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Hugo Vickers
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Gladys: Duchess of Marlborough Hardcover – January 1, 1980

by Hugo Vickers (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 892 ratings
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Hardcover book
Previous page
  1. Print length
    308 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Holt, Rinehart and Winston
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1980
  5. ISBN-10
    0030447518
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0030447518
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt, Rinehart and Winston; First Edition (January 1, 1980)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0030447518
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0030447518
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 892 ratings

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Hugo Vickers

Hugo Vickers

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
892 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jenn NYC
5.0 out of 5 stars The Sphinx
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2022
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A very in depth look at the life and times of the Dutchess, a rather eccentric American, who became more British than the British and waited 1/2 a life to become the Dutchess of Marlborough. Unhappily, but that didn't stop her! Interesting, curious and eminently readable. A bit of a train wreck that you can't look away from!
2 people found this helpful
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MrBelaker
4.0 out of 5 stars Not boring
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2023
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Gladys Deacon may have been exasperating - her need for attention - but she was also brilliant and funny. Her great flaw was in wanting to marry a cosmic idiot. If only the author's interviews with her could be printed in their entirety, along with her journals, and any letters that remain. It is clear she was head and shoulders above the most of the moronic British aristocracy, and chose her friends more carefully than her husbands.
3 people found this helpful
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Janis
3.0 out of 5 stars Totally self absorbed
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2023
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I had to quit reading. Her personality was so very selfish and self-serving I couldn't stand her. She may have been an interesting character but one can only devote so much reading time to a flake.
One person found this helpful
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JAH
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2020
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I had heard Gladys Deacon's name but truly did not realize what an impact she had on Sunny Marlborough and the Spencer-Churchills. A woman much too soon for her era, extremely intelligent but trapped in a stranglehold of the British aristocracy. Unable to flourish it is not surprising she chose solitude and anonymity after Marlborough. She was her own own best company. Hugo Vickers has done the literary world a great service. The story of Gladys Deacon may seem sad to the reader, however, she was true to her self to the end.
31 people found this helpful
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observer of the truth
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating biography
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2021
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Gladys Deacon was an icon in her lifetime and Hugo Vickers makes her into another icon after her death. Fascinating read, well researched and chock full of interesting tidbits.
One person found this helpful
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Mrs. G
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020
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I had never heard of Gladys Deacon but the photo on the book caught my attention. It was a well thought out and researched book and was an easy read. Although her status allowed her to mingle with an astoundingly interesting group of people and she was clearly an intelligent woman, it is also clear she suffered from mental issues which followed her through her long life. Had she not suffered mental problems, she would have had a more productive life. As it was, her full potential was stunted due to her inability to control her selfish tendencies.
12 people found this helpful
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Marti Hooker
5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting read.
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2020
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I'm reading the book now.Hugo Vickers does an excellent job of researching his subjects.The chapters are not overly long and quick to get through.Gladys is a subject that does not have much about her so this is all new information for me.This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Marlborough family. I will also recommend Princess Alice of Greece and his Queen Mother biographies by Hugo Vickers.
22 people found this helpful
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Elizabeth Harmer-Dionne
3.0 out of 5 stars A lot of information, too little context or analysis
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
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This is a useful piece of history, providing access to anyone (most of us) without the time or interest to delve into archival material, but it does little to explain the mystery of why Gladys was such a Sphinx-like personality.
References to Gladys Deacon in other books (particularly Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan's The Glitter and the Gold) long ago piqued my curiosity about her and her peculiar beauty and charisma. Unfortunately, this book does not provide a satisfying answer to what high society found so fascinating about her. The author clearly has impressive access to original documents and unique personal knowledge of Gladys Deacon. However, the book quickly became tedious. He includes comprehensive (even exhaustive) excerpts from various letters about Gladys's beauty and charm--and sometimes maddening eccentricity or mercurial behavior--but there was really nothing that got to the heart of Gladys herself. More historical context also would have helped. Exhaustive lists of intelligentsia with whom she came into contact didn't tell me anything about her peculiar influence on them (if any) or her connection with world events. I was very much looking forward to reading this book. Careful reading degenerated into skimming and then an ultimate decision to shelve the book. I am disappointed.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gladys Deacon
Reviewed in Canada on November 4, 2023
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Very interesting book on that time period, loved reading it.
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Philip Meers
5.0 out of 5 stars Crossing the line from eccentric to insane
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2021
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I enjoyed reading this book, even though, at times, it was like reading a visitors book. I can understand the fascination that Hugo Vichers had for Gladys Deacon. Her life certainly had the highest of highs, and lowest of lows. However, despite his fascination, he was unable to hide the basic unpleasantness of the woman.

Having looked at photographs of her, I failed to see the Greek goddess that many thought her, but her attitude towards others showed a Greek god contempt for mortals. She expected perfection from others, but was seriously flawed herself. She seems to have had the idea that the "little people" were there solely to cater for her every whim, whilst society was there to worship her.

She was selfish, arrogant and a damaged specimen of humanity. In this I do not totally condemn her as it was largely the result of her totally inadequate parents. She is, I think, an example of money being a curse. She might have been a nicer person has she lived in the real world rather the rarefied atmosphere of a socialite's life. I do not think though that she would have avoided the continual crossing of the line between eccentricity and insanity, that was in her genes.

I would certainly recommend reading this.
7 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Too much tiresome and irrelevant detail.
Reviewed in Australia on August 4, 2020
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The 1978 edition was a very good read. Fascinating and well written by a very young, unknown writer. This new version is weighed down with research scholarship, reflecting the author’s maturity and now great fame as a writer. The research into minor nobility weighs down the story, which, in itself, is a very good tale. Too much scholarship and overwhelming cascades of irrelevant detail produce boredom in the reader.
Trace up the early edition!
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Another country
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2020
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Another era - gadding about as part of “society” some ghastly “plastic surgery” that went wrong... lots to entertain for an easy escapist read.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 1, 2016
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Good informative read.
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