洛拉·蒙特兹

Eliza Rosanna Gilbert (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Gräfin (Countess) von Landsfeld. At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, she was forced to flee. She proceeded to the United States via Austria, Switzerland, France and London, to return to her work as an entertainer and lecturer.

Biography

Early life

Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert was born into an Anglo-Irish family, the daughter of Ensign Edward Gilbert and Elizabeth ("Eliza") Oliver. Elizabeth's birthdate has been subject to confusion, and for many years it was accepted that she was born in Limerick, as she herself claimed, possibly on 23 June 1818; this is the year that was engraved on her headstone. But her baptismal certificate, which came to light in the late 1990s, bears an annotation indicating that she was born on 17 February 1821 in the village of Grange in the north of County Sligo, where her father's regiment, the 25th Scottish Borderers, had been billeted.

Elizabeth's parents were married on 29 April 1820. Her father's exact origins are a mystery, but are probably from the Anglo-Irish nobility or well-to-do gentry. He was 24 when his daughter was born, and his wife, Eliza, was 15. Her family, the Olivers, were a prominent Anglo-Irish family of the Protestant ascendancy in County Cork, where Edward Gilbert's regiment was stationed. But Eliza was an illegitimate child, and at the time of her wedding she was apprenticed as a milliner's assistant. Her father, Charles Silver Oliver, was a former High Sheriff of Cork and former member of Irish Parliament for a constituency in County Limerick. Their residence was Castle Oliver, which stood a thousand yards southwest of the current castle of the same name in Limerick.

The newly constituted family's principal residence was at King House in Boyle, County Roscommon, until early 1823, when they journeyed to Liverpool, England (where Elizabeth was baptized at St. Peter's Church on 16 February), to depart there for India on 14 March.

Shortly after their arrival in India, Edward Gilbert died of cholera. Her mother, who was then 19, married Lieutenant Patrick Craigie the next year. Craigie quickly came to care for the young Eliza, but her spoiled and half-wild ways concerned him greatly. Eventually, it was agreed that she would be sent back to Britain to attend school, staying with Craigie's father in Montrose, Scotland. The "strange Indian girl" soon became known as a mischief-maker. Once, she stuck flowers into an elderly man's wig during a church service; once, she ran through the streets naked.

At age ten, Eliza was moved again—this time to Sunderland, England, where her stepfather's older sister, Catherine Rae, set up a boarding school in Monkwearmouth with her husband. Eliza continued her education there. Her determination and temper became her trademarks. Her stay in Sunderland lasted only a year, as she was then transferred to a school in Camden Place (now Camden Crescent), Bath, for a more sophisticated education.

In 1837, 16-year-old Eliza eloped with Lieutenant Thomas James. The couple separated five years later, in Calcutta, India, and she became a professional dancer under a stage name.

When she had her London debut as "Lola Montez, the Spanish dancer" in June 1843, she was recognised as "Mrs. James". The resulting notoriety hampered her career in England, so she departed for the continent, where she had success in Paris and Warsaw. At this time, she was almost certainly accepting favours from a few wealthy men, and was regarded by many as a courtesan.

Life as a courtesan

In 1844, Eliza, now known as Lola Montez, made a personally disappointing Parisian stage debut as a dancer in Fromental Halévy's opera Le lazzarone. She met and had an affair with Franz Liszt, who introduced her to the circle of George Sand. After performing in various European capitals, she settled in Paris, where she was accepted into the city's literary bohemia, becoming acquainted with Alexandre Dumas, with whom she was also rumoured to have had a dalliance. In Paris she met Alexandre Dujarrier, "owner of the newspaper with the highest circulation in France, and also the newspaper's drama critic". Through their romance, Montez revitalised her career as a dancer. Later, after the two had their first quarrel over Montez's attendance at a party, Dujarrier attended the party and, in a drunken state, offended Jean-Baptiste Rosemond de Beauvallon. When Dujarrier was challenged to a duel by de Beauvallon, Dujarrier was shot and killed.

In 1846, Montez arrived in Munich, where she was discovered by and became the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. There was a rumour that when they first met, Ludwig asked her in public if her breasts were real. Her response to the question was to tear off enough of her garments to prove that they were. She soon began to use her influence on the king and this, coupled with her arrogant manner and outbursts of temper, made her extremely unpopular with the Bavarian people (particularly after documents were made public showing that she was hoping to become a naturalised Bavarian subject and be elevated to nobility). Despite opposition, Ludwig made her Countess of Landsfeld and Baroness of Rosenthal on his next birthday, 25 August 1847, and along with her title, he granted her a large annuity.