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American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt
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Published:
HarperCollins 2019
Status:
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Description

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.

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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
02/26/2019
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780062748348
ASIN:
B075WSNKL5
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Karen Harper. (2019). American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Karen Harper. 2019. American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Karen Harper, American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt. HarperCollins, 2019.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Karen Harper. American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt. HarperCollins, 2019.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Date Added:
Feb 22, 2019 09:43:17
Date Updated:
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        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.

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fullDescription

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.

reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Gill Paul, bestselling author of The Secret Wife
      • content:

        "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

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        January 1, 2019
        Consuelo Vanderbilt is no stranger to the public eye. The press covers her prominent family's every business acquisition, philanthropic endeavor, and high-profile social appearance, always with an ear to the ground for more salacious stories. Consuelo's notoriously social-climbing mother finds her greatest triumph in engineering Consuelo's engagement to the duke of Marlborough. Consuelo must leave the glitz and glamour of New York behind and begin anew at Blenheim, the duke's British estate. In this marriage founded on not love but sociopolitical advancement, Consuelo discovers a slew of other unexpected compromises. Harper's (The It Girls, 2017) latest immerses readers in British high society, with intrigue and gossip around every corner. Sure to please historical fiction fans and those who enjoy Harper's previous novels or the works of Kristin Hannah, Kathleen Tessaro, and Lucinda Riley, this tender, well-researched novel lets readers see the economic, social, and political highlights of the nineteenth-century Gilded Age brought to life through Consuelo Vanderbilt's eyes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        December 1, 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

        Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        December 1, 2018

        Pummeled into marrying the chilly Duke of Marlborough by her ambitious mother, Consuelo Vanderbilt is red-eyed at "the Wedding of the Century." Yet even as her duties at Blenheim wear and her marriage bottoms out, she charms everyone she meets, fights for women's suffrage, and eventually entertains scandal. From New York Times best-selling author Harper; with a 75,000-copy paperback and 25,000-copy hardcover first printing.

        Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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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...

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