American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt

by Karen Harper

Overview

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.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062748331
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/26/2019
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	45,069
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

12/17/2018

Harper (The It Girls) entices readers with this lively novel about wealthy American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. Forced into marriage by her mother, 18-year-old Consuelo marries Sunny, Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. Embarking on her new life at Blenheim, the vast palace owned by the Churchills, Consuelo befriends villagers and tenants alike while Sunny spends her dowry to replenish Blenheim’s coffers. Sunny and Consuelo have two sons together, though he remains emotionally distant toward her. She later decides to live separately from him in London, enjoying her freedom, charity work, and friendship with Winston Churchill, one of Sunny’s cousins. Though Consuelo has crossed paths with French businessman Jacques Balsan during her marriage, it isn’t until she is separated that she is able to contemplate the possibility of a future with him. Harper’s story highlights how the wealth that prevented Consuelo from making her own decisions also enabled her to better the lives of those less fortunate. This immersive novel believably puts the reader in Consuelo’s shoes. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

“This is a fascinating story about an extraordinary woman.” — Gill Paul, bestselling author of The Secret Wife

“This absorbing and evocative tale is an excellent reminder of what women have long sacrificed over the centuries for family honor and duty, and how they navigated their circumstances and influence to change the world for the better.”  — Heather Webb, international bestselling author of Last Christmas in Paris

From the Publisher

This is a fascinating story about an extraordinary woman.

Gill Paul

This absorbing and evocative tale is an excellent reminder of what women have long sacrificed over the centuries for family honor and duty, and how they navigated their circumstances and influence to change the world for the better.” 

Heather Webb

12/01/2018

One of the so-called "Dollar Princesses" who brought much-needed cash into the British aristocracy, Consuelo Vanderbilt became an American duchess a century before Meghan Markle. This fictional account of her life by suspense and historical fiction writer Harper (The It Girls; Silent Scream) begins with her marriage to Sunny, the ninth Duke of Marlborough, in 1895, when she was 18. Coerced into a loveless union by her ambitious mother, Consuelo tries to do her duty by her family and her husband, while championing the poor and the sick. She gives birth to two sons before divorcing the duke and finding love in her second marriage. Despite her wealthy upbringing in New York and Newport, RI, Consuelo was moved by the working class and especially by mothers and children. She maintained a great friendship with the duke's cousin, Winston Churchill, and survived World War I in England and World War II in France. During both wars, she used her wealth for charitable causes, including establishing a hospital in France. VERDICT A sweeping history of the Gilded Age, this novel is for fans of historical fiction, PBS's Downton Abbey, and the recent royal wedding. [See Prepub Alert, 8/20/18.]—Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA

Library Journal