Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age

Summary (from the publisher): When Consuelo Vanderbilt's grandfather died, he was the richest man in America. Her father soon started to spend the family fortune, enthusiastically supported by Consuelo's mother, Alva, who was determined to take the family to the top of New York society—forcing a heartbroken Consuelo into a marriage she did not want with the underfunded Duke of Marlborough. But the story of Consuelo and Alva is more than a tale of enterprising social ambition, Gilded Age glamour, and the emptiness of wealth. It is a fascinating account of two extraordinary women who struggled to break free from the world into which they were born—a world of materialistic concerns and shallow elitism in which females were voiceless and powerless—and of their lifelong dedication to noble and dangerous causes and the battle for women's rights.

 

Review: This dual biography focuses on the lives of Alva and Consuelo Vanderbilt, a mother and daughter famous for their wealth, ties to British royalty, and work for the women's suffrage movement. The Vanderbilt family amassed a fortune in the transportation industry, beginning with the first regular Staten Island ferry service to Manhattan and eventually progressing to steamship technology and later railroads. The Commodore, the founding father who amassed this wealth, produced a large family but left the bulk of his wealth to son William Henry. William Henry also had a large family, producing nine children, including the famous building Vanderbilts: "Cornelius II of the Breakers, Newport; Frederick of the Hyde Park mansion, New York; and George, who created the Biltomore Estate in North Carolina" (18) - and a fourth son, William Kissam Vanderbilt, Alva's first husband and Conseulo's father. When the Commodore died, he left $100 million, approximately $13.9 billion today, making him the wealthiest man in America.

 

Alva Smith was born to a well off, slaveholding family in 1853 in Mobile, Alabama that relocated to New York shortly before the Civil War. As a teenager, Alva's family moved to Paris, where she fell in love with all things French and particularly with its architecture, an influence that would have a great influence on the multiple houses she later built in America. After the war, the family returned to the United States, but found themselves in reduced circumstances that were made worse when Alva's mother died. Alva become determined to save the family, and managed to snare the wealthy Willie K. Vanderbilt.

 

By all accounts, Alva was a difficult person to know. Her daughter Consuelo described her mother, saying, "Her combative nature rejoiced in conquests." "A born dictator, [Alva] dominated events about her as thoroughly as she eventually dominated her husband and her children" (22). Thus her oldest child and only daughter, Consuelo, had a rigid childhood with little freedom or independence, despite living in mansions and being surrounded by immense opulence. Consuelo was educated at home, which under Alva's rule, meant that she was perhaps one of the best educated young ladies in America. She was fluent in three languages - French, German, and English - by the age of eight, and was made to recite long poems for her parents every Saturday. Instruction was given by tutors and governesses under Alva's watchful eye. Consuelo was also forced to wear an instrument designed to improve her posture for hours on end: "A horrible instrument was devised which I had to wear when doing my lessons. It was a steel rod which ran down my spine and was strapped at my waist and over my shoulders - another strap went around my forehead to the rod. I had to hold my book high when reading, and it was almost impossible to write in so uncomfortable a position" (69).

 

As in all matter's of her daughter's life, Alva orchestrated her daughter's marriage to the Duke of Marlborough for the prestige the aristocratic ties would provide (at the time Alva was divorcing Willie K. Vanderbilt and was particularly in need of a social image boost). Although it was clear that the Duke was merely after Consuelo's money and that Consuelo herself was in love with another man, the marriage proceeded with great public acclaim. Throughout her life, Alva used the press to her advantage, this time giving the scoop even on Consuelo's bridal lingerie to Vogue, allowing Vogue to sketch the undergarments by in-house illustrators for publication.

 

Although Consuelo was well liked in British society and successfully did her duty by producing an 'heir and a spare,' it was not a happy marriage, mostly because of her husband's sour temperament. The couple separated and eventually divorced, although Consuelo remained close to his family, including his first cousin Winston Churchill, who continued to visit Consuelo well into their final years.

 

Both Alva and Consuelo, once freed from their first husbands, had much happier second marriages and seemingly remained close until Alva's death. Both were active in the women's suffrage movement, particularly Alva, who was aggressive and vocal in pursuit of the women's vote in the United States. However, Consuelo, thanks to her much kinder and gentler disposition, had the much better reputation and a great many more admirers and friends at the end of her life.

 

I enjoyed this dual biography of an American mother and daughter who lived extremely privileged lives, but yet were so restricted by the social rules of their day. A great portion of this novel dealt with their involvement in the fight for women's rights, where I would have liked to have seen more about their homes and personal lives. At times this biography did feel distanced from the two ladies themselves; I would have liked more personal quotes from correspondence or other writings to give it a more personal feel, although these ladies lived their lives in the public eye, so were thus circumspect about what intimate details they shared. A fascinating look at a bygone era, with many topics that could still be explored, including their immense influence on society, art, and architecture. In particular, I would love more details on the many homes they designed and built, Consuelo's two brothers, and Consuelo's children.

 

Stars: 4