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  She married Edward Langtry on March 9, 1874, not long after watching his yacht sail into the Jersey harbor. He took her away from her home to England, where they met and mingled with the country’s most renowned aristocrats. But their marriage would not survive the attention Lillie received from male admirers and friends who persuaded her to pursue a career on stage. The two separated after the birth of their daughter in April 1881.

  Theater owners looking for a chance to capitalize on the well-known siren’s popularity invited her to join their acting troupe. Knowing that only her beauty attracted them, Lillie refused all offers, deciding instead to take acting lessons. For months she trained with the critically acclaimed actress Henrietta Hodson Labouchere, and on December 15, 1881, she made her acting debut at the Theatre Royal in Westminster.

  Lillie’s performance was stunning, and audiences filled the house nightly. Labouchere became her manager and arranged for her pupil to appear at the most prestigious playhouses in England and Scotland. New York theater-owner and producer Henry Abbey saw Lillie in a show in Edinburgh and was instantly captivated by her talent. He wrote Labouchere with a generous proposal for Lillie, including an offer of 50 percent of the gross proceeds from her shows. Henrietta encouraged her student to accept, but Lillie held out for 65 percent of the gross and payment of all her travel expenses.

  She set sail for America with assurance from her manager and producer that if she were successful in the United States, she could earn as much as a quarter of a million dollars on her first tour alone. Lillie’s friend Oscar Wilde was on hand to meet her when she arrived in America. The day before he was to greet her, he told a newspaper reporter how much she meant to him: “I would rather have discovered Mrs. Langtry than to have discovered America. . . . It was for such as she that Troy was destroyed, and well it might have been.”

  Lillie’s first tour of the United States was a huge triumph. Not only did she earn a quarter of a million dollars for the venture, but clothing manufacturers and makers of beverage and dry goods named their products after her. Songs and special waltzes were written for her. Her tour ended in March 1883, and she went back to England as one of the wealthiest actresses of the time.

  After a brief return to England, she embarked on a second tour of the States. In April 1886 she traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back again. She performed in numerous theaters in Texas, Colorado, Oregon, and California. Lillie traveled from one western town to the next in a private railcar designed especially for her by William Mann, the inventor and manufacturer of the sleeping car.

  Lillie’s personal life attracted as much attention as her professional one. The Jersey Lily (a nickname she acquired because of where she was born) was romantically linked to the Prince of Wales, gambler Diamond Jim Brady, and actor Maurice Barrymore. Articles about her scandalous romantic affairs appeared in newspaper and magazines alongside the complimentary reviews she received for her work. The enormous amount of attention paid to her love life never harmed her professional standing; if anything, it created longer lines at the box office.

  At times Lillie’s theatrical performances were upstaged by her beautiful costumes and dazzling jewelry. Critics claimed the clothing and gems made audiences forget the play, whereas Lillie maintained “sometimes diamonds were needed to bolster the material.” Thousands of women bought seats in the hope that they would attend a performance in which Lillie wore her fabulous gems.

  After another extended trip across the ocean to visit her family on the Isle of Jersey and to perform for the Queen of England, Lillie answered the call of the American public and returned to her adopted country in 1902, when she was fifty-one years old.

  After touring in a pair of critically and financially successful plays and fully enjoying vaudeville life, Lillie announced her intentions to retire from the stage. In 1919 she gave up the theater, moved to a new home in Monaco, and plunged into the social whirl of the French Riviera’s permanent residents. Her daughter and four grandchildren spent time with her there.

  World-famous Lillie Langtry took ill in the fall of 1928. Her ailment was diagnosed as bronchitis complicated by pleurisy. She never completely recovered, and her weakened lungs were attacked again by a case of influenza. The actress died on February 12, 1929, at seventy-six years of age.

  Owing to exhaustion and her desire for a quiet existence, Lillie lived the last five years of her life in almost complete solitude. She spent much of her time tending to her flower garden and had in her employ one household servant, Mrs. Peat, who was at the actress’s side when she passed away.

  Lillie’s funeral was a small affair attended by only a few friends and family. Her relatives received letters of condolence from around the world, two of which came from King George V and Queen Mary.

  Lillie Lantry was the first international celebrity of modern times. She left behind an estate valued at more than $230,000. She was buried next to her parents on the Isle of Jersey in the churchyard of St. Saviour’s. Tourist and admirers regularly visit her magnificent marble grave.

  Elizabeth Custer d. 1933

  “With my husband’s departure my last days in the garrison were ended, as a premonition of disaster that I had never known before weighed me down.”

  —ELIZABETH BACON CUSTER, JUNE 24, 1876

  She was known by the troops in General George A. Custer’s command as the “Champion of the 7th.” Many historians insist that there was no wife more devoted to her husband and or his work than Elizabeth Custer. The long-suffering widow was the first officer’s wife to follow her spouse and his regiment into the field, and in so doing, she changed the image of army wives forever.

