---
product_id: 18219291
title: "Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age"
brand: "amanda mackenzie stuart"
price: "R638"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/18219291-consuelo-and-alva-vanderbilt-the-story-of-a-daughter-mother
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

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

**Brand:** amanda mackenzie stuart
**Price:** R638
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age by amanda mackenzie stuart
- **How much does it cost?** R638 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/18219291-consuelo-and-alva-vanderbilt-the-story-of-a-daughter-mother)

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## Description

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

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Marvelous subjects, excellent research
  

*by H***Y on Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2006*

I'll admit to a certain partiality towards the history of the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, subsequently the first wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough.Growing up on Long Island as I did, where her parents had their original summer estate, the story of Consuelo's marriage to the Duke was well-known. Some referred to her bethrothal as a sale, a fabulously wealthy American girl traded off to be the bride of a titled Englishman who was close to destitute.On a personal basis, my family was among the founders of the incorporated country club which, decades later, bought Consuelo's own Long Island estate; I married my first husband in Consuelo's beautiful English-style garden. Therefore, while I feel no sense of commonality with her, I do feel a connection.Having said this, it will be no surprise that I have read most of the biographies and autobiographies of Consuelo and her mother, Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont. From this vantage point, author Amanda Mackenzie Stuart has done an excellent job in her book, CONSUELO AND ALVA VANDERBILT: THE STORY OF A DAUGHTER AND A MOTHER IN THE GILDED AGE. Not even Consuelo's own autobiography gave as clear a sense of her humanity as Stuart does here; similarly, none of the books about Alva and her dedication to the women's suffrage movement gives as good a picture of that lady herself.Without question, these were two extraordinary women, sharing at least three stories. In fact, three stories may have been one story too many for easy integration into a combined biography that is manageable in scope.The prose used by the author, while adequate, never crosses that important line to engaging. While the subject always is interesting, the book sometimes fails to be.There are a number of niggardly flaws, admittedly minor at best, yet the quantity of these flaws, in such a serious work, disrupt the flow of the history.  And I cannot understand why the foreign phrases with which the book is peppered never are translated. Surely not every reader of an English-language publication can be presumed to talk French.Alva was a complex woman; by modern standards, probably one who was disturbed. In the simpler times when she ruled society, money easily smoothed over one's glaring peculiarities.After the death of her second husband, she lost herself in the suffrage movement. That the cause was important and worthwhile, there is no doubt. This importance does not explain Alva's allegiance to it, however, which almost bordered fanaticism. Nor does this explain her self-centered vision of a movement that, ultimately, impacted the rights of women across the globe.Her daughter seems to have been a kinder, more generous, personality, just plain nicer all around.  Consuelo obviously had the greater capacity to love and be loved. Blessed with a very long life, she had close and loving relationships with friends, servants and, most importantly, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.The part of the book about the suffrage movement does not sustain the pacing of the biographical sections, even though the juxtapositioning of the gilded age with the disenfranchised lower classes does provide food for thought.Overall, this remains a work of the highest level of scholarship.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Money Can Not Buy Happiness
  

*by P***N on Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2013*

Alva Vanderbilt was swimming in money via her Husband, the long suffereing William Kissam Vanderbilt, Often referred to as "Willy K"  Consuelo suffered a great deal of emotional abuse from her controlling mother, Alva.  When Consuelo fell in love with a local boy, who didn't have wealth or connections, Alva forbid her to see the boy again.  Every quickly Alva arranged the marriage of her daugher to cash poor Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough who was, at that time, the Master ofIn her autobiographyBlenheim Palace  , It was t hrough the Vanderbilt fortune that the Palace was returned to it's orginal splendor. Her husband was referred to as "Sunny," though he was anything but "Sunny" towards his wife, whom he did not love and certainly did not care for.  Eventually he requested an annulment, which Consuelo agreed to.  Alva testified in court that she forced her daughter into the loveless marriage.  By this time mother and daughter were on much better terms.  Through this marriage she became  Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough.  Consuelo Vanderbilt later described how she was required to wear a steel rod, which ran down her spine and fastened around her waist and over her shoulders, to improve her posture. She was educated entirely at home by governesses and tutors and learned foreign languages at an early age. Her mother was a strict disciplinarian and whipped her with a riding crop for minor infractions. When, as a teenager, Consuelo objected to the clothing her mother had selected for her, Alva Vanderbilt told her that "I do the thinking, you do as you are told.  Alva at one time owned nine mansions which she had a great deal to do with the design of each home.  Alva  was one of the first female members of the American Institute of Architects. Aside from designing her own mansions she was contracted to design many more.  Alva became very active in the Woman's Right To Vote" campaign.  Both mother and daughter eventually enjoyed happy second marriages.  Alva is the author of two very amusing quotes:"Just pray to God. She will help you.""First marry for money, then marry for love."

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Vanderbilt love
  

*by A***J on Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2022*

I love reading about this time in history and all things Vanderbilt! Great book, I felt sorry for Consuelo though!

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-03-16*