Fortune's Daughters : The Extravagant Lives of the Jerome Sisters - Jennie Churchill, Clara Frewen and Leonie Leslie

by Elisabeth Kehoe

1st Viking hardcover, fine book in vg+ unclipped dw condition In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, British Literature, Biography Memoir, American History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 2004

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the latter 19th/early 20 century, it was the Gilded Age and American millionaires' goal for their daughters was to arrange marriages with titled Englishmen who were hard up for cash.........in other words, money for a title, love is not necessary.

This book centers on the three Jerome sisters, daughters of a rather eccentric father who made and lost his fortune at least three times and a mother who craved the inclusion of her daughters into the British aristocracy that she had been unable to conquer.

They swept into British society and captivated it with their "beauty and wit". Beauty and wit obviously had different standards during that time as evidenced by the photographs of the sisters and several of their quotes.

Of course, we know one of the daughters, Jennie, who married Lord Randolph Churchill and was the mother of Winston. The other two daughters, Clara and Leonie, are not as well known but they also fulfilled the wishes of their parents. They were spoiled, selfish, ignored their children. and spent money hand over fist which put them all in financial hardships.

I didn't care for the book because I couldn't stand the characters which is probably not fair to the author. And there were so many people in this biography that had the same names that it was sometimes difficult to identify one from another. This book was just not for me.

[Cheryl Gatling]

As the book says, "Leonard Jerome was born in 1818 on a farm at Pompey Hill, near Syracuse in Western New York State." That farm is around the corner from the house where I grew up. Many times I rode my bike past "the Jerome house" on "Jerome Road." Because of that, I like to think of all the Jeromes as local kids who "done good." That is really stretching the connection, though, because once Leonard left the farm, he never looked back. He went to New York City and made a few million in the stock market, not enough to be fabulously wealthy, just enough to launch his three daughters into society. This book is about those three daughters, Clara, Jennie, and Leonie, and how it worked out for them. Which is, not quite like they had hoped.

The girls were intended to marry wealthy dukes and earls, emphasis on "wealthy." Instead they all fell in love with men from noble families, but seriously strapped for cash. In most cases the love fizzled, too. The three sisters shared a life of balls, parties, gowns, servants, vacations on the continent, and visits with princes, without ever knowing how they were going to pay for it.

Clara's marriage was the most pathetic, as her husband Moreton Frewen (nicknamed Mortal Ruin) poured every penny he could scrounge into get-rich-quick schemes, all of which failed him. Leonie's life was the most stable, but that stability included having an estate in Ireland during a time of political upheaval, when English landowners were being murdered and their houses burned, a fate which she escaped. Jennie was the most famous, a society darling, famed for beauty and wit. But her husband, Lord Randolph Churchill, contracted syphilis, which ended their sex life, and made him impossible to live with as his behavior became erratic and abusive.

The author admires all three women for always making the best of things, and always helping each other. And indeed the sisters were models of pluck and dignity, and devotion to each other, but I admire them a little less than the author, because there seems an element of shallowness in their determination to keep up the appearances of wealth, no matter the circumstances. In fact, one of the things that amazes me is that out of this self-indulgent lifestyle would emerge Jennie's son Winston Churchill, a great thinker, a great writer, a great leader. How did that happen? But if the lives of the Jerome sisters were shallow, it is not entirely the fault of the three women, but of "the British Aristocratic World into Which They Married" (to quote the subtitle).

At at time and place where getting a job was just not done, how were people, especially women, to find meaning in life? Jennie tried valiantly. She organized (successfully) a hospital ship, wrote a play, and (not quite so successfully) edited a literary magazine. But if her accomplishments mostly fell in the realm of planning dances and decorating houses, well, that's what was available. It was fun to read about the balls, the satins and jewels, the yacht races, and carriages, and operas, but I am happier being a regular Joe in Syracuse, New York. But would the Jerome sisters think it was worth it, the financial worry and proscribed personal freedom that were the price they paid for their status in life? I think they would, every one of them.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography tells the story of the three Jerome sisters who were raised to make successful marriages to wealthy men, but their mother’s plans for them went somewhat awry. Jennie fell in love and married Randolph Churchill, a younger son of the Duke of Marlborough, and gave birth to the noted statesman Winston, before entering into two further marriages. Her elder sister Clara married Moreton Frewer, a selfish and reckless adventurer who travelled the globe speculating on investments that never made him rich. Youngest sister Leonie married into the Leslie family of Ireland and lived through wars and uprisings.