  Prior to Elizabeth Custer’s arrival on the scene, military wives were seldom if ever heard from, and in many circles, they were considered a distraction. Soldiers were encouraged to leave their spouses behind and never to discuss their careers with their wives. Elizabeth felt this was archaic: She believed a forceful, yet kindly presence in a husband’s work could only enhance his career. Much of the career support George received from military leaders was due in part to Elizabeth as she charmed many senators, congressmen, and officers into backing the “boy general” and his lofty ambition of conquering the West.

  From the first days of their marriage during the Civil War, the Custers lived together in military encampments whenever possible. Separation, though often unavoidable, was agony. “It is infinitely worse to be left behind, a prey to all the horrors of imagining what may be happening to one we love,” she recalled in one of her books, “My place is by my husband’s side, wherever he may be.”

  Elizabeth Clift Bacon was born on April 18, 1842. She was one of four children born to Judge Daniel Bacon and his wife, Eleanor Sophia Page. Before Elizabeth had turned age eight, her siblings had died of cholera and other related diseases, leaving her an only child.

  Daniel was quite protective of his daughter. He kept a close eye on all her activities. The older she got, the more beautiful she became. Eligible young men constantly sought her affections, but the judge was very particular about whom Elizabeth was able to see. He looked out not only for her physical safety but for her emotional well-being, too. When George Custer, an ambitious young soldier for the Union army, expressed an interest in Elizabeth, Daniel had strong objections. He thought Custer was too outspoken and brash for his genteel daughter. Like in many of these situations, these were the very qualities Elizabeth found appealing.

  The unlikely pair met at a party in late November 1862. Elizabeth knew George by reputation, since he had achieved some distinction as an aide to General George McClellan. Custer was so smitten with Elizabeth that he walked up and down her street, hoping she would step out onto her porch so he could catch a glimpse of her. After a lengthy engagement the two were married in front of more than three hundred guests at the First Presbyterian Church in Monroe County, Michigan.

  Elizabeth accompanied George in the field as often as she could and whenever it was reasonably safe to
do so. Small and slender with delicate features, Mrs. Custer seemed physically unfit for life among the tents. Spiritually, she was up to the challenge. She found nontraditional camp life invigorating. From 1866 to 1873 the Custers were stationed at military posts throughout the plains. George was eventually named lieutenant colonel of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and in 1873 he was ordered to the Dakota Territory to protect railway surveyors and gold miners who were crossing land owned by the Sioux. As she had done in the past, Elizabeth accompanied her husband to the unsettled region.

  Some historians consider that Elizabeth’s greatest contribution to army life was realized through her writing. She authored three books on the subject of life on the new frontier, describing momentous military events and providing readers with a detailed look at the Wild West. She also wrote about the heartbreaking moment George and his entire regiment were killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn. After being informed of his death on June 25, 1876, she accompanied the Fort Lincoln, Kansas, post commander as he made the rounds to break the news of the fatal incident to the other soldiers’ wives. After several months of intense mourning, she managed to pull herself together and begin a new life without George. She visited the post hospital and helped care for the wounded men involved in similar skirmishes with the Indians. She prayed with them, read to them, and tended to their needs.

  Elizabeth set her sights on living out her days as a hero’s widow. Everywhere she went she was inundated with praise for George’s legacy. A year after Custer’s death, Elizabeth decided to begin work on a series of books about her life with the general. The first book was released in March 1885. With her third book, Following the Guidon, she firmly established George as a brilliant military commander and a devoted husband without personal failing.

  Sixty-eight years after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Custer was lobbying Congress for a museum at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. She believed the men who lost their lives in that conflict should be recognized for their heroism. Over the years she monitored the maintenance of the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery but was driven to create a more lasting memorial for the fallen soldiers. She never saw her dream realized.

  Elizabeth Bacon Custer died of a heart attack two days before her ninety-first birthday in 1933. The estate she left behind to family, various charitable organizations, and Vassar College was estimated to be worth more than $100,000.

  Per her request Elizabeth’s funeral was a short service attended by only a handful of friends and members of the Custer family. She was buried next to her beloved husband at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. The flat stone that stands over her grave is minuscule, compared to the general’s monument, and reads ELIZABETH CUSTER, WIFE OF GEORGE A. CUSTER.

  Bibliography

  Books

  Aikman, Duncan. Calamity Jane & the Lady Wildcats. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1927.

  Alexander, Kent. Legends of the Old West. New York: Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, 1994.

  Bakeless, John. Spies of the Confederacy. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1970.

  Banks, Leo. Stalwart Women. Phoenix: Arizona Highways, 1999.

  Beebe, Lucius, and Charles Clegg. The American West. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, 1955.

  Boyer, Glenn. Wyatt Earp–Family, Friends & Foes. Rodeo, N. Mex.: Historical Research Associates, 1997.

  Brown, Dee. Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old Wild West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1958.

