Fanny Lear: Love and Scandal in Tsarist Russia

By Daniel McDonald and Eva McDonald

Fanny Lear: Love and Scandal in Tsarist Russia>/i> tells the story of Harriet Clarissima Ely Blackford, also known as Fanny Lear. She was an American courtesan in the late nineteenth century, a strong, independent woman who refused to accept the restrictions placed on women by society at the time. In her short, adventure-filled life, her travels took her from Philadelphia to the social heights of Europe and ultimately to Tsarist Russia, where an affair with the Tsars nephew culminated in her arrest and expulsion from Russia. Various diplomatic reports from the US State Department detail the scandalous events and the dire implications of this ill-fated love affair.

Once out of Russia, she reportedly wrote this account in English over the course of eleven days and then supervised its translation into French. Published under the title Le Roman dune Americaine en Russie, it was an instant bestseller. It also brought on diplomatic pressure from Russia that caused her expulsion from France and Italy, although she continued to be a prominent figure in the social and celebrity sections of the European media during the 1870s and 80s.

Her account of the twenty-eight months in Russia is a love story, not only of her love for the Grand Duke, but also for Russia itself. A few copies of her book survived; it has now been translated and is presented here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475924275

Daniel McDonald

Eva and Dan McDonald, from Portugal and Scotland respectively, have followed global career paths with US multinational companies. Their two sons were born in Iran and Nigeria. Their diverse language skills together with residential experience in Brazil, Korea, Singapore, and India have generated multicultural awareness and understanding. They presently live in Philadelphia and Florida.

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Copyright © 2011 by Eva and Daniel McDonald

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-2429-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2428-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2427-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012908147

iUniverse rev. date: 05/16/2012

Contents

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

INTRODUCTION

Acknowledgements

Part ONE

Fanny Lear

Part TWO

FANNY LEAR

DEDICATION

PREFACE

CHAPTER I

I ARRIVE IN RUSSIA

CHAPTER II

MY FIRST DAY IN ST. PETERSBURG

SILVER OLD AGE

CHAPTER III

THE GOLDEN YOUTH - THE GYPSIES - DORROTS - TSARKOE

CHAPTER IV

THE MASKED BALL - I MEET THE GRAND DUKE

CHAPTER V

THE MARBLE PALACE - THE DWARF - PAVLOVSK

CHAPTER VI

THE EMPEROR - A DREAM - N’s…CHARACTER - DOMESTIC SCENES

CHAPTER VII

EXTRACTS FROM MY DIARY - EASTER

CHAPTER VIII

KRASNOE SELO - THE SUMMER -

THE CAMP - THE GD’S ILLNESS - RECOGNITION - EXCURSIONS

CHAPTER IX

TRAVELS ABROAD - MY ABDUCTION - A LETTER FROM THE GD - RETURN TO VIENNA

CHAPTER X

TRIP TO ITALY - VISIT TO THE QUEEN OF GREECE - CORFU - IMPRESSIONS OF A BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE

