When most people think of the Englishman’s lifestyle, the image that usually springs to mind is of a well-bred male with tweed jacket, pipe, and book. We may think of Evelyn Waugh, whose novels give us an insight into the upper classes of Edwardian England, or of Winston Churchill, who kept a garland of flowers on his grave to mark his devotion to the fairer sex.
But there was also a fascinating and vibrant group of women who made their mark on literature, politics, and society during the heyday of the English gentleman. One of the best-known members of this group is Charlie Pattinson, the beautiful Duchess of Northumberland. Born in 1864, she spent most of her life in the shadow of her glamorous older sister, Alix, Duchess of Brunswick. After graduating from Oxford University in 1889, she married the 5th Duke of Northumberland in 1893. Four years later, her brother-in-law died, leaving her as the Duchess of Northumberland, a title she would hold until her death in 1928. It was a life that would define her, and a life that she herself chronicled in her 1924 autobiography, A Life Worth Living.
As well as being a writer, a duchess, and a great-grandmother, she was also a significant political figure. Trained as a lawyer, she was instrumental in founding the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League, dedicated to preventing women from being granted the vote. She was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1906 and from 1910 to 1917. In 1912, she was the first woman to occupy Bristol Castle in person, after it was occupied by armed forces in support of the government during the First World War. In 1921, she was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), an honour rarely bestowed upon women at that time.
She wrote frequently for newspapers and magazines, including the Woman’s Weekly, the Pall Mall Gazette, and the Daily Mail. In 1933 alone, she wrote more than fifty articles for British newspapers. She was also an enthusiastic gardener and filled her beautiful Scottish gardens at Elvanley with orchids, rhododendrons, and magnolias. She once said that she enjoyed nothing more than “strolling through my garden, picking flowers, and sticking them in jam jars.”
A Life Worth Living
A Life Worth Living is an entertaining and occasionally mirth-filled memoir of a fascinating yet scandalous life. The book opens with a quote from Samuel Johnson about the value of proper biographies: “A good biography will not only give you information, but will also illuminate the character of the person.”
The author, Charlie Pattinson, immediately follows with an account of how she intends to live her life. “I should like to fill my garden with things that are pretty,” she says. “I should like to walk through it, picking flowers – in other words, to live as I please. I should like to be useful, to be trusted, to be happy.”
The Duchess of Northumberland sets out to achieve these aims. While not devoid of scandal, her life was characterised by adventurous travels, high-profile romances, and a passionate interest in politics and society. The book is full of intriguing details concerning her life and loves. Here are just a few of them.
The Wild Years
The first part of the book deals with her early years. She was born into a very wealthy family, and both her parents were committed socialites. She spent her early years traveling around Europe with her family and attended the best schools in England, France, and Germany. Although her family’s money came from shipping and steelworks, the Duchess did not receive a conventional upbringing. She had a happy, carefree childhood, playing games with her siblings and going on vacations with her parents. For much of this time, she wore plain dresses and lived a rather sheltered life.
Then, at the age of fifteen, she was sent to Europe’s most famous finishing school, the Convent of Demeter in Dresden. Here she was taught proper etiquette, ballroom dancing, and riding – activities that formed the basis of her later life. She also made lifelong friends, among them Katharine Hepburn and her sister, Alix. She became close to Katharine’s family and was especially moved by the beauty and charm of Katharine’s mother, Pauline. The Duchess fell for Katharine’s brother, Spencer, but he did not return her affections. Instead, he was engaged to be married to a Viennese heiress. In the end, Spencer and the heiress broke it off and he married Katharine instead. The Duchess was thirty years old and had to learn to adjust to her new way of life. She took solace in her family’s wealth and power, and devoted herself to making the most of her connections and earning more money.
The Rise To The Top
The second part of the book deals with the Duchess’ early rise to the top. She had a brilliant mind, unusual business savvy, and a passion for making connections. Through her family’s wealth, she was able to live an extravagant lifestyle. She kept a court of twenty-eight servants and a yacht, the Castiglione, to take her on romantic getaways with friends. Often these friends would include men that the Duchess considered to be a formidably attractive, yet untrustworthy lot. The latter included British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George; French Premier, Jean Pierre Tonnerre; and, to her chagrin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
One of these friendships changed the course of English history. In 1896, the Duchess entertained Kaiser Wilhelm at Elvanley, her family’s estate in England. She later wrote, “I went to Germany with the faint hope of converting him to become a Christian Monarchist.” To her dismay, the Kaiser turned out to be a fervent feminist, and their relationship turned into something more business-like. The Kaiser bought her a string of pearls, which were a present from Queen Victoria. They also struck a deal, whereby the German government would invest heavily in infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom in return for a shipping contract. The “twenty-eight servants” that the Duchess kept at Elvanley included a butler, a housekeeper, a cook, a chauffeur, a footman, a gardeners, a coachman, a laundry maid, and a cleaning lady. Despite the success of her business deals, the Duchess was not prepared to rest on her laurels. She was driven to further success and spent the following years pursuing it. In particular, she became interested in national insurance and founded the British Industries Association to promote mutual aid and support between businesses.
The Grand Tour
The third part of the book deals with the Duchess’ so-called “grand tour”, an expedition around the world that lasted for ten months and began in January 1907. She travelled to South Africa, where she attended royal graduations and celebrated her ninetieth birthday. She then went to India, where she visited religious sites and palaces. Having been denied travel to many parts of the world due to quarantine restrictions, she was over the moon to be able to finally set foot in many places that she had never been to before. It was during this time that she contracted pneumonia, which nearly took her life. Although she made a full recovery, the experience left her weak and with a permanent hole in her lungs. This forced her to walk with a stick for the rest of her life.
The next stop on her voyage was Australia, where she had to renew her passport. As noted, she had been previously denied entry due to quarantine restrictions. In Sydney, she was greeted by a huge crowd and had to adjust to a new way of life. She spent a lot of time there watching the kangaroos and attending balls and polka concerts. On one of her excursions to the nearby Blue Mountains, she found the perfect stone to mark the spot where she had spent the summer of 1908. She returned to England in January 1909 and spent the next six months recuperating at Elvanley. Finally, she set out for New York, where she attended the Panama–Pacific International Exposition and hobnobbed with the city’s high society. In January 1914, she took the final leg of the journey back home. The “twenty-eight servants” that the Duchess kept on her grand tour were a butler, a housekeeper, a cook, a baker, a chauffeur, and a gardener.