  ———. Showdown at Little Big Horn. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1964.

  ———. The Westerners. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1974.

  ———. Wondrous Times on the Frontier. New York: Harper Perennial, 1992.

  Bryan, Howard. Wildest of the Wild West. Santa Fe, N. Mex.: Clear Light Publishing, 1988.

  Byrne, Robert. The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said. New York: Galahad Books, 1996.

  Chartier, JoAnn, and Chris Enss. Gilded Girls. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2003.

  ———. Love Untamed. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2002.

  ———. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2004.

  ———. With Great Hope. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2000.

  Curry, Peggy S. The Women Who Made the West. New York: A Discus Book, 1980.

  Fiske, Jack. Big Nose Kate. Tombstone, Ariz.: American Serials, 1997.

  Fitzhenry, Robert I. The Harper Book of Quotations. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993.

  Florin, Lambert. Historic Graves of the Old West. New York: Bonanza Books, 1958.

  Forbes, Malcolm. They Went That-A-Way. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988.

  Forbis, William H., and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Cowboys. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1973.

  Furbee, Mary R. Outrageous Women of the American Frontier. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.

  Horn, Huston, and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Pioneers. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1974.

  Lardner, W. B., and M. J. Brock. History of Placer and Nevada Counties, California. Los Angeles: Historical Record Company, 1924.

  Leckie, Shirley. Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.

  Loose, Warren. Bodie Bonanza. Las Vegas: Nevada Publications, 1989.

  Luchetti, Cathy, and Carol Olwell. Women of the West. New York: Crown Trade Paperback, 1982.

  MacKell, Jan. Prostitution in Colorado. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004.

  McDonald, Douglas. The Legend of Julia Bulette. Las Vegas: Stanley Paher Publishing, 1980.

  McNeer, May. The California Gold Rush. New York: Random House, 1950.

  Miller, R., and Hanna C Miller. The Story of Stagecoach Mary Fields. Denver: Silver Press, 1994.

  Nash, Jay R. Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen & Outlaws. New York: Paragon House, 1989.

  Nevin, David, and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Expressman. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1974.

  ———. The Soldiers. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1973.

  Reiter, Joan Swallow, and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Women. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1978.

  Rezatto, Helen. Tales of the Black Hills. Rapid City, S. Dak.: Fenwyn Press, 1989.

  Russell, Jerry. 176 Facts about Custer & the Battle of Little Big Horn. Cambridge, Mass.: DA Capo Press, 1999.

  Seagraves, Anne. Women of the Sierra. Lakeport, Calif.: Wesanne Enterprises, 1990.

  ———. Women Who Charmed the West. Lakeport, Calif.: Wesanne Enterprises, 1991.

  Selcer, Richard. Hell’s Half Acre. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1991.

  Sheafer, Silvia Anne. Frontier Women. Glendale, Calif.: Historical California Press, 1992.

  Trachtman, Paul, and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Gunfighters. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1974.

  Utley, Robert M. Custer Battlefield. Washington, D.C.: National Parks Service, 1969.

  Vestal, Stanley. Jim Bridger, Mountain Man. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1970.

  Virgines, George. The Arizona Rangers. New York: Colt Industries, Firearms Division, 1972.

  Wallace, Robert, and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Miners. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1976.

  Ward, Geoffery. The West. New York: Little Brown & Company, 1996.

  Wheeler, Kurt, and the editors of Time-Life Books. The Townsmen. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1975.

  Williams, George III. The Red Light Ladies of Virginia City, Nevada. Riverside, Calif.: Tree by the River Publishing, 1984.

  Zauner, Phyllis. Those Legendary Men of the Wild West. Sonoma, Calif.: Zanel Publications, 1998.

  ———. Those Spirited Women of the Early West. Sonoma, Calif.: Zanel Publications, 1994.

  About the Author

  Chris Enss is an award-winning screen writer who has written for television, short subject films, live performances, and for the movies. Her research and writing and reveals the funn
y, touching, exciting, and tragic stories of historical and contemporary times.

  Enss has done everything from stand-up comedy to working as a stunt person at the Old Tucson Movie Studio. She learned the basics of writing for film and television at the University of Arizona, and she is currently working with Return of the Jedi producer Howard Kazanjian on the movie version of The Cowboy and the Senorita, their biography of western stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

  Other Books by Chris Enss

  Pistol Packin’ Madams: True Stories of Notorious Women of the Old West

  Buffalo Gals: Women of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

  The Doctor Wore Petticoats: Women Physicians of the Old West

  How the West Was Worn: Bustles and Buckskins on the Wild Frontier

  Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier

  With Howard Kazanjian

  The Young Duke: The Early Life of John Wayne

  Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

  The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

  With JoAnn Chartier

  With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush

  Love Untamed: Romances of the Old West

  Gilded Girls: Women Entertainers of the Old West

  She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: Women Soldiers and Patriots of the Western Frontier