| La Bella Consuelo Yznaga |
| A Biography |
| Consuelo Yznaga's life has been a mystery to many because so few people knew about her life as a bohemian Southern Belle who became an English duchess at the turn of the century. She had been immortalized by American writer Edith Wharton as Conchita Closson, a very exotic young woman of Brazilian origin. She also received props from Canadian writer Marina Fowler, who did an extensive biography on her in her 1994 book, "A Gilded Cage." It's about time to give Consuelo her due. This biography is about this remarkable lady from Louisiana who met a handsome English duke in New York and eventually married him. Her life with him in England is not a fairy tale but she made a most out of it, for she became a famous society host in her own right. |
| Miss Maria Consuelo Yznaga del Valle was born in the plantation of Ravenswood, Louisiana in the year 1858, three years before the war between the states. She's the third child of Antonio and Ellen Yznaga. Her father immigrated from Cuba and have connections to several Spanish aristocratic houses,his mother having been born a del Valle. Her mother hailed from New York. Her mother came from an old New England family. Antonio and Ellen had four children. They made Ravenswood and New York City their homes. For all their connections, New York society refused to accept them as their own. Ellen had been denied invitations to society events and that made her a little mad and eventually drove her and her family to Paris, where they were well received. It was there Consuelo was introduced to Empress Eugenie de Montijo. Eugenie, like Consuelo, was half Spanish, half American and very beautiful. Eugenie presided over a brilliant court in Paris. Having been wronged by her unfaithful husband, she sought solace in friends, clothing, and decoration. Consuelo and Eugenie became lifelong friends. It wasn't going to last long, for a war was to put an end to such fun and Consuelo and her family returned to the states in 1870. The Yznaga family retreated at the plantation of Ravenswood. Ravenswood is not an elaborate plantion house you may see down south. It's an unpretentious two-story wooden house along the banks of the Mississippi. But her memories in Paris still stayed on her mind for years to come. Around 1873, Miss Consuelo had made a scene at a ball held in a nearby town of Natchez. The Yznagas have made a point of taking their lovely daughters to a ball. They wanted to improved their social standing among the affluent citizens of Natchez. What had happened was that Consuela wanted to dress as she pleased, the women of the town didn't like what she wore and that the men at the ball were embarrased to be seen with her. One of the male escorts tied a blue ribbon over her dress so that she could be presentable. Several years later, the Yznagas traveled to Saratoga, New York to introduce their daughters to society as well as getting husbands for them. It was there Consuelo met a dashing, but impoverished duke from England. His name was George Victor Drogo Montagu, the future duke of Manchester. They were married in a lavish ceremony at Grace Church in New York City in 1876. Although the wedding made front page news at the New York Times, she and her family were dismissed as "nobodies" by the NYT editorial. She received no dowry for the wedding from her father. The wedding has taken New York society by surprise. Back then New York society was governed by the Knickerbockers, old families of Dutch and British stock who led quiet, orderly lives and eschew showiness of material wealth. They most certainly frown upon lavish wedding ceremonies such as those of Consuelo and the future duke. On the other side of the ocean, the future duke's family wasn't thrilled about the match between him and Consuelo. He didn't think his daughter-in-law was good enough for his eldest son and heir. For one thing, he didn't receive a dowry from her family, for her family thought he would take care of her and that her father couldn't afford to siphon off his wealth at the time, although he gave his oldest daughter $50,000 dowry upon marrying Lord Lister-Kaye in 1882. He wondered whether his son had married a red Indian woman, for her behavior didn't conform to the ideal of a proper young English lady for she sang country songs to the tune of the banjo, smoke cigars, behaving in a casual way as she would back home in Mississipi of her youth. He also wondered whether she was truly wealthy for she didn't bring any dowry to the marriage. Their marriage started off as being very loving until her husband resume his womanizing ways. He prefer lower class women for they remind him of the various maids and nannies that worked at his family estate growing up. He especially visited bordellos and spent what little money his long-suffering wife had at the time of her marriage. Consuelo died in 1909 and is buried in Kimbolton along with her husband and children. |