Charlotte and Lionel: A Rothschild Marriage - Hardcover

Stanley Weintraub

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743219910 ISBN 13: 9780743219914

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

A fascinating insight into the life of the illustrious couple Lionel and Charlotte Rothschild who were blessed with great wealth and a powerful love but oppressed by dogmatic Victorian anti-semitism. Lionel and Charlotte's papers are a vivid snapshot of what it was like to be rich and famous - and different - in mid-Victorian life. With a cast of colourful characters, eminent historian, Stanley Weintraub, tells this as a compelling love story and family chronicle like no other. When Lionel de Rothschild, from the famous banking dynasty, wrote to his mother to thank her 'for my bride', he had just met his cousin Charlotte in Frankfurt. She was sixteen, and beautiful. An arranged family marriage joining two branches of Europe's most powerful banking firm, it seemed an unlikely love match. Yet it lasted through tragedies and triumphs, as Charlotte became one of the grand chatelaines of the Victorian era, while Lionel became England's leading financier, and the first of his faith to win a seat in Parliament. That dramatic campaign was a prolonged battle that, Charlotte wrote, was 'screaming about the house' for eleven years. Despite - perhaps because - of a surfeit of wealth, and her realization of what money could not buy, she concealed beneath a stubborn will and a sparkling wit an inner melancholy that only her great admirer (and Lionel's best friend) Benjamin Disraeli seemed to recognize. Love and money were the cardinal preoccupations in Victorian life, and the Rothschilds abundantly possessed both, as well as an iconic name. But life works in mysterious ways, often with mixed blessings. This is their enthralling story, told by one of the masterful biographers of nineteenth-century figures - of Victoria and Albert, and Edward Prince of Wales; and Disraeli, Whistler, Rossetti, Beardsley and Shaw.

About this title

Review:

'A lively and generous biography . . . a shrewd and original portrait of the age' -- TELEGRAPH

'Accomplished' -- Matthew Dennison, THE TIMES

'An enjoyable and fascinating ride through everything Victorian, grand and Jewish' -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, SUNDAY TIMES

'It explores with vigour an overlooked force in Victorian social, political and cultural life' -- THE SPECTATOR

'The love story of Charlotte and Lionel Rothschild ... suits Weintraub's youthful spirit extraordinarily well. I read the book with great enjoyment' --Michael Holroyd

'Touching ... Weintraub has portrayed their lives in vivid and compelling detail. A highly enjoyable read' --Rabbi Julia Neuberger

'Weintraub is an old hand at Victorian biography...he tells his story with plenty of verve' --John Gross, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

About the Author:

Stanley Weintraub is Professor of Arts and Humanities at Pennsylvania State University and writes as a book critic for the NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and WASHINGTON POST.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0743219910
• ISBN 13: 9780743219914
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304