CHAPTER XI

CONTINUATION OF MY TRAVELS IN ITALY - RETURN TO RUSSIA AND THE QUESTION OF THE KHIVA EXPEDITION

CHAPTER XII

CHRISTMAS - LETTERS FROM NICE

CHAPTER XIII

DEPARTURE FOR KHIVA - OUR GOODBYES - LETTERS WRITTEN EN ROUTE

CHAPTER XIV

LETTERS FROM THE STEPPES

CHAPTER XV

LETTERS FROM THE FORTRESS - THE BIVOUAC - DESCRIPTION OF A BATTLE NEAR KHIVA

CHAPTER XVI

LETTERS FROM BOUKHARA - THREE TELEGRAMS - I LEAVE PARIS

CHAPTER XVII

I GO DOWN THE VOLGA - THE MEETING - RETURN TO ST. PETERSBURG

CHAPTER XVIII

THE PALACE OF THE GRAND DUKES OF LITHUANIA - THE VIENNA EXPOSITION - THE PURCHASE OF A PALACE

CHAPTER XIX

SIGNS OF TIMES - HUNTING LYNX AND WOLVES

CHAPTER XX

MARRIAGE OF THE GRAND DUCHESS MARIE - PARTIES GIVEN TO FOREIGN PRINCES

CHAPTER XXI

THE BEGINNING OF THE STORM - MY LAST VISIT TO N’s…..PALACE - HIS ARREST

CHAPTER XXII

SEARCH AT MY HOUSE - MY ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT - COURAGEOUS CONDUCT OF GOVERNOR JEWEL, PLENIPOTENTIARY MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES - MY FREEDOM

CHAPTER XXIII

VISITS OF COUNT L…… AND DR. B…KI - ATTEMPTS TO MAKE ME TESTIFY THAT THE GD WAS INSANE - LAST DAYS IN RUSSIA - THE PRISONER’S TREATMENT

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE

Part THREE

GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS CONSTANTINOVICH

THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE

HIS CHILDREN

THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE

HIS CHILDREN

Information gathered in Tashkent

NEW YORK TIMES August 13th, 1911

Part FOUR

Fanny Lear’s post Russia life

Part FIVE

Appendix I

APPENDIX II

APPENDIX III

For Morgan Lily

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

37128.jpg

FANNY LEAR

Harriet (Hattie) Clarissima Ely Blackford, born in Philadelphia March 1848, died April 29th, 1886 in Nice, France.

FANNY LEAR

French play written by Meilhac and Helevy.

M…

Mabel Gray, born in London, worked in the Truffut barber shop, moved to Paris and later to St. Petersburg, thought to have worked for the Third Department (Internal Security of Russia), married a Russian Prince and died in Berlin.

GD/N..

Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich, 1850-1918, nephew of Tsar Alexander II. Fanny Lear’s lover.

Father/The Admiral

Grand Duke Constantin Nicholaevich, 1827-1892, father of GD/N., brother of Tsar Alexander II

GD/N… Mother

Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, 1830-1911.

Emperor

Alexander II, 1818-1881.

Empress

Maria Alexandrovna, 1824-1880.

Olga

Queen of Greece, sister of GD/N…, 1851-1926.

Trepoff

Fedor Fedorovich, Governor of St. Petersburg, died 1889.

Schuvaloff

Count Pyotr Schuvaloff, Chief of the Third Department.

Mr. Jewell

Hon. Marshall Jewell, American Minister to Russia.

Schuyler

Eugene Schuyler, United States Charge d’Affairs

INTRODUCTION

37125.jpg

Harriet Clarissima Ely Blackford, alias Fanny Lear was born in Philadelphia in March 1848. She was a strong, independent minded woman who refused to accept 19th century women’s lack of freedom. Endowed with beauty, a clever mind and sense of history she set out to fulfill her childhood fantasies. She was a fascinating woman whose short life was filled with adventure, international notoriety, scandalous affairs and whose reputation was at the mercy of publicity-seeking journalists. Her most notorious relationship with a Russian Grand Duke, incurred the wrath of the Russian Government, who arrested and later expelled her from Russia.

The book Le Roman d’une Americaine en Russie, translated into English for the first time forms the bulk of this work. According to an article in Le Figaro, Fanny Lear wrote the book in English, in eleven days, and then supervised it’s translation into French for publication in Brussels. It was an instant best seller until the French police acting on a request by the Russian Government succeeded in confiscating as many copies of the book in Paris bookshops that they were able to find.

The translation of her account of events in Russia requires a few comments. She portrays this book as a love story, not only of her lover (the Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich, nephew of Tsar Alexander II), but of Russia itself. Naturally, it is self-serving by avoiding accusations that she took advantage of an impressionable, younger man, but also of the financial benefits she received. Her accounts of Russian society and details of various palaces are of interest to modern readers who can reflect on changes made to them given the turmoil of the past century and a quarter.

The Romance often gives dates which are shown as two numbers. This is due to the Julian calendar used in Russia until the Bolsheviks changed to the Gregorian calendar used in the modern world. Distances are measured in versts (one verst equals approximately two thirds of a mile).

The descriptions used by Fanny Lear, at times, challenge sympathetic readers and do appear somewhat pretentious. A few inaccuracies, such as the Rose Pavilion at Pavlovsk, being built by Catherine the Great when in fact it was built by Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Paul, have been left in the book as they do not damage the overall narrative.

The book takes up Fanny’s and the Grand Duke’s story after her deportation from Russia and his arrest and exile. Contemporary newspapers and translated French newspapers give a colorful account of the scandal. The never before published diplomatic cables between the United States Embassy in St Petersburg and United States Secretary of State Hamilton Fish give a more sober, objective account of the events.

Acknowledgements

The US National Archives in Maryland, USA

Les Archives Nationales de France (Nice)

Le Figaro

The New York Times

The Van Pelt Dietrich Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania

The Historic Society of Philadelphia

The Presbyterian Society of Philadelphia

The Free Library of Philadelphia

Professor/Historian Boris Anatolievich Galander. Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Galiya Arifova, interpreter in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

FannyLearbook006.tif

FANNY LEAR (circa 1875)

(Authors’ private collection)

Part ONE

Fanny Lear

Family Background

Fanny Lear was the pseudonym used by an American courtesan whose life was spent in the USA, Europe and Russia. She was born in March 1848, the daughter of Ezra Stiles Ely and Caroline Thompson Holmes. The girl was named Harriet Clarissima, although the more familiar Hattie was generally used.

Her father, born in 1786, graduated from Yale University in 1803 and ultimately became a Presbyterian clergyman. His interests stretched beyond the parochial duties which were his principle focus. Having moved from Connecticut to New York City in 1810 as chaplain of the City hospital, he worked with prostitutes and energetically sought conversions of the poor. These endeavors, together with his sermons were captured in Visits of mercy which he published in 1813. This brought him into the public eye and a prominence in that regard was retained for most of his life. In the same year he moved to Philadelphia as rector of the Old Pine Street Church (Third Presbyterian).

The Reverend Ely expanded his ambitions to further his social profile. He was one of the co-founders of The Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia and his religious activities included sermons which required politicians to take account of his views. The Sabbath movement attracted his energetic support particularly with regard to a legislative ban on Sunday mail deliveries and other commercial activities. The political acceptance of such a policy which he diligently pursued was not successful. He was vocal in regard to infringing marital fidelity, which was not unusual, given his profession. However, he was not timid in lobbying public figures if their behavior caused scandal. In 1829 he wrote to President Jackson, specifying a member of his Cabinet as guilty of such improper conduct. The involvement by the Presbyterian cleric was taken seriously by the President but since the accusations were based on rumors the matter lapsed without action being taken.

He resigned from his Philadelphia duties in 1836 and moved to Missouri where he took up a position in Marion College. Numerous property transactions occupied his time and ultimately culminated in the loss of his fortune. While in Missouri he met and married his second wife Caroline Thomson Holmes. He had been previously married and four grown offspring survived the death of their mother. In the early 1840s he returned to Philadelphia. His public activities were impaired when he suffered a stroke in 1851 at the age of 65. He lingered on for another 10 years before dying at the age of 75. This left his widow Caroline to bring up and support his daughter Hattie and his young sons Zebulon and Ezra.

Entry into Society

In 1861, Hattie was 13 years of age. With the death of her father the family predicament was difficult. Her mother had to support three children which the charity of her father’s parishioners provided. She attended school at 1615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. It was a girl’s school run by Miss Bonney and Miss Dillaye and she remained there till she was 15. Her beauty was a matter of regular comment and the attraction it generated in the male population became the subject of gossip.

She was only sixteen when she married Beale Blackford in April 1864. The fruit of this union was a baby girl who was born the following year and named Caroline Holmes Ely Blackford.

The marriage did not last. Blackford, a railroad conductor, and Hattie clashed as their social behavior led to expensive living beyond their means and his heavy drinking fueled his aggressive nature. He died soon after the birth of his daughter. The cause of his death was never definitively verified. The lack of a coroner’s report has been attributed to the tearful feminine cunning employed by Hattie. However, in later years, when she came within the realm of French authorities, files maintained by the police of her past and ongoing activities suggest that a violent end was the ultimate reason. In an angry confrontation she was stabbed in the neck but he, apparently, did not survive the conflict.

Hattie, now without the restraint of a jealous husband expanded her social connections in Philadelphia. Her beauty, allied with charm, elegance, conversational sophistication and skillful judgment attracted admirers seeking her favors. Her pursuit of wealth led to her reputation being associated with blackmail of wealthy clients. One particular individual set her up in Rittenhouse Square, the pinnacle of Philadelphia high society. While her visibility was escalating, the nature of her prominence started to become a liability in such a socially conscious environment. As her notoriety increased, her ambitions were inflated by the more lucrative potential of New York.

Her career continued successfully in the shady clubs of New York. She was gaining once again that elevated status which attracted the most celebrated personalities of the day. It was during that time that she made the acquaintance of the yachtsman Lloyd Phoenix. He was a person of international renown and he invited Hattie to join him on a trip to London. There she was introduced into that segment of society which revolved around the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII).

The Prince of Wales circle was the upper crust of the aristocracy which dictated the styles, parties, banquets, plays and other activities which were a beacon to the ambitious social climbers of Victorian society. However, protocol established strict standards of behavior whereby association with a courtesan was sufficient grounds to restrict a person’s access to Court. A Scottish earl was deemed guilty of such a transgression with Hattie and suffered the consequences!

It was during this stay in London that she had a liaison with the Prince of Wales which gave her fame in European circles.

Hattie took advantage of the proximity of London to the French capital and visited Paris. It was the high point of the reign of Napoleon the Third and fertile ground for an adventuress such as Hattie to exercise her charms. She bought a mansion on the Malesherbes Boulevard where she received artists and academics such as Alexander Dumas. During her time in Paris and London her activities were comparable to other women of a similar repute such as Mabel Grey an Englishwomen and Marie Beecher from the USA. Their paths were to cross during the next few years. It was in 1868 that a play called Fanny Lear, written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy opened in Paris. The title was later to be adopted by Hattie for her own purposes!

She returned to London before the outbreak of the Franco/Prussian war and thereby avoided the chaos of the collapse of the Second Empire and of the Paris Commune. Her stay in London achieved more limelight than previously. She was reportedly at ease in the Prince of Wales set and her photograph, dressed as a musketeer, achieved wide circulation. Her reputation flourished at the hands of newspaper editors. Photographers used her beauty and celebrity status to enhance their own trade, whereas the gossip columnists enriched their articles with hints of unpaid debts owed to costume designers and others. Consequently, there came a point when Hattie decided that fresh green pastures would bring a welcome change for her. She therefore returned to Paris en route to St Petersburg.

It is at this point that Hattie’s Romance relates her experiences in Russia……

Part TWO

FANNY LEAR

THE ROMANCE OF AN AMERICAN IN RUSSIA

Brussels

Lacroix et Cie. Editeurs

1875

DEDICATION

37301.jpg

This book is dedicated to the one who called me Fanny Lear, who gave me an enchanted life and whose heart taught me to repeat many times, that one’s Country is where one loves and where one is inspired with confidence and affection.

PREFACE

37303.jpg

In publishing this intimate memoir, it is not my intention to give to the mundane World, to which I belong, a subject that deserves to cause dramatic scenes in Paris and even less to compete for an award from the French Academy, because probably it will be ignored by the former, while the latter will not find it dignifying enough for recognition.

