When Jimmy Collins left America with his wife and baby, he returned to his native England seeking a better life for his family. His wife, Ettie, who was born in San Francisco and survived the 1906 earthquake, had no idea what fate had in store for her. She knew only that she had to escape from a hopeless love affair that had almost ruined her marriage. At least, she thought, in London the secret of her daughter’s birth would never be revealed. As an innocent little maid in the O’Hara household, Ettie had faced hardship and learned to be self-sufficient. Set down in the strange new world of London, England, there were new challenges to overcome. Her young husband survived the First World War in the navy, but was felled by the scourge of Spanish influenza that swept the world. Ettie was left to raise her daughter, Bridie, alone. Fleeing from an avaricious father-in-law, she found a position as a maid in the prestigious Castleton Hotel. Over the years, Ettie proved her worth and rose to the position of Housekeeper, enjoying a harmonious working relationship with the owner, Sir Albert Morrison. Content in her new life, Ettie’s world is suddenly turned upside-down by the arrival of Sean O’Hara and his wife. O’Hara, her ex-employee and one-time lover, has many business connections in London and has purchased the Castleton Hotel as his headquarters. Once again, Ettie’s comfortable existence is threatened, as Bridie is drawn into the life of wealth enjoyed by the O’Hara family. When Katherine O’Hara invites Bridie to accompany her back to San Francisco, Ettie is fearful that after 17 years, her past will catch up with her. Will her daughter learn the truth about her parentage?

The life of Lady Desborough - beautiful heiress, aristocratic hostess, unfaithful wife, tragic mother, Edwardian icon. Born in 1867 and orphaned at three, Ettie Fane was brought up by a beloved grandmother and then two adoring, almost incestuous, bachelor uncles. At twenty she married Willy Grenfell, later Lord Desborough. Beautiful, rich, charming and clever, Ettie soon became a leading hostess at the two magnificent country houses she had inherited. Leading politicians, writers and artists were very much part of her circle. But there was a dark side too, as this book will reveal. Ettie could be manipulative and cruel. Her eldest son Julian, after a nervous breakdown at Oxford, rejected her world and values. Nemesis and tragedy were not far away. In 1915 Julian died of war wounds. Six weeks later her second son Billy was killed in action. Her youngest son Ivo would be killed shortly after the war. But despite intense private misery, she reacted with outward courage and self-mastery. Grief revealed the greatness of her spirit. In the 1920s and 1930s she continued to collect new types, especially gifted young men, relishing people of all ages up to her death in 1952, a redoutable survivor from a vanished age.

“A lively debut biography of the flamboyant Irish writer . . . focusing on the women who loved and supported him” (Kirkus Reviews). In this essential work, Eleanor Fitzsimons reframes Oscar Wilde’s story and his legacy through the women in his life, including such scintillating figures as Florence Balcombe; actress Lillie Langtry; and his tragic and witty niece, Dolly, who, like Wilde, loved fast cars, cocaine, and foreign women. Fresh, revealing, and entertaining, full of fascinating detail and anecdotes, Wilde’s Women relates the untold story of how a beloved writer and libertine played a vitally sympathetic role on behalf of many women, and how they supported him in the midst of a Victorian society in the process of changing forever. “Fitzsimons reminds us of the many writers, actresses, political activists, professional beauties and aristocratic ladies who helped shape the life and legend of the era’s greatest wit, esthete and sexual martyr . . . provide[s] a potted biography of the multitalented writer and gay icon . . . highly enjoyable.” —The Washington Post “Fitzsimons brilliantly calls attention to the progressive ideas and beliefs which drew the most daring and interesting women of the time to his side. The depth and painstaking care of Fitzsimons’ research is a fitting tribute to Wilde’s fascinating life and exquisite writing—and really, what better compliment is there than that?” —High Voltage