10. The Marriages Were Often Arranged
Consuelo Vanderbilt was distraught at being coerced by her parents into marrying the Duke of Marlborough. She said of her wedding preparations, “A footman had been posted at the door of my apartment, and not even my governess was admitted. Like an automaton, I donned the lovely lingerie with its real lace and the white silk stockings and shoes.” Of the wedding itself, “I felt cold and numb as I went down to meet my father and the bridesmaids who were waiting for me.” Both partners would have numerous affairs before divorcing ten years later.
To assist with arranging marriages between American nouveau-rich princesses and British noblemen, guidebooks that served as a “who’s who” appeared on both sides of the Atlantic so that people could take their choice. Matchmakers would cross the Atlantic to try to secure the most profitable (and hopefully at least somewhat happy) marriages between American women and British men. Some of the girls, like Jennie Jerome, were eager to marry into nobility, and the men were quite thrilled at the windfall that came with their huge dowries. However, plenty of them, like Consuelo, were forced by their parents into marriages that were miserable, unhappy and lonely.
