Wicked Women - Lola Montez
La Belle Horizontale
Lola Montez – Ireland – 1821-1861
Lola Montez claimed to be either the daughter of Lord Byron or a matador, depending on how she was feeling. The more prosaic truth is that she was born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in County Sligo, Ireland, the daughter of an army officer and a chorus girl. She spent her early years in India where her love of dancing was born when one of the family’s servants taught her how to belly dance. However, when her mother remarried after her father died from cholera, Eliza was sent back home to live with the strict Presbyterian parents of her stepfather in Scotland. They, however, were baffled as to how to deal with such a rebellious child and shuffled her off to school in Paris.
In 1837, her education complete, her mother planned to marry her off to an elderly judge in Calcutta. This did not suit the independently minded Eliza, so she eloped with one of her many admirers, a Lieutenant Thomas James. Needless to say, it didn’t take long before their hasty marriage started to break down. Eliza carried on a number of flirtations and the Lieutenant eventually ran off with a captain’s wife.
Lola decided took herself off to Spain where she changed her name to Lola Montez and took up flamenco dancing, thus setting the stage for a future career as an exotic dancer. And exotic it was – she invented her infamous signature, the Tarantula Dance, which was basically pretending there was a large spider trapped in her clothing and making frantic attempts to rid herself of it, before discovering more spiders - gyrating in such a way as to leave little to the imagination.
She returned to London, making her stage debut as Lola Montez in June 1843 at Her Majesty’s Theatre. While her dark and exotic beauty was captivating, her dancing was less so and, there was booing and catcalls. Finally, when a rejected lover recognised her and shouted “Dammit, it’s Betty James!” the theatre was sent into an uproar.
Lola came to the conclusion that Britain was just not ready for her, so she took her act on tour to Europe, opting first for Poland, where she was again booed and fell foul of the Viceroy, whose attentions she rejected. This was uncharacteristic as she was in her teens when she discovered that becoming the mistress of powerful and wealthy men could be exceptionally beneficial. She travelled throughout Europe, dancing, taking lovers and causing scandal wherever she went. Her relationships were fiery to say the least. She became the mistress of Franz Liszt and gatecrashed an official function because he was ignoring her. Lola tried to attract his attention by dancing on the tables, causing plates to crash all around her.
It was also during this period that she discovered that a well placed whip to a man’s face was a useful tool in her armoury. (Later in life, when a man really annoyed her, or proved to be a poor lover, she would shoot at him with a pistol that she carried.)
In Paris, Lola was booed once more and, in a complete rage, she threw her garters at the audience. The audience seemed to prefer her garter throwing to her dancing and word spread. Audiences purposely booed her, just to see her get into a temper and throw her garters. Lola, however, saw herself as an artist and it was not long before the whip started to accompany her on stage, just in case the crowd became too unappreciative.
While in Paris Lola fell madly in love with an editor called Henri Dujarier. However, life with Lola was like living in the middle of a typhoon and Lola was devastated when Dujarier was killed – defending her honour in a duel no less.
In 1846 she moved to Bavaria where she had an audition at the State Theatre. The Manager refused to let her perform, ostensibly citing morals clauses, but possibly trying to spare her feelings because her dancing was so bad. Lola was incensed and rushed to the Palace to plead King Ludwig’s intervention. While at the Palace Lola’s bodice ripped – it’s not clear whether this was by accident or design and, seeing the effect it had on the King, exposed more. Within a short space of time the State Theatre Manager was out of a job and Lola was in one. She also had a new role as mistress of the King of Bavaria. In recognition, the King gave her the title of Countess of Landsfeldt. They were together for two years and Lola had a hand in governing the country. Is it any surprise, then, that in 1848 King Ludwig was forced to abdicate?
Lola was exiled and returned to England, where she took up with a rich young man called George Heald, who she married in July 1849. Unfortunately, after splitting from Lieutenant James (remember him?), Lola always meant to get a divorce, but never quite got round to it. She was arrested for bigamy two weeks after her marriage but skipped the country and took off for America. She made her way around the States performing her act and having love affairs. Her act had still not improved and, after a bad review in a California paper in 1853 she wrote a letter to the editor:
“After such a gross insult you must don petticoats. I have brought some with me which I can lend you for the occasion. I leave the choice of weapons with you, for I am very magnanimous. You may choose between my duelling pistols or take your choice of a pill out of a pill box. One shall be poison and the other not and the chances are even.”
Also in 1853, Lola met and fell in love with an Irishman called Patrick Hull. They married, but split up only a couple of months later. She also had a relationship with a German baron who she may or may not have married. Whether they did or not, Lola’s bad luck with men continued as the baron was killed in a hunting accident. You would really think by this time that men would have got the message 'Lola Montez is Bad News'.
Lola decided to leave the stage and settle down to a life of domestic bliss in a mining town. For the most part she lived quietly, helping the sick and needy, looking after the local children and tending the grizzly bear and monkeys she kept in her back garden - just your normal run of the mill life in other words.
However, in 1855 she became bored of the quiet life and set off on a tour of Australia. Her spider dance went down well with the Gold Coast miners who threw gold nuggets at the stage. She did not fare as well in the papers, and chased one reviewer down the road with her whip. Overall the tour was not a success and Lola returned to the US. While in Australia, she had fallen in love with her Manager. Was it to be a happy ending for Lola? Sadly, no. The new love of her life fell overboard on the way home.
Back in New York she lectured on health and beauty (including The Care of The Bust). However she was in poor health and descended into poverty, suffered a stroke and some months later died of pneumonia, just short of her fortieth birthday in 1861.
A flamboyant, passionate woman, a lover of life and loved by many, she led a life full of enough incident and excitement to fill a hundred novels – even if you would have a hard time believing them.
Lola Montez – Ireland – 1821-1861
Lola Montez claimed to be either the daughter of Lord Byron or a matador, depending on how she was feeling. The more prosaic truth is that she was born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in County Sligo, Ireland, the daughter of an army officer and a chorus girl. She spent her early years in India where her love of dancing was born when one of the family’s servants taught her how to belly dance. However, when her mother remarried after her father died from cholera, Eliza was sent back home to live with the strict Presbyterian parents of her stepfather in Scotland. They, however, were baffled as to how to deal with such a rebellious child and shuffled her off to school in Paris.
In 1837, her education complete, her mother planned to marry her off to an elderly judge in Calcutta. This did not suit the independently minded Eliza, so she eloped with one of her many admirers, a Lieutenant Thomas James. Needless to say, it didn’t take long before their hasty marriage started to break down. Eliza carried on a number of flirtations and the Lieutenant eventually ran off with a captain’s wife.
Lola decided took herself off to Spain where she changed her name to Lola Montez and took up flamenco dancing, thus setting the stage for a future career as an exotic dancer. And exotic it was – she invented her infamous signature, the Tarantula Dance, which was basically pretending there was a large spider trapped in her clothing and making frantic attempts to rid herself of it, before discovering more spiders - gyrating in such a way as to leave little to the imagination.
She returned to London, making her stage debut as Lola Montez in June 1843 at Her Majesty’s Theatre. While her dark and exotic beauty was captivating, her dancing was less so and, there was booing and catcalls. Finally, when a rejected lover recognised her and shouted “Dammit, it’s Betty James!” the theatre was sent into an uproar.
Lola came to the conclusion that Britain was just not ready for her, so she took her act on tour to Europe, opting first for Poland, where she was again booed and fell foul of the Viceroy, whose attentions she rejected. This was uncharacteristic as she was in her teens when she discovered that becoming the mistress of powerful and wealthy men could be exceptionally beneficial. She travelled throughout Europe, dancing, taking lovers and causing scandal wherever she went. Her relationships were fiery to say the least. She became the mistress of Franz Liszt and gatecrashed an official function because he was ignoring her. Lola tried to attract his attention by dancing on the tables, causing plates to crash all around her.
It was also during this period that she discovered that a well placed whip to a man’s face was a useful tool in her armoury. (Later in life, when a man really annoyed her, or proved to be a poor lover, she would shoot at him with a pistol that she carried.)
In Paris, Lola was booed once more and, in a complete rage, she threw her garters at the audience. The audience seemed to prefer her garter throwing to her dancing and word spread. Audiences purposely booed her, just to see her get into a temper and throw her garters. Lola, however, saw herself as an artist and it was not long before the whip started to accompany her on stage, just in case the crowd became too unappreciative.
While in Paris Lola fell madly in love with an editor called Henri Dujarier. However, life with Lola was like living in the middle of a typhoon and Lola was devastated when Dujarier was killed – defending her honour in a duel no less.
