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Cousin Clare: The Tempestuous Career of Clare Sheridan
Anita Leslie, Clare Sheridan, hardcover
318 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Anita Leslie
24 books5 followersAnita Theodosia Moira (Leslie) Rodzianko King
Daughter of Sir Shane Leslie, Bt. and wife of Commander William Donald Aelian "Bill" King, DSO*, DSC, RN.
Daughter of Sir Shane Leslie, Bt. and wife of Commander William Donald Aelian "Bill" King, DSO*, DSC, RN.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 20, 2014
This was actually better than I thought it would be. Clare Sheridan's mother was a Jerome and a sister to Jennie Churchill, and Winston was her cousin. She came from a rich American family whose wealth disappeared as quickly as it appeared, leaving her and her family with expensive tastes and a sense of entitlement without the resources to support them. She was selfish with every breath she drew, thoughtless, heedless, wreaking destruction along her wake, but she was also full of life and capable of charm and had a very interesting life. She took to sculpting and carving and journalism and writing in an effort to support herself and her children after her husband died in WWI, and trotted around Europe, Turkey, North Africa, America and Mexico, with several rich or famous people helping her along. She sculpted Winston, Trotsky, Lenin, Ghandi, and hung around with Chaplin and Mussolini (until he apparently tried to force himself on her). She was definitely a character.
June 30, 2020
Ever wondered what it would be like to be a cousin to Winston Churchill? Well, you get a bit of that in reading about Clare Sheridan, a turn-of-the-century woman who became a sculptor, journalist and writer.
The story should have been interesting but strangely, it was rather flat. I felt like I was reading almost a daily diary with the dreary details on everyday life with only hints as to what drove this woman whose family had hopes for a successful marriage and attention for her children and her entertainments.
Her antecedents were strong: her mother one of the Jerome sisters, born to the New York financier Leonard Jerome, and sent to Europe to marry well. Jeanette "Jennie" Jerome married Lord Randolph Churchill, Leonie married the Irish baronet Sir John Leslie, but Clarita — Clara's mother — married Moreton Fewen, fifth son of an MP and a spendthrift who ran up huge debts.
And, consequently why her family stressed that she marry well following her debut at the age of 17. She refused and finally married Wilfred Frederick Sheridan. Wilfred, who was indeed the love of her life, died five years later and as with so many women in those days that catastrophic event pushed her to do something to keep her family — in those five years she had five children — together. She found that she had artistic talent and moved forward into a bohemian life filled with meetings with famous politicians, travel to foreign and exotic locations, and experiences that were indeed rare for a woman of her era.
But I was not charmed with Clare Sheridan, I wasn't all that enthralled at all that she achieved. She was definitely searching for something that I don't think she really ever found until she stopped looking for 'it.' In many ways, I was more interested in her daughter, Margaret, who was pulled here and there by her mother and whose education was interrupted by her mother's rather erratic musings. Margaret Sheridan would marry a French officer and become the Comtesse de Reneville, and travel through Africa with her husband, and under the name Mary Motley, would write two books.
The story should have been interesting but strangely, it was rather flat. I felt like I was reading almost a daily diary with the dreary details on everyday life with only hints as to what drove this woman whose family had hopes for a successful marriage and attention for her children and her entertainments.
Her antecedents were strong: her mother one of the Jerome sisters, born to the New York financier Leonard Jerome, and sent to Europe to marry well. Jeanette "Jennie" Jerome married Lord Randolph Churchill, Leonie married the Irish baronet Sir John Leslie, but Clarita — Clara's mother — married Moreton Fewen, fifth son of an MP and a spendthrift who ran up huge debts.
And, consequently why her family stressed that she marry well following her debut at the age of 17. She refused and finally married Wilfred Frederick Sheridan. Wilfred, who was indeed the love of her life, died five years later and as with so many women in those days that catastrophic event pushed her to do something to keep her family — in those five years she had five children — together. She found that she had artistic talent and moved forward into a bohemian life filled with meetings with famous politicians, travel to foreign and exotic locations, and experiences that were indeed rare for a woman of her era.
But I was not charmed with Clare Sheridan, I wasn't all that enthralled at all that she achieved. She was definitely searching for something that I don't think she really ever found until she stopped looking for 'it.' In many ways, I was more interested in her daughter, Margaret, who was pulled here and there by her mother and whose education was interrupted by her mother's rather erratic musings. Margaret Sheridan would marry a French officer and become the Comtesse de Reneville, and travel through Africa with her husband, and under the name Mary Motley, would write two books.
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July 7, 2016Interesting book on a fascinating woman. I suspect much is left out due to it being written by a family member but good nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews