Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Robert Wainwright, Allen & Unwin, $32.99.
This story of a bewitching Australian socialite who fascinated the world captures the imagination.
In early 20th century society, when women were expected to be bashful and dutiful, the granddaughter of Hunter Valley wine pioneer Henry Lindeman waltzed through life making sure it was to the beat of her own drum.
Lady Kenmare, the former Miss Enid Lindeman of Strathfield in Sydney, captivated men with her beauty. She outlived four husbands – two shipping magnates, a war hero and a larger-than-life Irish earl – spent two great fortunes and earned the nickname ‘Lady Killmore’.
Enid travelled in lavish style from Sydney to New York, London to Paris and Cairo to Kenya. She also stopped traffic in Manhattan, silenced gamblers in Monte Carlo with her grace and poise and “dared walk a pet cheetah on a diamond collar through Hyde Park in London.”
She drove an ambulance in World War I and hid escaped Allied airmen behind enemy lines in World War II, played bridge with Somerset Maugham and entertained Hollywood royalty in the world’s most expensive private home on the Riviera, allegedly paid for by her winnings in a game of cards.
Instead of being demure and obedient, the lady divided opinion. She loved the company of men and was also an incorrigible flirt. In Wainwright’s words, Enid Lindeman left school with one aim – to marry well, as they said in those days.
“It was not necessarily a shortcoming on her part, a lack of imagination or laziness, but merely the expectation for women in the first years of the 20th century.”
Robert Wainwright’s career has ranged from politics to crime, and his focus on the people behind the major news of the day is what makes this biography an absorbing read.