This is a well written and engaging biography, with lots of details about life in Edwardian society. The sisters are extravagant and spoiled, keeping up appearances in society while racking up debts. This does become rather repetitive at times, as the role of women of that class allows for them to do little other than attend social events, buy clothes, have affairs and bear children (who are then handed on to servants so that life carries on as before). However, as the children grow up and offer different challenges, and as society itself changes through the early twentieth century, the sisters’ lives diverge and become more interesting.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read--part of a cache of books I picked up to prepare myself for when I finally cave to pressure and start watching Downton Abbey. I found the "family biography" format a little strained by the dominating presence of Jennie Churchill, whose social success and distinguished son Winston pull the focus of the narrative in her direction. Indeed, the sister I most enjoyed reading about was Leonie, the youngest, to whom the author gives short shrift until the end of the book. Of the three, she seemed the only one to have her priorities straight. A sign of the book's strength is how invested I felt in these women's lives, getting as exasperated with Clara and Jennie as one might with a real-life family member who keeps making foolish choices.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I was poor like these people were.

Jennie very much takes over this book, but Clara and Leonie do get some of the spotlight. This is most likely because there's just so much more information about Jennie than the others.

It got a little tedious at times, with them complaining about money worries while continuing to live extravagantly, and honestly, they didn't do anything spectacular. But if you accept that they're mostly just normal people (aristocratic titles aside) it becomes an interesting look at an era of British history.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a biography of Jennie Churchill almost 30 years ago so I went into this book recalling some facts about her life but a lot of information had become blurry to me over the years. Basically, I recalled her first marriage was a disaster because of Randolph's syphilis and their combined lack of any sort of practicality about money. Rather a train wreck, but a fascinating one to read about.

This biography of Jennie and her 2 sisters deepened my previous knowledge. In short, their lives were all train wrecks to varying degrees and they were all 100% selfish and clueless about money. I put the original blame on their mother, who was obsessed with society, wealth and the potential for her beautiful daughters to obtain both via marriage.

Their mother ruined Clara, the oldest. Clara became creepier and creepier the older she got because she never outgrew her wide eyed girlish, helpless innocence act. What was appealing(not to me but apparently to others in that era) in a youth of 18 became pathetic in a mature woman of 48. I had a difficult time overcoming my natural antipathy to Clara. Just a terrible terrible mother and employee(to her saintly, overworked servants). I felt so sorry for her children. They had such miserable childhoods. It didn't help that Clara managed to marry someone ever more narcissistic and megalomaniac that her. Honestly, it is impressive in a way that Clara found such a loathsome husband in Moreton. The two fed off of each other's worst traits and brought themselves down down down. It was difficult at times to read about all their many mistakes and blunders. Moreton is the living embodiment of the phrase "If I didn't have bad luck then I'd have no luck at all." It became laughable after a certain point, how nothing every worked out - like when Moreton was finally catching a break, meeting with a partner who was sailing to America with contracts for Moreton to sign. Sailing on the TITANIC. So of course the man & the contract sank to the bottom of the ocean and once again Moreton failed.

Jennie's storyline was irritating in a different way. Oh, there was the constant scramble for money but it was less traumatic than Clara's life because Randolph & Jennie were somewhat successful. They could have been so much more so, if things had played out differently. Really they never should have married. It was a short lived sexual attraction that, because of the mores of the day, meant they had to marry in order to act upon the desires. They should have just had an affair and gotten it out of their system. Sadly not an option back then for a "nice" girl. Jennie had the potential to be so much more. If only she had been born in the future, when she could have had her own career; if only she had married someone more stable than her, so she could have been supported better in her endeavors; if only, if only. Ah well.

Leonie, the youngest, had the least irritating storyline, mainly because she wasn't as grasping for money and social status. Oh, there were still money struggles, like all the Jerome girls, but she managed to hold it together better than her older sisters. She was also a fairly decent mother, especially for that social class and that time. She was also a marvelous aunt to her sisters' ignored and abandoned offspring.

The best part of the book for me was when it focused on the closeness between the sisters, their parents and their children. For all their flaws and struggles, they maintained their love for one another.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. This is obviously well researched and I do admit that finding out that Winston Churchills father (SPOILER) died from syphillis related disease and his mom (SPOILER) was a little bit of a slut was pretty interesting. But this book spent a lot of time with the details of what each of these ladies was bringing in each year from their family inheritances and then how they blew the cash with lavish life styles. There was not a lot to admire or find interesting about these women. I've read biographies of spoiled, spindthrift heiresses before - Georgianna for instance - but there's always a bit more accomplishment, or humour, or toughness that makes the women more fascinating. The most interesting fact about these women appears to have been their marriages and I found myself skimming through the last half of the book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't start out loving this book. The writing style is a bit stiff, like a doctoral thesis, but in the end it won me over. This book is Jennie Jerome (Churchill) heavy, but she is the most popular one both in life and in death. It was interesting to see Winston Churchill as a most beloved nephew, popular cousin and favorite son. His accomplishments only briefly mentioned, but his relationships with his cousins were some of my favorite bits. This is also the best description of Jennie's marriage to Montagu Porch (who was 3 years younger then Winston Churchill), I didn't realize they spent so much time together since he is usually overshadowed by Jennie's sudden death. One thing I have learned, is never trust a Jerome with your money.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled on this book in the library and thought I'd take it home for a test drive - maybe just look at the pictures. I was quickly hooked and enjoyed it very much. This is a great read for those who like the Gilded Age, dallying princes and wretched excess in all its forms. But in the end, this is a very sad story. The sisters were trained for a profession [wife of rich titled gentleman], but ended up marrying for love and doing without money, a situation for which they were ill-prepared.

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been wanting to read this book for years and really enjoyed it. It was surprising to hear that Leonard Jerome, Winston Churchill’s maternal grandfather, was born near Syracuse, worked at a law firm in Rochester (I grew up an hour away), and worked in downtown New York City — I knew most of the places mentioned, which was cool!

I’ve always been fascinated by “the Dollar Princesses” and didn’t realize that both of Jennie Jerome’s sisters married into the (impoverished) British aristocracy as well!

Of all the marriages/sisters, eldest sister Clara’s was the most pathetic and sad. Her husband, Moreton, was genuinely a bad person, and so bad with finances oh my gooooodddd. It just made me want to throw up, like he had SO many opportunities and he wasted them all on bullshit. And he bullied his children into giving up their inheritances etc, so exasperating and entitled and bad. The youngest sister, Leonie, had the most stable marriage, but the couple still was a wreck with their finances.

Middle sister Jennie is the most well known, as the mother of Winston Churchill. Her life was so interesting, and her and Randolph seemed quite in love. It was sad that he got syphillis a year into their marriage so they basically lived separate lives until the end of their marriage. What a dumbass.

I thought all three sisters were shitty parents, but I guess it was just how they were raised and the times; children were raised by nannies and seen at teatime or whatever. And all of them were so dumb about finances!!! Which, again, it was the times, they were raised with money and were expected to marry rich etc. Still so exasperating to watch play out. Especially with Clara — like, girl, you are basically penniless, STOP PAYING FOR LANDSCAPING AT BREDE!!!!

Overall this was a great read, and I appreciated the larger social and historical context woven among the sisterhood bond.

[Lezley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement. Today, I finished "The Titled Americans" by Elisabeth Kehoe. British Royalty is still infatuated by the American woman.
I enjoyed reading about the three American sisters living lives of financial constraint but always able to travel, entertain and wear gowns by Worth. How did they manage? Winston Churchill comes across as a man with a deep sense of family loyalty and cared very much for his aunts and cousins. Family, to him was everything. Maybe this tender caring is because his mother really wasn't interested in raising children. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more books by Elisabeth Lehoe.

