The Glitter and the Gold
The American Duchess---in Her Own Words
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3.8 • 75 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A new edition of Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan's memoir—the story of the "real" Lady Grantham of Downton Abbey
Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful, and heir to a vast fortune. She was also in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to marry an English Duke. She sailed to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home—Blenheim Palace. She was the real American heiress who lived long before Downton Abbey's Lady Grantham arrived.
Mme. Balsan is an unsnobbish and amused observer of the intricate hierarchy both upstairs and downstairs and a revealing witness to the glittering balls, huge weekend parties, and major state occasions she attended or hosted chronicling her encounters with every important figure of the day—from Queen Victoria, Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Tsar Nicholas and the young Winston Churchill.
The Glitter and the Gold is a richly enjoyable memoir is a revealing portrait of a golden age now being celebrated every week behind the doors of Downton Abbey.
Customer Reviews
Ok.
The story is somewhat interesting, with a lot of name dropping of people who were famous at that time. A good editor would have greatly improved the flow of the book.
Amazing
I’d read anything she wrote. So wonderfully written and full of fantastic details. Just lovely.
Boring & Tedious
This book started out with promise but as I got further into it, it became boring, tedious and the author boorish. I don’t know what it is about the Vanderbilts but they all read like tomes to the individual’s greatness. This book is no different, it got to the point of being down right annoying wherein I skipped whole chapters knowing I could pick up any where in it because it would be the same me, me, me and I, I, I ending with the proverbial “aren’t I amazing!” attitude. Seriously save yourself the time and trouble of annoyance with the author’s vanity and boredom at the intricate nonsensical details … does anyone really care what Consuelo’s picture frames were made of and how they were arranged? In the beginning pages the author states she has procrastinated writing her autobiography but has done so at the insistence of family, she should have continued to decline to do so . If you want to read a good book on the Vanderbilts read Anderson Coopers book that one is insightful and objectively written, Consuelo’s not at all.