Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia

Summary (from the publisher): The beautiful Langhorne sisters lived at the pinnacle of society from the end of the Civil War through the Second World War. Born in Virginia to a family impoverished by the Civil War, Lizzie, Irene, Nancy, Phyllis, and Nora eventually made their way across two continents, leaving rich husbands, fame, adoration, and scandal in their wake. 

 At the center of the story is Nancy, who married Waldorf Astor, one of the richest men in the world. Heroic, hilarious, magnetically charming, and a bully, Nancy became Britain's first female MP. The beautiful Irene married Charles Dana Gibson and was the model for the Gibson Girl. Phyllis, the author's grandmother, married a famous economist, one of the architects of modern Europe. Author James Fox draws on the sisters' unpublished correspondence to construct an intimate and sweeping account of five extraordinary women at the highest reaches of society.

 

Review: Written by a grandson of one of the sisters, this book covers the lives of the beautiful and infamous Langhorne sisters. Born into a Virginia family impoverished by the Civil War, the sisters rose to prominence and fame in both the United States and Europe due to their beauty, strong-willed personalities, and marriages to wealthy men. Although originally propelled to fame by the second oldest daughter, Irene, who married Charles Dana Gibson and became a model for the Gibson Girl, this novel primarily focuses on the two middle daughters, Nancy and Phyllis. Nancy married Waldorf Astor, one of the richest men in the world and went on to become Britain's first female member of Parliament. Phyllis married a famous economist. This novel draws heavily on the unpublished letters written by the sisters, as well as the author's insider view as a member of the Langhorne family.

 

When Nancy and Phyllis were children, the whole family and some destitute relatives all lived in a cramped four room house in Danville, Virginia. Their mother, Nanaire, gave birth to eleven children, three of which died in infancy. The oldest daughter, Lizzie, helped raise the remaining children and did so severely and bitterly. Later, after their father made a fortune in the railroad, the family relocated to a more palatial home outside Charlottesville known as Mirador. The Langhornes seem to have invented themselves through the "collective mystique of sisterhood" (24). No one could be as close to the Langhornes as they were to themselves and yet each had their own identity: "Lizzie, the strict pioneer figure, of stern elegance and Puritan disapproval; Irene, passive and golden, the image of what men expected from women of that era - unintellectual, chaste but flirtatious, stately and amusing - was the eternal Belle and the most ready victim of her sisters' wit. Nora, the youngest, was the eternal child. Dreamy, disorganized and unschooled, she was talented. [...] Nancy, the most flamboyant of them all, represented power." [...] and Phyllis "radiated some mixture of love and goodness along with the connecting Langhorne gaiety" (25-26).

 

In both temperament and finances, Nancy ruled the family. Nancy's second husband was Waldorf Astor, who was son of the "richest man in America" (86). His fortune was estimated to be "$25 million, calculated as one-fifteenth of all personal wealth in America" (86). From their grand estate of Cliveden in England run by one hundred employees, Nancy helped support numerous members of her extended family and used money to prompt a response from her sisters. Nancy was strikingly close to her sister Phyllis; "she insisted that she and Phyllis were indivisible, their lives interchangeable, and that their love excluded all others" (100). Indeed, it was this jealousy and demand for affection that caused both Nancy and Phyllis to torment their children if they expressed love or affection for others and to often treat any significant other either of their sisters or children cruelly. As she aged, "Nancy drove her children farther away, blaming and criticizing, ordering and cajoling" (458).  Throughout her life, Nancy's personality and behavior caused people to both love and hate her; she was "equipped with all the comedian's attributes: fearlessness, lack of caution, comic timing, deadly mimicry" (300). While sparking conversation and scaring boredom away, it was often exhausting to be the victim of her attacks.

 

The title of this novel is a bit of a misnomer since Lizzie, Irene, and Nora are more peripheral characters. Irene, in particularly, is largely glossed over, despite the fact that it was her celebrated status as the last Southern belle (she was reported to have had 62 marriage proposals before she finally accepted Charles Dana Gibson) that brought attention to the whole family. The three Langhorne brothers - Keene, Harry, and Buck - are barely mentioned. Aside from Nancy and Phyllis, the next most prominent figures in this history are the sons born of Nancy and Phyllis's first marriages, Bobbie, Peter, and Winkie, who were largely eclipsed by their mothers' more prominent second marriages and growing second brood of children. All three sons were tragic figures with complicated relationships with their mothers. The other children of the sisters are mentioned, but never in depth. Even the author's mother, Dinah, the daughter of Phyllis, is only referenced in passing.

 

Additionally, I was disappointed that this book didn't spend more time on the family's origins and early years in Danville. In fact, their childhood is largely bypassed in this novel, which really opens with Irene's years as a debutante. Although the book cannot possibly cover every family member in immense detail, it would have increased my understanding to learn more about the family's origins and the girls' formative years.

 

This was a rare example of a re-read for me, but as it has been ten years since I've read this book, it largely felt as if I was reading it for the first time. The Langhornes, much like the celebrated Mitfords, had their own distinct family culture and brand of personality. Familiar characters, such as the Astors and F. Scott Fitzgerald appear within these pages. Additionally, it was interesting to see Nancy's lady maid, Rose, in another light, having previously read her memoir Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor.

 

Stars: 4