American Duchess: A Novel of Consuela Vanderbilt

American Duchess could be said to capitalize on the current duchess fad (I'm thinking Lady Almina, although a certain American duchess undoubtedly also feeds the frenzy), but it reminded me more of novels such as Paris Wife or The Aviator's Wife in the way that it so thoroughly assumes the life and drama of the protagonist, Consuela Vanderbilt Marlborough Balsan.

Unfortunately, I didn't particularly care for or about Consuela. Part of this may owe to the structure of Karen Harper's American Duchess, which alternately raced through the years and slogged through the days (think: the days are long but the years are short), but also that one of the most memorable scenes in the book occurred early, when young Consuela was bemoaning her fate to her longtime governess. Her fate, I'll add here, wasn't particularly pretty. She was essentially auctioned off to the highest bidder, that is best title holder, by her scheming, conniving mother, against whom, rather inexplicably, Consuela could never fully turn. In any case, she is lamenting to Miss Harper that she wants more from life, "[her] own life to live," and Miss Harper reacts viscerally to that, asking young Consuela, "Do you think this is the life I would have chosen for myself?" That conversation stayed with me through the rest of Harper's pages and Consuela's years, and certainly tempered whatever sympathy I might have had.

That said, there can be no question that Consuela lived a rich, varied, and fascinating life. She befriended a bevy of royalty and was particularly close to Winston Churchill. Her second husband was the brother of Etienne Balsan, whom I recalled as one of Coco Chanel's lost loves, though more by her choice than his, if my memory serves me.

Consuela's life spanned the better part of a century; she was married in the Victorian era and the book concludes in the throes of World War II, some 20 years before Consuela's death. From dining with the Czar to fighting for suffrage, she left her mark on her era, and it on her - the events of the time provide as much fodder for Harper as the woman herself. And, Harper has been true to Consuela's personality and life, at least as much as one can glean from a Wikipedia article, which is always gratifying to a reader.

Four stars.