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The Sphinx
- The Life of Gladys Deacon - Duchess of Marlborough
- Narrated by: Hugo Vickers
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's summary
The Times Best Biography Audiobook of the Year 2021.
One of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her time, Gladys Deacon dazzled as much as she puzzled the glittering social circles in which she moved.
Born in Paris to American parents in 1881, she suffered a traumatic childhood after her father shot her mother's lover dead. Educated in America, she returned to Europe, where she captivated and inspired some of the greatest literary and artistic names of the Belle Époque. Marcel Proust wrote of her, 'I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness and charm'. Berenson considered marrying her, Rodin and Monet befriended her, Boldini painted her and Epstein sculpted her. She inspired love from diverse Dukes and Princes and the interest of women such as the Comtesse Greffulhe and Gertrude Stein.
It wasn't until she was 40 that she achieved the wish she had held since the age of 14 to marry the 9th Duke of Marlborough. Divorced from fellow American Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1921, she became his second wife. Now her circle included Lady Ottoline Morrell, Lytton Strachey and Winston Churchill, who described her as 'a strange, glittering being'. But life at Blenheim was not a success. When the duke evicted her in 1933, the only remaining signs of Gladys were two sphinxes bearing her features on the west terraces and mysterious blue eyes in the grand portico.
Gladys became a recluse. The wax injections she'd had to straighten her nose when she was 22 had by now ravaged her beauty. She was to spend her last 15 years in the psycho-geriatric ward of a mental hospital. There she was discovered by a young Hugo Vickers, who visited her for two years - intrigued and compelled to unmask the truth of her mysterious life.
In his fascinating and revealing biography, drawing on Gladys's personal archive and his own research all over Europe and America, Hugo Vickers uncovers a beguiling, clever, independent woman who was the brightest star of her age. He once asked her, 'Where is Gladys Deacon?' She answered him slowly, 'Gladys Deacon? ...She never existed.'
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Sphinx
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- Gudrun D Whitehead
- 03-25-20
Lovely and compelling.
After a visit to Blenheim Palace I felt compelled to buy this book and find out more about Gladys. Such a well researched and well written account it turned out to be. Well read by the author and it was an enjoyable bonus to hear a recording of Gladys’s voice in the first section of the book.
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3 people found this helpful
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- C. Smith
- 09-18-23
Delightful tale
Such a fascinating woman brought back to life by Mr. Vickers! Enjoyed this immensely and couldn’t stop listening!
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- Mary Helen Aldridge
- 07-15-23
Such a fascinating tale!
A veritable Who’s Who of American Blue Bloods and European Royalty! Vickers is a master storyteller and reader. Gladys lived a charmed and tragic life that most could only dream of…
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- Julie Swaab
- 05-17-23
So Much Detail! Why Did It Have to End?
Performance was fantastic. I did speed it up a titch. The story is engrossing. Parts lag a little and sometimes I wish I could go back and figure out who is who because there are so so many important and interesting characters spoken about so often. What an amazing life! One never knows how life will twist and turn and if it will be feast or famine and when that may happen. Or why. I’m so grateful MR. Vickers found her and was intrigued enough to find Duchess M and write her story. And then that he continued with the career. I would be lost and much less fulfilled without his words.
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- DeNeen
- 04-15-22
Very good read!
Enjoy listening to books on history and international figures in history. I truly make the most of my account!
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- Lesley-Anne Thompson
- 06-07-20
disappointing with a lifeless narration
The story is lost in copious amounts of unnecessary facts that are incorporated into an already boring narrative. The narrator unfortunately reads like he is a professor reading from a PHD thesis, the story is therefore hard to follow and lost in monotone dialogue and distracting inconsequential facts that detract rather than enhance what could be an interesting and eventful story. Thoroughly disappointed couldn't even get to the end of this audio book
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6 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 04-26-20
Awful narration
The story overall was interesting and I really wanted to listen to the end however the narration was dreadful. The author Hugo Vickers read the book himself and I found it hard going. Very flat and expressionless which spoilt the whole experience of listening.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Campesque
- 02-11-20
Revealing portrait of an interesting and misunderstood woman.
From a previous review, I started this book fully expecting to dislike the main protagonist - how wrong I was!
Hugo Vickers takes us on a fascinating journey into the lives of those in the upper echelons of society from the late Victorian era to the mid twentieth century. The focus of our attention is Gladys Deacon, born to wealthy US parents leading a life of luxurious leisure in Europe. The marriage of the parents implodes in infidelity and murder... and that's just the beginning of Gladys' story.
The portrait, lovingly painted by the author, is that of a prodigiously intelligent woman and a born survivor, who struggles to fit in and conform to society's expectations of her. Today she would perhaps be diagnosed with high functioning Autistic Spectrum Condition - unheard of at the time, it presents differently in girls.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story of this remarkable woman, made even better by the fact it is narrated by Hugo Vicars. It gives it a very authentic feeling.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Madelaine
- 03-21-21
Amazingly well written and narrated.
This is the best audiobook I've ever heard, and I try to listen to at least three a month! Fascinating, surprising and grippingly researched. Highly recommend.
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2 people found this helpful
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- J. Thain
- 02-10-21
Highly recommend
My thanks to Hugo Vickers for sharing with us his personal account of this unique and truly remarkable life. What a treat! I have the urge to re-read instantly.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Christian
- 12-27-20
enjoyable
Very enjoyable and interesting piece of history. audio version pleasant to listen to as read by the author.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-21-20
Interesting
Could have done with more being made of the fortune teller to bind it all together. Generally a very interesting biography of an eccentric “British” duchess and made me think of what could have been and how getting what you want doesn’t always make you happy. She was a character that made me think of others who have since left this world and made it all the more boring for doing so.
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2 people found this helpful
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- caroline
- 08-29-20
Fascinating story very well read
I found this story fascinating and the performance by the author who read it was excellent .
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2 people found this helpful
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- Mrs Curzon Tussaud
- 08-08-20
The Sphinx
This is without a doubt the best Audible book to which I have so far listened. I knew only of her fabulous beauty, the marriage to the Duke of Marlborough, and her disastrous decision to have wax injected into her face to correct a perceived blemish. Of her upbringing, family, and the spell she cast over a generation of European nobility, artists, and writers, I knew nothing. Hugo Vickers has done a huge service to the reading public to bring this bewitching subject to life, and furthermore reads his book aloud quite excellently.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jenny Cutler
- 02-26-20
Pretty extraordinary story.
About an exceptionally capable, forgiving and privileged yet abused person. A true survivor who lived to triumph over her life. A sort of unusual role model for people stuck in very strange relationships with someone they love.
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- Joanne
- 07-01-20
Brilliant Book
Enjoyed the details of history that the book went into. Felt the ending was quite sad, but her life was fascinating.
I found it heartwarming that her friendship with the author brought her joy at the end of her life.
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Excellent! UPDATED review after 2nd listen.
- By Geri A on 07-31-21
By: James Pope-Hennessy, and others
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The Lost Queen
- The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent's Daughter
- By: Anne M. Stott
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As the only child of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) was the heiress presumptive to the throne. Her parents' marriage had already broken up by the time she was born. She had a difficult childhood and a turbulent adolescence, but she was popular with the public, who looked to her to restore the good name of the monarchy.
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Well written and nicely researched
- By Electra Avenger on 03-14-23
By: Anne M. Stott
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Those Wild Wyndhams
- Three Sisters at the Heart of Power
- By: Claudia Renton
- Narrated by: Claudia Renton
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
They were confidantes to British prime ministers, poets, writers, and artists, their lives entwined with the most celebrated and scandalous figures of the day, from Oscar Wilde to Henry James. They were the lovers of great men - or men of great prominence... They lived in a world of luxurious excess, a world of splendor at 44 Belgrave Square and later at the even more vast Clouds, the exquisite Wiltshire house on 4,000 acres, the "house of the age", designed in 1876 by the visionary architect Philip Webb - the model for Henry James' The Spoils of Poynton.
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SLOW START BUT STICK WITH THIS ONE
- By The Louligan on 01-22-19
By: Claudia Renton
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George VI and Elizabeth
- The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy
- By: Sally Bedell Smith
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
A revelatory account of how the loving marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth saved the monarchy during World War II, and how they raised their daughter to become Queen Elizabeth II, based on exclusive access to the Royal Archives—from the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen and Prince Charles.
