The Secret Life of the Savoy: Glamour and Intrigue at the World's Most Famous Hotel by Olivia Williams

 

Summary (from the publisher): The captivating story of the famed Savoy Hotel’s founders, told through three generations—and one hundred years—of glamour and high society.

For the gondoliers-themed birthday dinner, the hotel obligingly flooded the courtyard to conjure the Grand Canal of Venice. Dinner was served on a silk-lined floating gondola, real swans were swimming in the water, and as a final flourish, a baby elephant borrowed from London Zoo pulled a five-foot high birthday cake.

In three generations, the D'Oyly Carte family and London's Savoy Hotel pioneered the idea of the luxury hotel and the modern theater, propelled Gilbert and Sullivan to lasting stardom, made Oscar Wilde a transatlantic celebrity, inspired a P. G. Wodehouse series, and popularized early jazz, electric lights, and Art Deco.

Following the history of the iconic Savoy Hotel through three generations of the D'Oyly Carte family, The Secret Life of the Savoy brings to life the extraordinary cultural legacy of the most famous hotel in the world.

Review: This work of non-fiction tells the story of the famed Savoy Hotel of London and the D'Oyly Carte family behind it. The hotel was started by Richard D'Oyly Carte, who actually had his origins in music and then the theatre. He started the D'oyly Carte Opera Company, opened the Savoy Theatre and then later opened the Savoy Hotel next door to it, and later also owned several other luxury hotels. The Savoy Hotel pioneered the idea of the luxury hotel and was a revolving door of well-known names including actors, aristocrats, politicians, writers, and more. Richard's son Rupert took over the family businesses after his death. Rupert revitalized the opera and hotel and increased marketing activity for the family businesses. After Rupert's son Michael died in a car crash, the family businesses were taken over by his only surviving child and the last of the D'Oyly Carte family, his daughter Bridget. She faithfully managed the family businesses until her death but remained unmarried and a lonely and anxious figure.  Famous patrons of the Savoy include Oscar Wilde, the Prince of Wales, Winston Churchill, PG Wodehouse, Laurence Olivier, Judy Garland, and countless others.

This was a fascinating read! It is definitely more a family biography than strictly about the hotel. The D'oyly Carte family origins and many other interests and businesses are described, in addition to the Savoy Hotel, although the hotel does feature prominently. The family was notoriously private and tight-lipped, never granting interviews or participating in biographies on them so I commend the author for unveiling as much as was possible to about the family. The family was never large and suffered many tragic early deaths and few offspring. The final years of Bridget D'Oyly Carte, without any other family or support was lonely to read about. 

I enjoyed reading about the luxury and first-class treatment that hotel guests could expect. I was particularly impressed that they kept notes on each guest and had the rooms set up and guests served to their particular specifications. For instance, Lionel Barrymore also had a fire-resistant eiderdown placed on the bed in his room, as he liked to smoke in bed. The hotel itself has also been the scene of scandal thanks to its famous residents. Perhaps most famously, it was the scene of Oscar Wilde's gross indecency charge. This was an enjoyable history and an interesting family behind a well-known London landmark. 

Stars: 4