The Glitter and the Gold
I thoroughly enjoyed this book that a friend lent to me. This is the autobiography of Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, American heiress and Duchess of Marlborough. Peaked by my interest in Edwardian times, I was eager to hear the personal account of someone who lived in the period. The social history was, of course, very interesting, and I took a measure of pride in how an American could hold her own among the stately women of Europe, but what I was most impressed with was the generous and charitable spirit of the authress. Born to wealth and privilege, she had a gilded but not empty headed upbringing. To her parents' credit, she was well educated and taught to value wisdom over beauty. She had a keen sense of responsibility and lived within the confines of her life, for her wealth certainly did not mean freedom. At age 19 she was forced into marriage with the ninth Duke of Marlborough, by her mother, who later apologized for pursuing the union, as she only thought it would be
