Charlotte was young and beautiful. Lionel, almost ten years older,
was rich and her cousin. Theirs was an arranged betrothal joining
two branches of Europe's most powerful banking firm. It seemed an
unlikely love match, and even their wedding had to survive
catastrophe. Yet their marriage lasted through tragedies and
triumphs. Charlotte became one of the grand chatelaines of the
Victorian era; Lionel, England's leading financier, persevered
through years of bigotry to become the first of his faith to be
seated in Parliament. In "Charlotte and Lionel, " acclaimed
biographer Stanley Weintraub, using full access to the Rothschild
family archives, tells the story of their stunning and surprising
love for each other, opening a fascinating window into a memorable
age.
Together, Charlotte and Lionel de Rothschild challenged and
redefined their place in Victorian society. At her celebrated
salons, England's leading politicians and policy makers met and
shared opinions. Disraeli regularly argued politics with
adversaries; Gladstone discussed religion with Charlotte; "Tom
Thumb" (with P. T. Barnum) entertained; artists and writers and
aristocrats mingled. Refusing to swear a Christian oath, Lionel was
elected to Parliament half a dozen times before he could take his
seat. After a decade-long battle, the House of Commons changed its
rules, enabling Lionel and future Jewish or non-Christian members
to serve.
Lionel (and, behind the scenes, Charlotte) influenced events
worldwide, helping to fund relief to a starving Ireland, aiding
persecuted Jews in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, brokering
the purchase of the Suez Canal, and arranging for France's postwar
reparations to Germany. Yet despite the distractions of their
power, glamour, and wealth, and problems of health for which money
could buy no solutions, they remained intensely devoted to each
other and their family. Although Charlotte lost a daughter, then
her beloved husband, and had to come back herself from severe
illness, she remained unbroken.
"Charlotte and Lionel" presents the evocative tale of one of
the least known yet most touching love stories from the glamorous
decades of Victorian England.
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