Society's Queen

by Anne de Courcy

From the author of the critically acclaimed THE VICEROY'S DAUGHTERS, the story of a glittering aristocrat who was also at the heart of political society in the interwar years.

At the age of twenty-one, Edith Chaplin married one of the most eligible bachelors of the day, the eldest son of the sixth Marquess of Londonderry. Her husband served in the Ulster cabinet and was Air Minister in the National Government of 1934-5. Edith founded the Women's Legion during the First World War and was also an early campaigner for women's suffrage. She created the renowned Mount Stewart Gardens in County Down that are now owned by the National Trust.

All her life, Edith remained at the heart of politics both in Westminster and Ireland. She is perhaps best known for her role as 'society's queen' - a hostess to the rich and famous. Her close circle of friends included Winston Churchill, Lady Astor, Neville Chamberlain and Harold Macmillan who congregated in her salon, known as 'The Ark'. Other members included artists and writers such as John Buchan, Sean O'Casey. Britain's first Labour prime minister, Ramsey MacDonald, became romantically obsessed by her.

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

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Born in 1927, Anne de Courcy is a well-known writer, journalist and book reviewer. In the 1970s she was Woman’s Editor on the London Evening News until its demise in 1980, when she joined the Evening Standard as a columnist and feature-writer. In 1982 she joined the Daily Mail as a feature writer, with a special interest in historical subjects, leaving in 2003 to concentrate on books, on which she has talked widely both here and in the United States.

A critically-acclaimed and best-selling author, she believes that as well as telling the story of its subject’s life, a biography should depict the social history of the period, since so much of action and behaviour is governed not simply by obvious financial, social and physical conditions but also by underlying, often unspoken, contemporary attitudes, assumptions, standards and moral codes.

Anne is on the committee of the Biographers’ Club; and a past judge of their annual Prize. Her recent biographies, all of which have been serialised, include THE VICEROY’S DAUGHTERS, DIANA MOSLEY and DEBS AT WAR and SNOWDON; THE BIOGRAPHY, written with the agreement and co-operation of the Earl of Snowdon. Based on Anne’s book, a Channel 4 documentary “Snowdon and Margaret: Inside a Royal Marriage”, was broadcast.

Anne was a judge for the recent Biography section of the Costa Award in 2013, and is also one of the judges on the final selection panel judging the best of all the genres.

Reviews

[Emily Broekman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuk boek. heel anders dan wat ik normaal lees, want normaal lees ik fictie, maar wel interessant om te lezen.

[claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was fun to read about the specific area i live and have lived in my whole life, and to see place names written down in books that i never thought would be interesting to anyone. what really left a bad taste in my mouth was the privilege of edith and her family, and often their distaste for ireland in general. (though i was happy to see that edith really devoted herself to mount stewart, as it is genuinely a gorgeous place and i love it) the fact that they didn’t really give a damn about the land and the people they “governed” over really made me angry. especially because they were the ones with seats in parliament and making the decisions for these people, yet they didn’t care about ireland; just the security of their wealth and standing. that’s not really a problem with the book itself, just something i couldn’t shake off whilst reading.

on another note, i really laughed when edith named her two children maureen and robin, since my grandfather was called robin and his sister is called maureen. not relevant, but funny.

[Jim Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous book, it gives a deep insight into the decadent society of the aristocrats from the end of the nineteenth century up to the mid twentieth. At times you have such empathy with Edith that you wonder if it had not been for the wealth of the Londonderry family, would she have stayed with Charlie or was she one of life's innocents who forgives everything. Such political intrigue and such manipulation, at times it reads more like a novel than a biography but I could not put it down.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable biography of Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, which captures the flavour of her times. Anne de Courcy is especially interested in Lady Londonderry's public image including her work as a suffragist and as Colonel in Chief of the Women's Volunteer Reserve during the First World War. There's also a lot of material about her complicated marriage, her passionate friendship with Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and her ability to bring together artists, writers and politicians as a society hostess. A few trips to Canada are mentioned in passing and I would have been interested to read more about these Canadian visits as her husband later turned down the opportunity to be Governor General of Canada in the 1930s. I would like to one day visit Mount Stewart historic house in Northern Ireland and the famous gardens there.

[Susan Baranoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st of all I did not expect that this would be a book about politics and military history, I expected it would be about social history and "society" so I was disappointed in that. 2nd of all I was disappointed that the last chapter of the book breezed over all of the things I wish they had actually talked about in more detail. The contradiction between the author's assertions that Edith was independent, forward thinking and a proto-feminist and her putting up with a philandering husband in the name of believing in Christian ideals of marriage is just a bridge to far for this reader.

