Excerpt pages 246-247: in 1882, after success in Britain, Lillie founded her own theatre company and took it on a tour of the United States. She found that her reputation had preceded her, so she played to full houses wherever she went. She made repeated tours of the States that were Equally successful. And she collected male admirers along the way. One of them, wealthy horse breeder Freddie Gebhard, spent a fortune on her. Her earnings from the theatre and Freddie's expensive fits enabled her to start a winery and, like Freddie, breed horses. She became an American citizen in 1887m which enabled her finally to have her marriage to her first husband, Edward, dissolved. The marriage was ended by a California court, but legal opinion at the time suggested that the divorce was invalid in Britain and indeed anywhere outside California...
Lillie Langtry had another relationship, a violent one, with a man who also had a passion for horses. In 1893 he died and left her more horses and she had a business named Mr. Jersey. I note that she did not use Miss or Mrs. Jersey. This put it into perspective for me that this Victorian Era woman had to deal with the extremely limited options women had at that time. Queen Victoria might have ruled, but most women could only achieve power and status through their husbands or associations with men. And it's often still the same way.
Do you have a mentor, patron, benefactor? Is there anyone you can count on for a personal loan, gift, scholarship or internship?
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