Frances Wynn and the Countess of Harleigh mysteries were inspired in part by the real American heiresses who, between the mid-1870s and around 1910, contracted over 400 transatlantic marriages with British peers. It seemed fitting to introduce some of those heiresses in a series of blog posts and I’d like to start with one of my favorites, Consuelo Yznaga.
Consuelo was the daughter of a wealthy Cuban merchant, and a planter’s daughter who brought their f
amily from Louisiana to New York after the civil war. During a visit to Saratoga Springs in 1875, Consuelo met 23-year-old George Victor Drogo Montague, Lord Mandeville, son and heir of the Duke of Manchester. He had a less than sterling reputation, but he was a friend of the Prince of Wales and he would one day be a duke. He was also unwell, suffering from a lingering fever, possibly a bought of typhoid. Consuelo’s mother invited him to recuperate at their family home, nursed by Consuelo. Once he recovered, and her father offered a dowry of £200,000, they were engaged.
This was only the second marriage of an American girl to a British peer. The New York newspapers crowed and the Yznagas ignored any rumors they may have heard about the groom’s unsavory reputation.
Caricature by Spy, Vanity Fair
After the wedding, the couple returned to England. With her beauty, wit, and vivacious nature, Consuelo took London by storm. Though her high spirits, cigar smoking, and banjo playing shocked some of the more proper members of society, she was a favorite of the fashionable set and the Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, her charms did not help her marriage. Mandeville had earned his reputation. He spent his wife’s dowry on his mistress and gambling, racking up large debts. The Duke sent them to Ireland in the hope of curbing his son’s spendthrift ways. They also spent some time with Consuelo’s old friend, Alva Vanderbilt, but nothing could keep their debt from mounting.
By 1890, when Mandeville inherited the Dukedom, the couple rarely even saw one another. Consuelo was still a favorite in society an used her connections to sponsor other American heiresses, even after her husband died two years later. Sadly, the 9th Duke of Manchester was no better with finances than his father and had to seek his own heiress.
If you’re interested in learning more about Consuelo, you might enjoy the following books:
In a Gilded Cage: From Heiress to Duchess by Marion Fowler
The Husband Hunters by Anne de Courcy
And of course, the character of Conchita Closson in Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers was based on Consuelo.
attend every event. This is also a chance to meet in person people you’ve only interacted with online, meet authors you admire, or meet new friends. We’re all there to celebrate our shared love of books after all. And because both authors and readers aren’t often extroverts, there’s time to break away now and then to explore the host city. Left Coast Crime is in a new city every year. Next year, San Diego!
anticipate speaking in front of a crowd, but I managed to get through the New Author Breakfast without blathering and the Lefty Debut Nominee panel with Tracy Clark, A.J. Devlin, Keenan Powell, and J.G. Toews was so much fun! I’m thrilled to say my novel, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, won the Lefty for best debut mystery. I was so overwhelmed when I went up onstage to accept, I had no time to be nervous. I also have no idea what I said!
I don’t believe them.
our shelf on Goodreads. Then let me know in a comment here, or on my 
With the launch of my debut novel, 2018 was an incredible year for me. Publishing a book comes with the privilege of writing acknowledgements; thanking those people who helped see the book through to fruition. But I wrote them so early in the process, I had no idea how many people would be there to help with promotions, marketing, support, advice, and kind words though the launch and beyond. So, this is an addendum to my acknowledgements for A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder.
s story.
ckground on Carol Potenza, where you can connect with her on social media, and where you can purchase Hearts of the Missing.
of becoming a painter, her choices mold her in ways she could never have foreseen. A woman who doesn’t belong in 19th century America, finds herself as she—and our country—move into the 20th.
ool drills for tornadoes and nuclear war were the same: hide beneath your desk and kiss your rear-end goodbye. Now a retired family-practice physician whose only child has fledged the nest, her pioneer ancestors and world travels fuel her imagination. She’d originally planned to write romances, but either as a consequence of a series of failed relationships or a genetic distrust of happily ever-after, her heroines are strong women who battle tough environments and intersect with men who might—or might not—love them.
l he stopped in at the Pen after the release of his fourth book. He’s now one of my favorite authors.