American queen : the rise and fall of Kate Chase Sprague, Civil War "Belle of the North" and gilded age woman of scandal / John Oller.
Material type:
TextPublisher: Boston : Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, [2014]Description: xxiii, 376 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 0306822806
- 0306822814
- 9780306822803
- 9780306822810
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | Biography | Sprague, K. O49 | Available | 33111007906635 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Had People magazine been around during the Civil War and after, Kate Chase would have made its "Most Beautiful" and "Most Intriguing" lists every year. The charismatic daughter of Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln's treasury secretary, Kate Chase enjoyed unprecedented political power for a woman. As her widowed father's hostess, she set up a rival "court" against Mary Lincoln in hopes of making her father president and herself his First Lady. To facilitate that goal, she married one of the richest men in the country, the handsome "boy governor" of Rhode Island, in the social event of the Civil War. She moved easily between the worlds of high fashion, adorning herself in the most regal Parisian gowns, and politics, managing her father's presidential campaigns. "No Queen has ever reigned under the Stars and Stripes," one newspaper would write, "but this remarkable woman came closer to being a Queen than any American woman has."
But when William Sprague turned out to be less of a prince as a husband, Kate found comfort in the arms of a powerful married senator. The ensuing sex scandal ended her virtual royalty; after the marriage crumbled and the money disappeared, she was left only with her children and her ever-proud bearing. She became a social outcast and died in poverty, yet in her final years she would find both greater authenticity and the inner peace that had always eluded her.
Kate Chase's dramatic story is one of ambition and tragedy, set against the seductive allure of the Civil War and Gilded Age, involving some of the most famous personalities in American history. In this beautifully written and meticulously researched biography, drawing on much unpublished material, John Oller captures the extraordinary life of a woman who was a century ahead of her time.
Includes bibliographical references 353-361) and index.
Prologue: A Woman in the Arena -- Part 1. Miss Chase -- 1. "Qualified to Ornament Any Society" -- 2. "I Shall Strive to Be First Wherever I May Be" -- 3. "How Short Then Is This Life!" -- 4. The Belle of Columbus -- 5. The Belle of Washington -- 6. The Boy Governor -- 7. Mrs. Lincoln's Rival -- 8. Wedding of the Decade -- Part 2. Mrs. Sprague -- 9. "Imagine My Disappointment" -- 10. "Our Accomplished Countrywoman" -- 11. "More Unfitness Day by Day" -- 12. "I Am Told That She Actually Controls the Entire Affair" -- 13. "You Have Been Most Cruelly Deceived" -- 14. "I Almost Hate This Man" -- 15. "She's Capable of Hitting Him" -- 16. Some Dared Call It Treason -- 17. End of an Era -- 18. End of an Empire -- 19. "Intended by Their Creator for Each Other" -- 20. "Mrs. Conkling Is Not Here This Winter" -- 21. "The Now Notorious Outbreak" -- 22. "The Bird Has Flown" -- Part 3. Kate Chase Again -- 23. "A Dinner with the Queen" -- 24. "As Much Alone as Cleopatra" -- 25. Gilded Age Woman -- 26. Stalwart Woman -- 27. An Unmarried Woman -- 28. An Independent Woman -- 29. "What We Have Is Good" -- 30. "None Outshone Her" -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index -- Photographs following page.
In this beautifully written and meticulously researched biography, John Oller captures the tumultuous, passionate, and ultimately tragic life of Kate Chase Sprague, Mary Lincoln's ambitious rival.