support or faithfulness, she turned her burbling laugh and prankster spirit to high society. Soon, she had New York Society in the palm of her hand, and shortly after became King Edward's close friend. She took lovers for herself, inherited even more money, and (despite her husband and son's problems) seems to have ended her life having spent it with sparkling talk, hearty humor, and a great deal of fun. She was the model for Conchita Closson in Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers.
Lilian Price was born into the middle class, not particularly well educated or cultured. She married the wealthy Louis Hammersley at twenty five, and four years later was left a very wealthy widow. Then she married George Charles Spencer-Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. They were utterly unlike--she was kind but not in the least intellectual, while he knew Urdu, higher mathematics, was a great believer in Edison and spent his time in chemical and metallurgic experiments. And love affairs. Lily quickly realized that no matter how much money or affection she showered on her ducal groom, he would never love her back. He was dead within four years of their wedding, too, and Lily was left once more a widow. Her kindly, maternal nature is clear in that her step-children and in-laws looked on her as a member of the family ever after. (Her step-nephew, btw, was Winston Churchill!) Last of all she married Lord William de la Poer Beresford, who loved her passionately, used her fortune to buy race-horses, and abruptly died five years into their marriage. Lily died a few years later. Not a particularly entrancing heroine.
Consuelo Yznaga's goddaughter, Consuelo Vanderbilt, was raised in strict seclusion by her mother Alva Vanderbilt, who intended to use her to get into high society. She fell in love with Winthrop Rutherfurd, but was forced to marry Sunny Spencer-Churchill (Lilian Price's late husband's son). The young Duke of Marlborough was soft and frail, more interested in clothes than women, but most of all interested in maintaining Blenheim and his pomp and image as Duke. It was a loveless marriage, made worse when Consuelo became deaf at age 25 from an ear infection. She separated from Sunny, increased her travels, and then became a committed social worker, philanthropist, and feminist. She spent the rest of her life using her title and riches to fight for the well-being of the poor and women's suffrage. Eventually she married again, this time for love, and wrote an autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold.
Helena Zimmerman was a physically fit, mentally stubborn heiress who pressured her father into letting her marry Consuelo Yznaga's son Kim, then the Duke of Manchester. Kim spent wildly and was always in debt; at one point his housekeeper at Tandragee Castle (herself owed weeks of back wages) was buying canned food and whiskey for his guests out of her own pocket. He tried to marry every heiress he could lay hands on, but Helena was the one who wanted him. Unfortunately, he was lazy, self-aggrandizing, and hungry for any kind of fame he could get. She eventually separated from him and lived as quietly as she was able, while his reputation (and debt) plunged ever further. They divorced, and while he married an actress, tried to pawn his mother's jewels, and was repeatedly arrested for bankruptcy, she married Lord Arthur George Keith-Falconer and lived a quiet, happy life in Scotland.
May Goelet was the only heiress whose marriage went well. Unlike the others, she came from Old Money, and unlike the others, she was already well-entrenched in British Society. She spent six seasons as a much-admired, sought-after beauty, and then chose the handsome Sir Henry John Innes-Ker, the Duke of Roxburghe. Unlike the other marriages, the families of the bride and groom were pleased with the match. The newlyweds were deeply happy together. They sent soppy letters to each other when they were apart ("Lots of love and kisses. I hate being very cold and lonely in that big bed all by myself but promise to be good," wrote the fully grown Duke). They were each ridiculously rich and perfectly happy with their place in Society. They were terribly, horribly, utterly boring.
Overall, a great little collection of biographies. Fowler is good at winnowing out each woman's personality, and provides quick but comprehensive sketches of the cultural expectations and historical events each woman dealt with. Enjoyably gossipy without being fluff.
March 18, 2012
I spent more than three years writing a biography of one of the women to whom Fowler gave chapter space in this book, and devoted much of my energy to correcting her historical errors. I disliked the flippant, often smarmy style of Fowler's writing in what was a popular but theoretically serious biographical undertaking, and was dismayed that as an academic she was so unconscionably careless about facts.
September 7, 2016
To be Consuelo Yznaga, Lily Hammersley, Consuelo Vanderbilt (Yznaga's godchild), Helena Zimmerman, May Goelet? To be born with riches and cursed in marriage (with one exception)
Fowler did an excellent job of introducing each young woman-her formative years, her engagement, her turbulent wedded years, her subsequent divorce and eventual death. These were all bright, courageous women who battled both New and Old World societies to accomplish what they thought was the culmination of a lifelong dream: marriage to a Duke. Sadly, all the peers were penniless and most were also licentious. Life handed these women lemons. The author showed us how they made lemonade.
Fowler did an excellent job of introducing each young woman-her formative years, her engagement, her turbulent wedded years, her subsequent divorce and eventual death. These were all bright, courageous women who battled both New and Old World societies to accomplish what they thought was the culmination of a lifelong dream: marriage to a Duke. Sadly, all the peers were penniless and most were also licentious. Life handed these women lemons. The author showed us how they made lemonade.