[Marion Roux · Rating 4 out of 5]

This factual story of 3 American sisters (1870's to 1950's) "illuminates what it meant to be a female member of the British aristocracy during its decline, when incomes were falling but lifestyles were slow to follow the downward spiral"
The sisters - Jennie, Clara and Leonie remained close to each other through 80 plus years of marriages, misfortunes, joy, wars and unrest, and raised successful children that made impacts on the world , each in their specific fields - the most famous being Winston Churchill, the 1st born of Jennie.

[Rd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just shows elites have always been elites. When you see that these Jerome sisters could not manage to live on $150,000/yr (current dollars) in the late 1800's without whining about living in poverty, it makes you realize how much of a bubble they lived in. None of the three did anything of note other than to marry titled English - or rather to be sold to titled English, with the exception of Jenny Jerome being the mother of Winston Churchill. But then you find out she wasn't that great of a mother either.

Still, well-written and thorough details of their lives...

[Helen Carolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of an interesting, if slightly gossipy, read about Jennie Churchill and her two sisters. Despite their mother's expectation that they would make advantageous marriages, all three married for love and found those marriages troublesome. Indeed Jennie shocked society with her second marriage to a much younger man. Only Leonie seemed to make the best of her marriage. This was interesting but somewhat light-weight.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read. Fascinating. Very well-researched and complemented by the Jerome sisters own words through family letters. It's a step back in time that paints a vivid picture of an era where wealthy Americans sought marriage into British aristocracy leading to some famous pairings. It also lends insight into British rule and land ownership in Ireland.

[Marie Bouteille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, I had no idea Winston Churchill had such an adventurous family ! Apart from that, it's an interesting journey into 19th-century European and Northern American History through the life of three sisters

[Rho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In-depth look at a period of great change for British aristocrats, including the family of Winston Churchill.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry and very long!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impecunious. Do YOU know what this word means? Well, neither did I, until reading this word so many times in this book - I got the idea. FYI - having little or no money. Poverty. Despite this irritating word used too many times, I really liked this book. I feel like I now know the Jerome sisters pretty well. Especially Jenny, Winston Churchill's mama. People, especially celebrities, often aren't what they seem. True then as now, which makes the story all the more interesting. Like other wealthy families of the Gilded Age, the Jeromes had it all. For awhile. Their stories are fascinating, regarding the length some people will go to, to keep up appearances. Also, interesting to note, how far our world has fallen in the art of letter writing.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an in-depth autobiography of the three American Jerome sisters whose father made his wealth in New York. The girls’ mother decided to take them to Paris and England for them to learn French and the European way of life. Her goal was for them to marry wealthy and titled men.

Clara, Jennie, and Leonie are very close but with different personalities. We follow them as they learn European manners and instruction in standing out in society. Although their mother, Clarissa, wanted them to marry wealthy men, all three finally married men without money.

Clara married Moreton Frewen who was a dreamer of great things but his dreams did not always pan out. This man irked me and I would love to read what others think of him.

Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill who was an angry and a sick man. It is believed that he had contracted syphillis and was slowly dying from it. Their son, the famous Winston Churchill, was a mistreated young man and it was a great relief when his father, Randolph, died. There is a lot in the book about Winston and his close and loving relationship with his mother, Jennie.

Leonie was the one who married Jack Leslie whose family was wealthy but because Leonie was an American, his parents never accepted her and made their lives quite difficult.

Taking place during the Victories and Edwardian time periods, the girls are introduced to and make friends with very wealthy and famous people, including royalty. The story meticulously follows the girls throughout their lives, detailing all of their happiness, sadness and secrets of their lives. The different paths each girl chose took them in different ways but they always remained close and would do anything to help one another. It’s rather sad but shows their determination when the reader sees them start out as wealthy and spoiled young ladies and end up counting their pennies.