In 1846 she moved to Bavaria where she had an audition at the State Theatre. The Manager refused to let her perform, ostensibly citing morals clauses, but possibly trying to spare her feelings because her dancing was so bad. Lola was incensed and rushed to the Palace to plead King Ludwig’s intervention. While at the Palace Lola’s bodice ripped – it’s not clear whether this was by accident or design and, seeing the effect it had on the King, exposed more. Within a short space of time the State Theatre Manager was out of a job and Lola was in one. She also had a new role as mistress of the King of Bavaria. In recognition, the King gave her the title of Countess of Landsfeldt. They were together for two years and Lola had a hand in governing the country. Is it any surprise, then, that in 1848 King Ludwig was forced to abdicate?
Lola was exiled and returned to England, where she took up with a rich young man called George Heald, who she married in July 1849. Unfortunately, after splitting from Lieutenant James (remember him?), Lola always meant to get a divorce, but never quite got round to it. She was arrested for bigamy two weeks after her marriage but skipped the country and took off for America. She made her way around the States performing her act and having love affairs. Her act had still not improved and, after a bad review in a California paper in 1853 she wrote a letter to the editor:
“After such a gross insult you must don petticoats. I have brought some with me which I can lend you for the occasion. I leave the choice of weapons with you, for I am very magnanimous. You may choose between my duelling pistols or take your choice of a pill out of a pill box. One shall be poison and the other not and the chances are even.”
Also in 1853, Lola met and fell in love with an Irishman called Patrick Hull. They married, but split up only a couple of months later. She also had a relationship with a German baron who she may or may not have married. Whether they did or not, Lola’s bad luck with men continued as the baron was killed in a hunting accident. You would really think by this time that men would have got the message 'Lola Montez is Bad News'.
Lola decided to leave the stage and settle down to a life of domestic bliss in a mining town. For the most part she lived quietly, helping the sick and needy, looking after the local children and tending the grizzly bear and monkeys she kept in her back garden - just your normal run of the mill life in other words.
However, in 1855 she became bored of the quiet life and set off on a tour of Australia. Her spider dance went down well with the Gold Coast miners who threw gold nuggets at the stage. She did not fare as well in the papers, and chased one reviewer down the road with her whip. Overall the tour was not a success and Lola returned to the US. While in Australia, she had fallen in love with her Manager. Was it to be a happy ending for Lola? Sadly, no. The new love of her life fell overboard on the way home.
Back in New York she lectured on health and beauty (including The Care of The Bust). However she was in poor health and descended into poverty, suffered a stroke and some months later died of pneumonia, just short of her fortieth birthday in 1861.
A flamboyant, passionate woman, a lover of life and loved by many, she led a life full of enough incident and excitement to fill a hundred novels – even if you would have a hard time believing them.
Views: 196
Comment
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Comment by Donna Moore on June 20, 2007 at 5:23pm
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Lynne - I have a biography of her which includes a lot of the stories. Some, garnered elsewhere, are possibly exaggerated (many, it has to be said, by Lola herself). The Liszt story is told differently by him. Lola did, indeed, gatecrash the party and when the ladies retired after dinner, Lola stayed with the men and climbed on the table to try and get the drunken gentlemen to be quiet and let Liszt speak.
But even the more staid biography of her tells some great stories. After the Liszt episode, for example, she went to the spa town of Baden Baden which was a fashionable resort where Europe's great and good went to gamble in the casinos and take the waters. One evening she scandalized the assembled company by demonstrating her flexibility and fitness by throwing a leg over the shulder of the man standing next to her. When she subsequently raised her skirt thigh high to show an admirer her legs, she was told by the police to leave town, incidentally making Baden Baden the fourth city that she had been politely asked to leave :o)
Another incident took place in New Orleans where she had a little dust up with her maid, who went to the police. The police went round to arrest Lola and, apparently, she drew her dagger (which she kept with her at all times). When the police tackled her to take the dagger off her she punched and kicked and bit them. When they let her go, she took a bottle marked 'poison' from the sideboard and drank it down with a flourish and collapsed dramatically to the floor as people rushed round trying to find antidotes etc.
She revived enough to smoke a couple of cigars before she fainted again. The police eventually left without taking her into custody. Needless to say, Lola miraculously survived the poison :o)
Merlot - she certainly packed a lot of excitement into her short life!
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Comment by Merrill Young on June 20, 2007 at 5:08am
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Gee, Donna!
Now I want to cause scandal where ever I go!
No small wonder she died at 40!
I'm suprised it wasn't of exhaustion!
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Comment by LC Fraser on June 20, 2007 at 4:47am
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Okay so where did you get this information? Are you sure of your sources? Cuz it is quite a story. Very interesting read all around. Although I was kind of hoping for a pun-ch line at the end.
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