Rosa Lewis
Rosa Lewis (née Ovenden) born 1867, died 1952. British chef, owner of the Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street. Known as the "Queen of Cooks," Lewis was said to have had an affair with Edward VII in the 1890's. [1] She was also called "The Duchess of Jermyn Street."[2] The 1976-77 BBC television series, The Duchess of Duke Street, starring Gemma Jones, was loosely based on her life story.[3] It is said that some of the scenes in Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh also were inspired by the Cavendish Hotel under Lewis' management.[4]
Richard Hillary knew her, and wrote in The Last Enemy:
- "One night when we were in town we walked around to see Rosa Lewis at the Cavendish Hotel. Suddenly caught by a stroke, she had been rushed to the London Clinic, where she refused to allow any of the nurses to touch her. After a week she saw the bill and immediately got up and left.
- When we arrived, there she was, seventy-six years old, shrieking with laughter and waving a glass of champagne, apparently none the worse. She grabbed me by the arm and peered into my face. 'God, aren't you dead yet either, young Hillary? Come here and I'll tell you something. Don't you ever die. In the last two weeks I've been right up to the gates of 'eaven and 'ell and they're both bloody!'
- A few weeks later a heavy bomb landed right on the Cavendish, but Rosa emerged triumphant, pulling bits of glass out of her hair and trumpeting with rage. Whatever else may go in this war, we shall still have Rosa Lewis and the Albert Memorial at the end."[5]
Lewis died in her sleep on November 29, 1952 at the age of 85.[6]
References
- ^ "Queen of Cooks," Time Magazine January 17, 1927. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,729825,00.html See also, "A gentlemanly stroll on Jermyn Street," John Taylor, The New York Times, January 12, 1986, page A.9.
- ^ "Requiem for Rosa's," Time Magazine June 29, 1962. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897950,00.html
- ^ "Read the Book, Darling," Charles McGrath. New York Times, August 22, 2004, section 2, page 9.
- ^ "Britain: They're back; Hotels," The Economist. May 29, 2004, page 34.
- ^ Hillary, Richard The Last Enemy, 1942 ISBN 1-58080-056-4 http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0501181.txt
- ^ Obituary, Chicago Daily Tribune, November 30, 1952, page 52.
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