Maud Coleno's Daughter

John Dann

Description

One woman's transformation from ingenue chorus girl to wealthy Mayfair hostess - whilst hiding some dark secrets... Dorothy Hartman, known to her intimates as 'Dodo', a glamorous society hostess and a successful businesswoman, had a hidden past. Her 'missing' earlier life had been shrouded in mystery; a deceit she deliberately cultivated. The love child of a Cockney music hall artiste, born in poverty during the Victorian Fin de Sicle, Dodo emerged as an attractive West End chorus girl, compelled to marry an army officer twice her age during the First World War. Her aristocratic second husband disinherited her on his death-bed, following a string of affairs. Dodo's next marriage secured a partnership in Lendrum & Hartman, the most prestigious transatlantic car dealership in London, patronised by royalty - including the Princes of Wales and Wallis Simpson. Using her theatrical charm Dodo seamlessly moved amongst fashionable society becoming a regular passenger to America during the golden age of sea travel, a renowned Mayfair hostess whose guests were drawn from the theatrical world such as Charlie Chaplin, Frances Day and Valerie Hobson, including business and political circles like Jack Profumo. She rode with the Beaufort hunt, which included Britain's top wartime spymaster. MaudColeno's Daughter contains largely unpublished material about a once well-known, now forgotten Mayfair hostess, who succeeded in a man's world despite disadvantage of birth. It throws another perspective on little-known aspects of some influential British and American business people involved in the smoke and mirrors world of pre-war political espionage, set against country house balls and high society. The book will appeal to fans of biographies and 'rags to riches' stories.

Sujets

• Lettres et linguistique

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 février 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781788031738
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Maud Coleno’s Daughter


The Life of Dorothy Hartman 1898–1957




Dorothy Cynthia Mirabelle Hartman



John Dann
Copyright © 2017 J. Dann

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Front cover image:
James Gunn’s portrait of Dorothy Hartman
by kind permission of Dodo’s granddaughter Norma Salmon de Rauville
of whom it is said ‘looks most like her’

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ISBN 9781788031738

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
For Ethel, Veronica, Erika and Norma





“Rather a nice painting, that one of Gunn’s.
It is a portrait of a fish wife!”
Contents
Acknowledgements
Image credits
Sources

Before the Curtain

Act I A Child of the Fin de Siècle (1898–1915)

1 New woman
2 Cow’s Cathedral
3 Maud Manchester
4 William Abbott
5 The Jubilee party
6 Country girl
7 Ingénue in the chorus

Act II Captain Lewis Takes Leave (1915–1923)

8 The gas cloud at Ypres
9 Love at the Cavendish
10 A marriage of convenience
11 In praise of older men

Act III Lord Dalrymple Entertains (1919–1932)

12 The Albion affair
13 Marriage amongst the clans
14 A very public divorce
15 The Dalrymple’s of Newhailes
16 The actress and the peer
17 Iberian sojourns
18 David’s d é nouement

Act IV Captain Hartman’s Business (1933–1942)

19 Third time lucky
20 The Hartmann family
21 The Lady Hanson affair
22 Lendrum and Hartman Ltd
23 The Gabrielle Brown affair
24 Northease Manor
25 The Beaufortshire spies

Act V Nicky Vansittart – ‘at last’ (1938–57)
26 Luckington
27 The Vansittarts'
28 Smoke & mirrors
29 Post-war years
30 Mayfair hostess
31 Dodo’s child
32 Stumblehole
33 Dodo’s bequest
34 End of the tour

