The Uncrowned Queen-Life of Lola Montez.
Ross, Ishbel.
Place Published: NewYork:
Publisher: Harper & Row,
Date Published: 1972.
Description: The dust jacket reads: This entertaining and sympathetic biography presents a daring and enigmatic woman. Of striking beauty, fiery temperament and boundless ambition, Lola Montez defied the conventions of the mid-nineteenth century with her theatrical triumphs and disasters, political involvements and passionate affairs. The last of the great courtesans, she made her celebrated predecessors seem staid, by virtue of her extraordinary independence and the scope of her adventures. Born in Ireland, with an unhappy childhood in India followed by rebellious years with relatives in Scotland, and after an unsuccessful early marriage, Lola Montez adopted the name and identity of a Spanish '- dancer and embarked upon her unconventional career and her wide-ranging travels. In London her acquaintances included Palmerston, Brougham and Disraeli. In Russia she captivated the Imperial family in spite of the acknowledged mediocrity of her stage performances. In Paris she was known as the mistress of Alexandre Dumas and Franz Liszt. She was introduced into the circle of George Sand, and her own salon became a focal point for literary and theatrical figures. In Bavaria the baffling and artistically sensitive King Ludwig I built her a palace and named her Countess of Landsberg. Her unprecedented influence at court earned her the sobriquet, "The Uncrowned Queen," which she was forced to relinquish prematurely: the King's infatuation contributed to the Munich student uprisings of 1848, leading in turn to Lola's expulsion from the kingdom and the King's abdication. Perhaps most interesting and also most touching were Lola's years in the United States: her well-publicized grand tour of the country as actress -dancer; her gaudy appearance in the frontier city of San Francisco; and her tranquil interlude in the little mining town of Grass Valley, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. As I her career disintegrated she began to dabble in the occult, and finally sought refuge in a desperate, puritanical religiosity, effacing herself in "good works" and giving lectures on her past life as a sinner. She died, almost penniless, in New York at the age of forty-three. The Uncrowned Queen portrays with skill and compassion a life of wild extremes-the fascinating story of a mysterious and captivating woman. The book has 349 pages including notes, bibliography and the index. There are 12 pages of black and white photographs. The book and jacket is in NEAR FINE condition. JMVINTAGE specializes in books, magazines, and treasures related to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor...FAMOUS COURTESANS and other curious people.
Edition: First editionBinding: Hard Cover
Condition: Near Fine in Near Fine dj
ISBN: 060136626
Book Id: 830
Price: $38.50
