Fascinating read by a member of the Vanderbilt family. Better than a biography.
She famously was married to the 9th Duke of Marlborough and eventually divorced, which allowed her to marry someone she loved. Her autobiography evokes the latter part of the Gilded Age (The World of My Youth) and the interwar years. She knew everyone but there is no index. The book ends with her escape via Spain and Portugal to England after France fell to the Wehrmacht. At a time when many were fleeing, note that she obtained expedited service from the the Consul (she had acquired French citizenship), was put up by the Duke of Kent (then on a mission to Portugal and kindly reassured her when she was worried about not having formal wear), and even tickets home via seaplane!
