Lake County Time Capsule: Lillie Langtry, the Jersey Lily
- Kathleen Scavone
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of the most famous women of the Victorian Era also was a Lake County resident for a time.
Lillie Langtry, British-born bon vivant, was born on Oct. 13, 1853, at the Old Rectory, St. Savior, on the Isle of Jersey.
Lillie's given name was Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, and her name was often spelled "Lily" in America.
Her father, William Corbet Le Breton, was dean of the Isle of Jersey and the rector of St. Savior's Church, while her mother was a popular beauty called Emilie Davis, prior to eloping with Lillie's father in 1842.
Since Lillie had six brothers, she was an unstoppable tomboy while growing up. She was known for her cliff-climbing abilities and was a strong swimmer, as well as a bareback horse rider.
Her childhood on the Isle of Jersey was chock full of fun, pranks and general tomboy antics. Her French governess felt incapable of managing her impulsive charge, hence, the task of educating Miss Lillie was given over to her brothers' tutor. Luckily for Lillie she received a better education than most young women in her day.
Lillie's fate was sealed one day when she accompanied her mother on a trip to London when she was 16 years old.
Although not poised and refined then, the sophisticated London society made a deep impression on Lillie. She was determined to lose her country ways and join the social order of London one day.
Alas, when she was 20 years old she spied a sleek, polished yacht moving smoothly along the shores of St. Helier Harbor on the Jersey coast. The yacht was piloted by none other than Edward Langtry, a widower and son of a shipping merchant.
In her autobiography entitled, "The Days I Knew," Lillie stated, "I met the owner and fell in love with the yacht."
Edward Langtry proposed to Lillie near the end of his several weeks’ stay, and they were wed in the dean's church, March 9, 1874.
They resided in a mansion in Southampton for about a year, when Lillie became ill and instructed her husband to take her to London to recuperate from a fever. He complied and sold the mansion, moving them to a small dwelling near London.
After a year of near boredom, the Langtrys’ social life picked up to Lillie's delight. By this time she was bored with Edward Langtry's drinking, too.
A fateful invitation by some acquaintances to partake of tea at their swanky estate was the beginnings of what were later to become her fame and fortune.
With the door to London society cracked open, Lillie became much admired and sought after by artists of all ilk. Drawings and paintings were procured. Poets were inspired by her beauty and created sonnets for and about her, while dress designers begged her to wear their distinctive garb.
She became one of the first "superstars" and a professional beauty. A professional beauty was usually a well-bred lady who sashayed about in gorgeous costume in the company of her following.
Like an early fashion model of today, Lillie's photographs and painting of her likeness were found all around. She sat for paintings by Frank Miles, Sir Edward Poynter and Sir John Everett Millais. The Millais portrait was shown at the Royal Academy.
She endorsed numerous products, such as beauty creams and soaps. The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward's interest was soon aroused by the Jersey Lily. ("Jersey Lily" was a nickname for Lillie after her portrait was so-named by Millais.)
Lillie and the Prince of Wales had a well-known affair until 1880, with a much longer friendship to follow.
After a time, her affair with royalty was no longer tolerated by London society, so she re-created herself into an actress, commencing with a play for charity entitled, "She Stoops to Conquer," which was performed at the Haymarket Theater when she was 28.
A New York theater owner, Henry E. Abbey, was in the audience, enjoying Lillie's successful stage performance and enticed her to come to America to tour. She created a sensation on the American soil, and it wasn't long before she ended up, in all places – the Guenoc Valley in Lake County.
It all began with her debut in New York. Oscar Wilde acted as her advance man in 1882. It was Oscar who introduced Lillie to Freddie Gebhard, the wealthy Baltimore playboy.
When Lillie's extended tour landed her in San Francisco, she was entranced by the surrounding beauty all about California. She traveled to Monterey and Yosemite with Freddie. There was a slight problem, however, and that was that she had never formally divorced Edward Langtry, since England's strict laws prohibited this action.
So, with rumors flying, she and Freddie located a lovely hideout in the Guenoc Valley, far away from her estranged husband and rumormongers. Here, Lillie could live in the beautiful house, with Freddy residing in the nearby hunting lodge.
She needed legal residence for six months, and then filed for citizenship before her divorce was granted in Lakeport.
Lillie purchased the 4,190-acre Guenoc Ranch, outside of Middletown, in 1888 and renamed it "Langtry Farms." Almost all of the land had once been a part of the original Guenoc land grant.
On her lands there were already established fruit orchards, vineyards and a winery. With her marketing abilities she was able to market her wine with hew own likeness on the label. She imported a French winemaker, Henry Duchelles, for her winery.
Her life was a mixture of the excitement of the high life, fame and fortune, but it also but contained elements of the bucolic charms of the countryside here in Lake County.
Lillie traveled the globe and died in Monaco on Feb. 12, 1929.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also formerly wrote for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.