[Virginia Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

When at 21, Edith Chaplin married Charles, Viscount Castlereigh, the eldest son of the sixth Marquess of Londonderry, it was clearly love - at least for her. Her husband would go on to be involved in politics, serving in the Ulster cabinet and as an MP in London, as was being Air Minister from 1934-5. Edith supported Woman's Suffrage founded the Women's Legion during the First World War , and created the renowned Mount Stewart Gardens in County Down that are now owned by the National Trust. She also used her connections and social skills as a hostess to support her husband's ambitions. Her close circle of friends included numerous prime ministers, the well connected such as Lady Astor and artists, such as Sir John Lavery, and writers , such as John Buchan. At Mount Stewart she created a garden dedicated to her friends, with animal statues representing each, including a Cheetah for Charlie, a know womanizer, whose adventures included running off to Paris with Consuela Vanderbuilt until the King ordered them to return. But through it all, Edith was loyal and adored him, cheetah or not.

Edith was a truly remarkable woman, in many ways ahead of her time while still living in the golden age of conservative British society. She was able to inspire great love and loyalty among her friends and from her philandering husband. This book vividly recreates Edith's world, though in places I felt there was too much information about Charley's life and not enough about hers.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that I found of immense interest. A great window into the lifestyles of past generations of 'upper-crust' society.
Read for personal research after seeing the estate home featured on a television antique related show.
I found this book's contents inspiring - number rating relates to the book's contribution to my needs.
Overall, this work is also a good resource for the researcher and enthusiast.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book feels a bit frivolous in the face of the multifaceted life detailed in its pages. A much more interesting and informative book than I expected.

[Jill Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne de Courcy can bring alive a time, a place, a life. Really interesting.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

She must have been beautiful and had many admirers.
She was intelligent and could converse with everybody.
She married a rich heir and gave political parties, spent on good deeds, private enterprises ( garden, travel, presents).
She had all the contacts to meet the leaders of her day in England (a.o. Churchill) , Scotland, Ireland, Germany ( a.o. Hitler), the US.
Her life encompassed the Irish war of independence, the first and the second world wars.
Diamonds and coal were her husbands source of wealth.
The miners were exploited for the riches of the aristocracy.
A remarkable woman whose biography connects history.

[Whimsical · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read by writer Anne de Courcy. Of course the subject of this well written book is also hugely fascinating! A fun way to read about history as this book includes Lady Londonderry's life during and after two World Wars . All the powerful people in politics of Britain and Ireland were friends of Lady Londonderry which gave her a front row seat to history. She was as the book titles suggest "society hostess" which meant she also entertained royalty, the aristocracy and many of the literary luminaries of her day.

Lady Londonderry had a green thumb and the used it to create some of the most beautiful gardens that still exist today at Mount Stewart which was her favorite of all the properties owned by her husband, Charles, Lord Londonderry. This property is now run today by the National Trust.

I highly recommend reading this book.

[Lisa of Hopewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edith Londonderry was the wife of a philandering member of the Irish and British peerages whom she none-the-less loved and adored (and he her). She was known for her gardening–especially the gardens at her beloved home, Mount Stewart in Ireland. She was also part of one of those groups of very smart, successful people with a precious name: The Ark. Each person had an equally precious nickname–hers was “Circe”. For her time and class she was an unusually involved mother and even welcomed her husband’s illegitimate daughter, Dorothe, into the family as a young adult. Dorothe would go on to be a close friend of King George VI and the Queen Mother and was mother to Queen Elizabeth II’s great friend and courtier, Patrick Plunkett.

Edith was romantically linked to the first Labor Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald. She was very politically minded but did her political entertaining for the Tories (Conservative Party–think GOP here in the USA) so this was a rather unusual “friendship.” And, it seemed, when he was out of office she had much less time for him. Hmmmm….used much, Ramsay?

She and her husband, Charlie, are best recalled for cozying up to Hitler. Charlie thought if Britain couldn’t re-arm then finding mutual ground with Hitler was important to maintaining the peace. They entertained and were entertained by various Nazis.

In both her relationship with MacDonald and the German visits I thought Anne DeCourcy soft-pedalled a bit too much. Maybe she didn’t sleep with the PM (and I believe she probably didn’t) but good grief it was an affair all the same. As for going to Germany–what else was it but appeasement? Yes they saw the light just in the nick of time, but–this wasn’t an authorized biography. I always enjoy Anne De Courcy’s books–and enjoyed this one–but call a spade a spade, please. Additionally, I did not need to know every detail of MacDonald’s life and times in office to understand that he was the PM and what it meant to have a Tory society lady as the object of his affections. That got dull.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

love Anne De Courcy's books and this was no exception. a wonderful insight into the life of Edith the marchioness of Londonderry. a society and political hostess whose life covered the Edwardian period and first world war and beyond. excellent read.

[Joanne Hayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really intersting and informative, a great read.

[Nola · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a life however not all champagne, a husband who had many affairs, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so I read it in a couple of days.