July 1, 2020
In many ways, this is the anti-romance because it takes the most popular fantasy of historical romances and essentially dismantles it. Four of the five women who married dukes most assuredly did not get the fairy tale. Despite a few signs that this was published in the early 1990s, the book is still very informative and deeply fascinating - especially if you've ever wondered where Edith Wharton got her inspiration.
February 6, 2008
This lively book chronicles the "heiress invasion" of Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Perhaps the ultimate acquisition for American Gilded Age families of consequence was to have a daughter marry into the British nobility. Scores of well-groomed and painstakingly educated young women (and their chaperones) crossed the pond to spend "the season" in London or stay as guests at English country houses. It was a mutually agreeable arrangement, of course; the Americans gained a title, and the usually cash-strapped British nobles gained fortunes. A hundred or so young women married into the British nobility during this period.
Taking an in-depth look at five of these marriages -- Consuelo Yznaga to the Eighth Duke of Manchester , Lily Hammsley to the Eighth Duke of Marlborough, Consuelo Vanderbilt to the Ninth Duke of Marlborough, Helena Zimmerman to the Ninth Duke of Manchester, and May Goelet to the Duke of Roxburghe -- Fowler paints a vivid tableau of marital charades (several of the dukes were incurable philanderers, and only one of the five marriages could be considered a success in modern, romantic terms). This marital dance, of course, was choreographed effectively by Edith Wharton in her novel The Buccaneers, which chronicles the sad fate of several American heiresses who go title-hunting in Britain. Wharton didn't have to stray far from the original material.
Fowler does a good job of assessing what these young women were up against, grafted onto ancient stock but not really accepted by the noble families they married into or British society. However, several of these young women did an admirable job of establishing their own identities separate from the fortunes and titles, particularly Consuelo Vanderbilt, who eventually divorced her philandering duke and became an author and feminist.
Taking an in-depth look at five of these marriages -- Consuelo Yznaga to the Eighth Duke of Manchester , Lily Hammsley to the Eighth Duke of Marlborough, Consuelo Vanderbilt to the Ninth Duke of Marlborough, Helena Zimmerman to the Ninth Duke of Manchester, and May Goelet to the Duke of Roxburghe -- Fowler paints a vivid tableau of marital charades (several of the dukes were incurable philanderers, and only one of the five marriages could be considered a success in modern, romantic terms). This marital dance, of course, was choreographed effectively by Edith Wharton in her novel The Buccaneers, which chronicles the sad fate of several American heiresses who go title-hunting in Britain. Wharton didn't have to stray far from the original material.
Fowler does a good job of assessing what these young women were up against, grafted onto ancient stock but not really accepted by the noble families they married into or British society. However, several of these young women did an admirable job of establishing their own identities separate from the fortunes and titles, particularly Consuelo Vanderbilt, who eventually divorced her philandering duke and became an author and feminist.
January 11, 2011
For anyone who has read Edith Wharton's novels, this book is about the lives of 5 women, some of whom Wharton herself knew, and based her book "The Buccaneers" closely upon. Fowler gives an in-depth look at high society in America and England, and the phenomenon of impoverished European aristocrats marrying title-loving American heiresses. I was fascinated by the social "rules", and the difference between English and American ideas about marriage and the individual. All the themes of Henry James' novels are right in this book (only less tediously explored). Five real women, privileged, famous, beautiful, whose lives made me thankful to be a nobody.
July 11, 2018
One of My favorites.
May 30, 2018
A very interesting story of 5 American heiresses who marriage English noblemen for their title. It’s a wonderful view into both American and English life in the late 19th century. A life of great wealth and personal sadness.
July 2, 2018
Extremely interesting biographical sketches of five "dollar duchesses" during Victorian and Edwardian Britain. I read some historical novels involving the period and these will help me make better sense of them.
December 21, 2021
Early 1900's women who married British royalty. Strange subject but really well written.
April 26, 2022
Prospect reads <3
August 22, 2011
This was one of those books where I kept coming across people and thinking to myself that I'd like to read a book about this person. A nice snapshot of each lady profiled, does a good job of summing them up in the fifty of so pages alloted to each. The surrounding friends and family members sometimes outshine the stars of the book, no matter how hard the author tries to bring the focus back around to them.
October 6, 2014
Very interesting, if succinct, read about five American heiresses who married British dukes, four of them with rather sad results. I found the last chapter, on May Goelet, Duchess of Roxburghe, to be akin to a hagiography, so much the author praises her and her Duke in a shining armour! But overall, this was a very interesting read about both the upstart "new rich" and the crumbling British aristocracy : no one is really spared...
July 6, 2012
Fascinating look at the Guilded Age a la Edith Wharton.
September 24, 2015
Utilized this book for the Master's thesis.
July 28, 2016
An entertaining read about 5 American heiresses who married English dukes in the 1800's.
October 8, 2016
A fascinating look at five of America's "dollar princesses," the heiresses who married into the British nobility.
October 25, 2008
Loved learning about the gilded age. Fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews