Pete’s Pick
November 2022
The American Adventuress
C.W. Gortner
HarperCollins Publishers
September 20, 2022
Introduction
This book is an historical novel which covers the years 1866 – 1921, from the time Jennie Jerome was 12 years old until she died. Jennie Jerome married Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill and they became the parents of Sir Winston Churchill. This novel covers the life of Jennie Jerome and those who were included in her life’s adventures.
Author
C. W. Gortner is an American author of historical novels. He has been named as one of the top ten historical writers by the Washington Independent Review of Books and has delivered keynote addresses at the Historical Novel Society Coferences in the United States and the United Kingdom. His book Mademoiselle Chanel was a USA-Today bestseller and an American Booksellers Association bestseller. Before becoming a full-time author, he was a fashion executive.
Story
This story follows Jennie Jerome from her early teenage years in New York City where she was born to parents Leonard and Clara Jerome until her death in Great Britain. Her father was an entrepreneur who made his wealth in trading during the Civil War and ultimately in raising and racing horses and speculating in the markets. Her father’s trading during the Civil War ultimately led to a government investigation of possible illegal trading gains. That investigation led to the estrangement between Jennie’s parents with the result that Clara Jerome took her daughters Clarita, Jennie, and Leonie with her to live in Paris. The story is told through the eyes of Jennie and follows these girls as they mature in Paris. When the Franco-Prussian war occurs, Clara Jerome and her daughters are evacuated to London. Because of their wealth, the Jerome sisters were used to socializing in high society settings. When they arrive in London, the story follows their acquaintances with much of the aristocracy in the United Kingdom at the time. The source of their wealth, however, always casts a subtle shadow on their right to be in high society. Mother Clara’s goal is for her daughters to marry into a titled family to ensure their long-time fortunes and ultimate well-being.
Jennie Jerome has always lived on the outskirts of accepted rules of behavior and standards. The story is full of her adventures that challenge society’s expectations of young women and their role. As she and her sisters participate in high society functions, they meet many well-known members of the British aristocracy of the time, including the Prince of Wales, oldest son of Queen Victoria. We are treated to many of the happenings that take place in the last 25 years of Queen Victoria’s reign and learn how society viewed the roles of men and women in those late Victorian years. Jennie meets Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill and he falls madly in love with her. Their engagement is scandalous because Jennie’s family does not come from inherited wealth. Both her parents and Lord Randolph’s parents oppose the marriage. However, Randolph and Jennie decide to challenge the system by engaging in premarital sexual relations and then letting their parents know about it. This sets the tone for much of the story thereafter as we are treated to the details of many extra-marital affairs that take place in high society—even involving the Prince of Wales!
Jennie’s way of living life by challenging standards plays out throughout the story in surprising ways. We read of her heroic efforts to provide medical services to the British soldiers fighting in the Boer War in South Africa in the late 1800’s when the military High Command had given virtually no thought to how to care for soldiers wounded and killed in battle. We then follow her sons Winston and Jack as they grow up. We get to follow Winston as he explores his yen for writing by becoming a war journalist who captures the scenes on the battlefields by being there in the fighting himself taking notes. We then get to follow Winston as he takes up his now deceased father’s role as a Member of Parliament and follow him in his early career year in the British government. Ultimately, we are taken through the First World War and the horrific experience of living through that time. Finally, we say goodbye to Jennie as she dies at age 67.
Evaluation
The story allows us to view many historical figures we have known primarily through the pages of our history textbooks and see them as real individuals making everyday decisions. I found the human details fascinating and enlightening and it gave me a new desire to learn more about history than I have learned through just my schooling. I love English history and I found the American perspective that Jennie Jerome gave through her telling of her life story to be incredibly valuable. Not having studied Winston Churchill in any detail, I now find myself wanting to learn more about this incredible man who, in many ways, was greatly influenced by his American mother.