Moving to Mixbury and then Chacombe, Gladys could reflect on her lasting legacy at Blenheim: the creation in happier times with the Duke of the magnificent Water Terraces, two Sphinxes bearing her face, and the six giant eyes in the portico entrance. Gladys was finally evicted from Blenheim in 1933, the electricity cut off and her servants temporarily dismissed. When asked why she’d positioned a revolver beside her dinner plate, she replied: "I might just shoot Marlborough." When estate business brought him back to Oxfordshire, he chose to stay at The Bear in Woodstock rather than join his wife at the Palace. With dogs penned in the Great Hall, with their own parties and Christmas tree, a divergence of interests, and Gladys’ increasingly erratic behaviour, the Duke preferred to stay in London. Spaniels and gardening replaced children and companionship, with the Duke increasingly absent, and Gladys suffering three miscarriages. While they travelled, they were happy, but on their return to Blenheim, the relationship so long in waiting began to crumble. Writing to her mother, she expressed a wish to ‘catch him’ but felt her extreme youth was against her, though ‘mature in the arts of woman’s witchcraft.’ In England, Gladys became a friend of the Marlboroughs, and after their separation, was courted by her dreamboat for the next sixteen years, finally marrying the year after the 9th Duke’s divorce, precipitated by Consuelo’s wish to marry a French balloonist. Years before her European adventures, while still in America, Gladys had read of the marriage of the 9th Duke of Marlborough to her wealthy fellow countrywoman, Consuelo Vanderbilt. This was returned soon afterwards, on the orders of his irate father, the Kaiser. In the two years that followed, Vickers visited the reclusive Duchess 65 times, and in winning her confidence, discovered ‘the most fascinating person I have ever met in my life.’īrave, beautiful, bohemian, with a voracious appetite for knowledge and friendships with many of the most celebrated writers, painters and sculptors of the day including Monet, Rodin ("his hands were everywhere"), and Proust, Gladys captivated a colourful crowd of admirers including the Crown Prince of Prussia, who presented her with a magnificent ring. Instead of the sumptuous surrounding of Blenheim, he found her held in a secure ward of St Andrew’s Hospital in Northampton, once the Northampton County Lunatic Asylum for the Middle and Upper Classes for the admission of ‘private and pauper lunatics’. Undeterred, 22 year old Vickers set about tracking down the 94 year old Duchess.
"We don’t talk about her", Vickers was told. Window Box OUR WINDOW BOX Spilling with new favourites, old friends, and pleasures to come Temptations from the shop window, a show case for the new and outstanding, and a handful of surprises.Daily Info Menu login / register List event Place adĪccording to her biographer Hugo Vickers, American Gladys Deacon, the second wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough (1881-1977) has remained until now a part of Blenheim Palace’s history which the guides left out.We will be adding to this section gradually so do check in from time to time. Some will have been acquired on our travels, others unearthed from private libraries. Rare Books Rare books Some older gems A serendipitous selection of books that ranges from the rare and expensive to old favourites in good hardback editions.See our Remarkables Archive list for what is no longer in print, but which we are happy to track down. Due to limited print runs and rare editions, many remarkables are no longer readily available. Remarkables REMARKABLES Intriguing, stunning, or otherwise remarkable books These include fine editions, foreign publications exceptional for their interest or production, special editions and some first-rate books from very small publishers.Prices include UK postage postage to other parts of the world will be added when we confirm the details of your order. Our packages are wrapped in brown paper and tied up with coloured paper ribbons. We aim to provide choice for the giver and relish to the recipient.
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