After the Curtain

35 Rapprochement
36 Envoi

Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
The biographical material of Dodo’s life has been compiled from open sources, with the exception of some private papers and personal recollections of a small group who actually knew her. However the interpretations of events and characterisation surrounding her life, together with any mistakes are mine alone.
A special thanks to Val and Terry Pothecary, who generously shared their research on the Lewis family connections, and provided an introduction which became inspirational for this story.
A particular thanks to Veronica Lavoipierre (née Salmon), Dodo Hartman’s granddaughter who acted as ‘family liaison’ and her mother’s spokesperson, who unstintingly gave of her time in answering many questions and together with the wider family, wholeheartedly encouraged the book research, giving introductions and access to family letters, documents and photographs (Salmon papers).
Generous thanks to Prudie Mennell (née Vansittart) who kindly responded to my request for information about her father and Dodo, providing painstaking replies, a personal interview, and helpful comments. Her son Jonathan Mennell also added some interesting vignettes.
Rosemary Fitch, a cousin of Clive Gwinner (who married Betty Hartman, Dodo’s stepdaughter), kindly responded to my request and gave helpful insight to the Gwinner-Hartman family.
Tim Rice, great grandson of Georg Hartmann (Bobbie Hartman’s uncle) and family historian, kindly shared research, particularly on the family business Suter, Hartmann & Rahtjen’s Composition Company.
David Hayward, General Motors historian, whose published research of the Vansittart connection stimulated the original interest and offered additional material on Lendrum & Hartman Ltd.
Pat Woor (née Abbott) Dorothy Hartman’s niece, who kindly answered correspondence, providing photos, a personal interview, and contributed childhood memories about her family. A personal thanks to former children of the Stumblehole estate, Jean Pelham (née Summerfield), who supplied a newspaper cutting, photos and shared memories, likewise, Audrey Cook (née Cooper), who provided many additional anecdotes of Hartman’s household guests and staff, photos and memorabilia as well as providing a ‘lost’ personal ivory bound Book of Common Prayer from Dodo’s marriage to Bobbie Hartman.
There are nameless individuals who have helped by publishing material such as the Griffin family, and others who kindly made contact including Cynthia Jones Heesaker in Canada, (Gwinner family), Sally Davis (biographer of Gabrielle Borthwick), Lynne Scofield (Farr family), and Alison Segarty (Manchester family) who also provided family photos.
Geoffrey Carverhill, automotive historian and author of “The Lendrum & Hartman Story” in Classic American Magazine , published in three parts June–August 2006. The late Russell Johns, whose article “Buick By-Gones” featured in Motor Sport magazine, October 1980 about his life with Lendrum & Hartman provided a first-hand account. Jim Keeble, writer, “Gibraltar: Hands off the Rock”, a reference to Philby and Burgess, Daily Telegraph , travel article, October 2002; Michael Thornton, journalist, “The Siren who Disappeared” about Frances Day, published Mail Online March 2008; Keith Morfett, Daily Express journalist who wrote Dodo’s obituary in November 1957. Finally, thanks to the publishing team at Troubador and copy editor Imogen Palmer.
Attributions for song lyrics quoted: “The Boy I Love” written by George Ware (1885); “Hold your Hand Out, Naughty boy!” lyrics by C. W. Murphy, music by Worton David (1914); “Won’t You Come and Play With Me?” sung by Shirley Kellogg in the revue Push and Go!, words by G. P. Hawtrey, music by Alfred Plumpton; “Hello! Hello! Who’s your Lady Friend?”, lyrics by Worton David, Bert Lee, music by Harry Fragson, (1915); “We’re in the Money”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dubin, from the film Gold Diggers of 1933 ; “At Last” written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren in 1941 for the musical film Orchestra Wives; “Wish me luck (as you wave me goodbye)”, music by Harry Parr-Davies, lyrics Phil Park (1939).
Extracts from poems and books: “ … like the distant roll of thunder at a picnic” , Marginalia (1965–68) courtesy of the estate of W. H. Auden, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave”, Walter Scott, Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field, Canto VI, XVII, (1808); J. B. Priestley’s The Edwardians , courtesy estate of J. B. Priestley (1970); History of the First World War , B. H. Liddell Hart (1930), courtesy Liddell Hart Military Archives, King’s College London; “The handsome woman in the hansom cab…” , Augustus John , courtesy Michael Holroyd (1996); “… I can live on tick at this pub in Saint-Jean” , Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises, courtesy Hemmingway Foreign Rights Trust (1954).
Image credits
Images featured in this book are from various private and public sources. They include the Salmon family, Prudie Mennell, Pat Woor, Alison Segarty and the author. Permissions have been sought where possible and others are acknowledged. Whilst every effort has been taken to contact copyright owners, I apologise in advance for any omissions and would be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent edition.
The following images are gratefully acknowledged: [1] Augusta Manchester, kind permission of Alison Segarty; [2] Maud Coleno (aka Maud Abbott), kind permission of Pat Woor; [3] ‘Captain’ William Abbott; kind permission Pat Woor; [4] T. S. Warspite; kind permission of Gary Vaughan’s postcard collection; [5] Brown’s Dairy, 176 Camden High Road c.1900; [6] Officers of 2 nd Bat. Kings Shropshire Light Infantry in France, Dec. 1914, kind permission of the Shropshire Archives; [6a] Hippodrome Theatre, London (postcard); [6b] cover Push & Go programme; courtesy of Goldsmiths University, WW1 popular musical theatre research; [7] and [8] Dodo’s child Ethel, kind permission of Salmon family; [9] Sir David Charles Herbert Dalrymple c.1918, courtesy of the curator of Newhailes House, National Trust for Scotland; [10] The Royal Albion Hotel , Brighton c.1900, courtesy of Timothy Carder, Ed. The Encyclopaedia of Brighton 1990 ; [11] Newhailes House, Musselburgh, and [12] Newhailes House, library c.1959, courtesy of Scotlandsplaces.gov.uk ; [13] Newhailes library chairs, courtesy of Sotheby’s New York auction (Lot 9) catalogue Jan. 2012; [14] Lady Ermine Elibank (Nov. 1939); [15] Gideon Murray, 2 nd Viscount Elibank, kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery (license: 10388/21017); [16] The Honourable Gabrielle Borthwick, kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery (license: 10395/21018); [17] Harry Ennisdale at Baynards Park, Surrey; [18] Helen Ennisdale, RMS Queen Elizabeth cocktail party, courtesy Life magazine 1948; [19] Plaza hotel , New York; [20] British Colonial Hotel , Nassau (postcard); [21] Palácio Hotel , Estoril, courtesy of the ho