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    The Glitter and the Gold: The American Duchess---In Her Own Words
    The Glitter and the Gold: The American Duchess---In Her Own Words
    The Glitter and the Gold: The American Duchess---In Her Own Words
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Glitter and the Gold: The American Duchess---In Her Own Words

    Written by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan

    Narrated by Coleen Marlo

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home-Blenheim Palace.The ninth Duchess gives unique first-hand insight into life at the very pinnacle of English society in the Edwardian era. An unsnobbish, but often amused observer of the intricate hierarchy both upstairs and downstairs at Blenheim Palace, she is also a revealing witness to the glittering balls, huge weekend parties and major state occasions she attended or hosted. Here are her encounters with every important figure of the day-from Queen Victoria, Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Tsar Nicholas, Prince Metternich and the young Winston Churchill.This intimate, richly enjoyable memoir is a wonderfully revealing portrait of a golden age.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 15, 2012
    ISBN9781452680262
    The Glitter and the Gold: The American Duchess---In Her Own Words

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    Reviews for The Glitter and the Gold

    4/5

    15 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      An interesting account of the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt, one time Duchess of Marlborough. Consuelo takes us on a journey through her life, beginning with her birth into the glittering New York high society. She takes us into her forced marriage to the Duke of Marlborough, a loveless match. The Duke needed her money for Blenheim Palace, and her mother wanted to have a titled daughter. After her divorce, she finds love with Jacques Balsan. The book ends as she flees France to escape the Nazis.The book is very interesting, if somewhat one sided. Recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about personages from the Gilded Age, as well as British aristocracy.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I’ve been long fascinated with the Vanderbilts and have read (or listened) to several different books on the subject. I’ve long wanted to read Consuelo’s memoir so I was ecstatic to see it existed as an audiobook. As a memoir, a lot of the more interesting (read: juicy) moments of her life are heavily edited. Her pre-marital relationship/engagement with Winthrop Rutherford is given little time (he is referred to as Mr. X) and her later relationships while married and separated from the Duke are not even mentioned. But ultimately, this proves that Consuelo was a classy lady who did not feel compelled to air her dirty laundry. Well worth a read if you’re a fan of the Gilded Age.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Mixed emotion about this reissue of book published in 1953. It is marketed as the autobiography of a woman who lived the life portrayed in the PBS series Downton Abbey. The good is that you get an inside look into the life of a 17 year old girl who through arranged marriage is the wife of the Duke of Marlborough and the royalty, the balls and the famous people she comes into contact with over the years. On the down side she is a big name dropper and sometimes gives very little information on the people she mentions. Also, everything she does is based on inherited wealth. (Cornelius Vanderbilt's and also the Duke's) Although she does work with orphans and sick children later in life there is not a lot of that going on. She has money without guilt and uses her advantages when she needs to (Get out of France when the Nazis take over..) I read an ARC of the book that had no visual aids. I truly hope that when it is published on October there will be some photos of some of the people she writes about. However the book is interesting and worth reading especially if you want to know what it was like in the glory days of privilege.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      More glitter than gold, Consuelo leaves out most intimate details and instead fills her book with events and dinners with the glitterati including the Czar and Czarina of Russia, Queen Victoria, King George, the Prince of Wales and many others. Although these tales of dinners and balls can be interesting, they end up more of a list of social events than a look into Consuelo's life. The story becomes more heartfel when she talks about her marriage to Jacques Balsan and her happy life in France. Most exciting is her tale of their escape from Nazi occupied Paris to Spain and on to Lisbon and America.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Stopped listening halfway through. Very boring to hear a litany of balls, food served, places toured and gowns worn. Ah the narcissistic focus of the super rich. The author never develops real insight into the demands of the real world. Privilege breeds ignorance. No wonder the aristocracy went into decline after the impact of the world wars.
    • 5/5
      I loved the story, but I think the reader was a robot.