William Morrow Paperbacks
March 2019
On Sale: February 26, 2019
Featuring: Consuelo Vanderbilt
368 pages ISBN: 0062748335 EAN: 9780062748331 Kindle: B075WSNKL5 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Before there was Meghan Markle, there was Consuelo Vanderbilt, the original American Duchess.
Karen Harper tells the tale of Consuelo Vanderbilt, her โThe Wedding of the Centuryโ to the Duke of Marlborough, and her quest to find meaning behind โthe glitter and the gold.โ
On a cold November day in 1895, a carriage approaches St Thomas Episcopal Church on New York Cityโs 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 โheir and a spare,โ 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 womenโs suffrage. And when she takes a scandalous leap, can she hope to attain love at lastโฆ?
From the dawning of the opulent Gilded Age, to the battles of the Second World War, American Duchess is a riveting tale of one womanโs quest to attain independenceโat any price.
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