I enjoyed every page of this novel because the history of that time period is so well explained. I hope others will enjoy this book as much as I did.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Jerome sisters each married titled Englishmen as their mother wished, though not necessarily the specific 'gentlemen' she would have liked. While their mother wanted them to marry first born sons, they married for 'love.' One of the sisters, Jennie, married Randolph Churchill and bore a son who was to make somewhat of a name for himself, Winston Churchill. Winston was the favorite of all the cousins.
Each of the sisters had been raised in high society and continued to keep up appearances throughout their lives even though they could ill afford it. Jennie became close to the Prince of Wales and royalty. Through her her sisters became part of British high society. The eldest sister, Clara, married a man who was always going to make a fortune but 'just missed' several times, forced his children to entail their inheritances and wasted his family's funds and borrowed heavily leaving the family in severe financial straits throughout his life. Leonie, the youngest, perhaps had the most financially stable marriage.
In the late 19th and early 20th century married men were often expected to have affairs and marry women much younger than themselves. Jennie, after Randolph died, and probably during their marriage, had several affairs and twice married men 20 years younger than herself. And was on good terms with all her lovers throughout her life and was not shunned for any length of time. Quite a woman.

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clara, Jennie, and Leonie Jerome are 3 sisters born of privilege in America between 1851 and 1859. They all marry British men and all suffer the ups and downs of uncertain fortunes. Jennie marries into the Churchill family and is mother to Winston. Her husband dies of syphilis and she will marry twice more and have countless affairs. Leslie marries into the wealthy Irish family of the Leslies and bears four sons. Clara marries for love to Moreton Frewen who never seems to make a go of any of his business ideas.

I get that these were important people, but I could have done without the laundry-list name-dropping in every chapter. The book was over 400 pages, but could have been half as long, just as informative, and twice as entertaining. I struggles with the last third of the book because I felt there was no development of the women. Plus, how many more money conversions from past to present day can one person take?

Three interesting women made boring by overkill.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing to me that all of these women lived in a fairy-tale land of Princes and Balls and Servants - but they had absolutely no money sense about them at all and on at least one occasion the servants didn't get paid and the Bailiff turned up on the doorstep.
The book covers the "fall of the country house" period, which I found interesting.
Even more interesting to me was that all three of them had notorious affairs (even Leonie who had married for love) and many of their children are thought to be fathered by men other than their Husbands, but they stayed in their marriages until the bitter end.
How times have changed.

[Deyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a decidedly unromanticized picture of the "American heiress marries British aristocrat" trend of the late 1800s. The three Jerome sisters lived the privileged life of the wealthy until their marriages, but each of them lived in financially stretched circumstances for the rest of their lives. None of the sisters, nor their husbands, come off as particularly likable in the narrative - contributing so much to their own hardships that they could well be referred to as the "entitled" Americans instead.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The interesting part of this book was the fact that these basically were the very first gold digging minded woman, who loved to leave well above their means, in a totally false lifestyle.. ALL THREE WERE BROKE!

Nothing has changed, has it? Except that thereafter, the Brits got smarter and married woman of wealth, or had their parents arrange it to achieve title. As a whole, the ladies were without much soul, and their children were the ones that suffered.

[Michelle]

I could not maintain interest in this book, which I gave up reading after fewer than 50 pages. Interesting, to be sure, for a certain type of person, I could not stand the minutiae of the money, which was seemingly mentioned several times a paragraph. I understand that this was a key element in these marriages, but I was more interested in the related broader social issue.

[Joyce Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating insight into trans-Atlantic migration centred on the Jerome sisters one of whom became Lady Randolph Churchill. Against the backdrop of the English upper class and its traditions this family story provides comment on the impact of significant social and economic change on family life, the role of women and the class system.

[Amy Hanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, another of my "boring" nonfiction books! Actually, I'm enjoying this one immensely. It's about Winston Churchill's mother and her sisters. Very absorbing--though the constant partying and entertaining can get a little tedious!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a typical library book for me. I thought it was engaging and worthwhile to read, but I would have never purchased this book. I especially liked the stories of three lives on the backdrop of historical events.