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Great telling of their lives
- By Nancy on 04-15-23
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The Queen and Di
- The Untold Story
- By: Ingrid Seward
- Narrated by: Emily Gray
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The Manchester Evening News declared, it took "a biographer like Ingrid Seward to unleash a sober, challenging glimpse into the one relationship of such scrutiny." That relationship is the complex, troubled, and often turbulent association between Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth.
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Quite one sided.
- By Beatnik RN on 02-17-15
By: Ingrid Seward
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Isak Dinesen
- The Life of a Storyteller
- By: Judith Thurman
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 21 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Isak Dinesen earned international fame for Seven Gothic Tales and Out of Africa, and other stories that skillfully combine elements of fable, social conflict, and psychological drama. She was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize. Yet the story of her life - her travels, affairs, and friendships - remains the greatest story of all.
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over-written
- By Jacqui Good on 10-19-18
By: Judith Thurman
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Queen Mary
- The Official Biography
- By: James Pope-Hennessy, Hugo Vickers
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
When Queen Mary died in 1953, James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write an official biography of her - unusual for a queen consort. Queen Mary's life, contrary to popular belief, was essentially dramatic, and she played a far more important and influential role in the affairs of the British monarchy than her public image might have otherwise suggested. Using material from the Royal Archives, private papers, and Queen Mary's personal diaries and letters, Pope-Hennessy's biography was a remarkable portrait of a remarkable woman and received rave reviews across the press.
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Excellent! UPDATED review after 2nd listen.
- By Geri A on 07-31-21
By: James Pope-Hennessy, and others
-
The Lost Queen
- The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent's Daughter
- By: Anne M. Stott
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the only child of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) was the heiress presumptive to the throne. Her parents' marriage had already broken up by the time she was born. She had a difficult childhood and a turbulent adolescence, but she was popular with the public, who looked to her to restore the good name of the monarchy.
-
-
Well written and nicely researched
- By Electra Avenger on 03-14-23
By: Anne M. Stott
-
Those Wild Wyndhams
- Three Sisters at the Heart of Power
- By: Claudia Renton
- Narrated by: Claudia Renton
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were confidantes to British prime ministers, poets, writers, and artists, their lives entwined with the most celebrated and scandalous figures of the day, from Oscar Wilde to Henry James. They were the lovers of great men - or men of great prominence... They lived in a world of luxurious excess, a world of splendor at 44 Belgrave Square and later at the even more vast Clouds, the exquisite Wiltshire house on 4,000 acres, the "house of the age", designed in 1876 by the visionary architect Philip Webb - the model for Henry James' The Spoils of Poynton.
-
-
SLOW START BUT STICK WITH THIS ONE
- By The Louligan on 01-22-19
By: Claudia Renton
-
George VI and Elizabeth
- The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy
- By: Sally Bedell Smith
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A revelatory account of how the loving marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth saved the monarchy during World War II, and how they raised their daughter to become Queen Elizabeth II, based on exclusive access to the Royal Archives—from the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen and Prince Charles.
-
-
Great telling of their lives
- By Nancy on 04-15-23
-
The Queen and Di
- The Untold Story
- By: Ingrid Seward
- Narrated by: Emily Gray
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Manchester Evening News declared, it took "a biographer like Ingrid Seward to unleash a sober, challenging glimpse into the one relationship of such scrutiny." That relationship is the complex, troubled, and often turbulent association between Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth.
-
-
Quite one sided.
- By Beatnik RN on 02-17-15
By: Ingrid Seward
-
Isak Dinesen
- The Life of a Storyteller
- By: Judith Thurman
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 21 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Isak Dinesen earned international fame for Seven Gothic Tales and Out of Africa, and other stories that skillfully combine elements of fable, social conflict, and psychological drama. She was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize. Yet the story of her life - her travels, affairs, and friendships - remains the greatest story of all.
-
-
over-written
- By Jacqui Good on 10-19-18
By: Judith Thurman
-
Wallis in Love
- The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Molly Parker Myers
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall