The Titled Americans: Three American Sisters and the British Aristocratic World into Which They Married FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The unforgettable story of three glamorous, intensely close sisters and the extravagance of their privileged world, The Titled Americans tells the saga of Clara, Jennie, and Leonie Jerome, who captivated Victorian and Edwardian high society when they each married titled British husbands. After arriving in New York City in 1850, their father, Leonard Jerome, settled in Brooklyn and became an immensely successful Wall Street speculator who subsequently made and lost several fortunes. In the 1860s his wife, Clarissa, took their daughters to Europe. They caused a sensation upon arrival, and wherever they went they became known as, simply, "the Good, the Witty, and the Beautiful."" Magnetic and charming, Jennie "the Beautiful" married Lord Randolph Churchill, becoming not only mother to Sir Winston, but also the most famous of the three. One of the first of such transatlantic unions linking American heiresses with members of an increasingly impecunious aristocracy, Jennie's brilliant marriage not only started a trend; it also launched her sisters into the highest circles of society. Even though he'd squandered his small fortune, the dashing Moreton Frewen won the heart of Clara "the Good," while Leonie "the Witty" married into one of the largest landholding families in Ireland, the Leslies. Waves of grave financial hardship afflicted them all, but they rescued one another always, and this is the story's heart - the lifelong, deeply supportive, laughter-filled relationship among them.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Daughters of a wealthy Wall Street speculator and his heiress wife, all three Jerome sisters-Clara, Jennie and Leonie-married titled English husbands, setting a trend for upper-crust Anglo-American liaisons at a time when Britain's landed gentry were in dire need of cash. Jennie married first, in 1873, to Lord Randolph Churchill, in spite of opposition from his father, the Duke of Marlborough. Jennie became the best known of the sisters, not only as the mother of Sir Winston Churchill, but as a formidable personality in her own right. The more vapid Clara married the dashing Moreton Frewen, whose lack of business acumen brought him the nickname "Mortal Ruin." The youngest sister, Leonie, married Jack Leslie, son of one of the largest landowning families in Ireland. But neither Clara nor Leonie rivaled the beautiful and witty Jennie, who captivated Victorian and Edwardian high society. Although Kehoe devotes equal attention to all three sisters-their marriages, affairs and lifelong solidarity as outsiders in a world they didn't always understand-Jennie's magnetic charms dominate the narrative. Kehoe's readable book, her first, perfectly captures the decadence of the sisters' privileged world in its historical context of a British Empire just past its peak, the struggle for Irish Home Rule and the impact of WWI. 16 pages of color and b&w illus. not seen by PW. (Dec.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
In her first book, both a remarkable achievement and a real treat, Kehoe, who has a doctorate in history from the University of London, tells the tale of the Jerome sisters, three Americans who married into quasi-royalty in Britain and then led the way for their wealthy countrymen and women to cross the Atlantic and "marry up." Written with elegance, this story is also a close inspection of the heyday of British privilege. The life of Jennie (who would become Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston) is well recorded but never before so engagingly presented. Clara and Leonie's less colorful but fascinating lives-plus the bond these sisters developed through long years of dutiful marriages, propriety, "good works," affairs, tragedies, and humiliations-add up to a rollicking good read. Kehoe ferrets out obscure sources and alludes to them in a wry and careful addendum (even this part of the book is amusing). American and British readers interested in genealogy and the world of social connections will enjoy this work immensely, and it is bound to become a classic among biographies. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/04.]-Gail Benjafield, St. Catharines P.L., Ont. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Bubbly biography of the three effervescent Jerome sisters, each of whom married a titled Englishman who subsequently pricked a few of the bubbles. The text begins grimly enough, at the 1894 deathbed of Lord Randolph Churchill, whose syphilis-induced madness gives wife Jennie (1854-1921) leisure to write to her sisters and thus provide first-time author Kehoe with a way to introduce Clara (1851-1935) and Leonie (1859-1943), along with some surprising data about the number of impecunious English peers who in the 19th century looked for relief across the Atlantic to fresh young faces with fresh new dollars. Jennie, Clara, and Leonie were the daughters of Wall Street speculator Leonard Jerome, who made and lost more than one fortune. As the mother of Winston Churchill, Jennie is the best known to history, but her sisters lived aristocratic lives as well, though all three had frightening brushes with bankruptcy and ostracism. Kehoe follows their individual trajectories from birth, youth, marriage (and sometimes remarriage), through extramarital affairs (sometimes serial) and motherhood to grandmotherhood, dotage, and death. The author undeniably did a lot of research. She visited archives, read the principals' correspondence, and consulted many secondary sources, including memoirs and biographies. But Kehoe rarely ventures below the surface of these women's lives-there is only the barest discussion, for example, of Jennie's venture into intellectual journalism with the Anglo-Saxon Review-focusing instead on what they wore at the wedding and whom in addition to their husbands they bedded. She makes sure to tell us what those many lovers wore too. When Kehoe wishes to employ a metaphor, sherarely reaches farther than the readiest cliche (a list of them all would be formidable). Opting consistently for romance and fashion instead of analysis and criticism, this would fit well in the Harlequin Historicals series. (16 pp. b&w and color illustrations, not seen)Agent: Toby Mundy/Atlantic Books, UK
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