My intention is simply to correct the facts which have been distorted by the hostile and ill-informed press.

There was never a conscious effort by me to have the press portray my private life in such a false and malicious manner - a situation disagreeable for anyone of my sex - I thought that it would be advisable to expose the malignant nature of their reports and at the same time preserve the honor without causing the least embarrassment to the young man who is the subject of this book.

Silence generally stimulates mockery; opposition to public transgressions is not only a right but a duty to be defended.

I am going then to relate the events of my time in Russia, without letting myself be led by nastiness or by exaggeration, knowing very well that in my situation, I have no other weapon but the truth.

In other times in France, women were always assumed to be rational, as Beaumarchais stated. I dare to hope that the proverbial gallantry of this nation will listen to the sincere and unpretentious story of a foreigner, who expresses herself in the same language as the authors of Manon Lascaut and The Lady of the Camellias.

Now, the verdict on these matters can be left to the readers.

CHAPTER I

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I ARRIVE IN RUSSIA

During my childhood, I studied history, and my favorite heroes were Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Peter the Great and Napoleon I.

It is because of these last two, who fascinated me immensely that I remember reading avidly about their romantic lives, one of whom became a carpenter and married a beggar (morality versus History). I also loved the story of Anna of Russia and her ice palace, and the wild splendor of the cruel Catherine the Great.

My imagination was captivated by this Country, covered in snow, by the banks of the great River Neva, which we can cross on the ice in carriages, impetuously carried away by spirited horses; by the hills of ice where you can descend with dizzying speed; above all by the summer white nights, when there is not even a bit of darkness.

I sometimes said to my mother: This is where I will go when I grow up. My mother seemed troubled and worried and replied: My child it will be necessary for you to travel fifteen long days over the ocean and then more days on land. You will be frozen - it is so cold there. My answer was always the same: - Dear Mama, when I go there I will be able to wear many furs.

Nothing could make me change my mind, always filled with the dreams and imagination of a young girl. Then in November 1871, I thought it was only natural to find myself on my way to St. Petersburg.

It was a very happy journey and although I am not superstitious, I think I should have had a premonition of what was coming.

My maid was not very pleased to make this trip and kept trying to delay our departure, for one reason or another.

Finally, on November 11th, at 3.00 o’clock, I left Paris from the North Station.

As my maid was late, I wrote her a note with instructions for her to follow me by the night train and meet me in Cologne, which she did.

Berlin seemed to me cold, dark and unfriendly as usual. We left Berlin in the early morning and were headed for the land of the Tsars. I was happy and eager to see this land, all covered in white, which had been in my dreams for so long.

We arrived in the morning of the second day in Wirballan and from that moment on, I thought I would be sheltered from any kind of tribulation, but tribulation poured over me without mercy, as we will see.

To start with and to my astonishment, my books were confiscated, - they were simple novels - and I was still unaware that the press in Russia was under the control of His Majesty the Emperor.

Furthermore, of the two pieces of luggage that I had, only one arrived; naturally I was annoyed with the absence of my toiletries, without which a traveling woman feels like a soldier going into battle without ammunition.

Afterwards a kind man who tried to be understood in excellent Russian, some German and one or two words in French and English, explained to me that because my passport had no proper visa, it was necessary to send someone to Koenigsburg to rectify it. In the meantime he said I would have to wait in the station.

I pleaded and begged all without success. I was told to go upstairs where a room had been placed at my disposal.

As far as I remember, the room had a bed, a white iron basin, but no jug with water, nor any other facilities which are so common in the civilized World.

According to my maid I had the air of bewilderment, and if she were not so attached to me, she would have gladly given into the desire to imitate Lott’s wife at the moment of her metamorphosis. As for me I was too far along the journey to turn back.

Meanwhile the bells rang and the locomotives started to whistle and the happy passengers who had their passports in order, departed for St. Petersburg.

After obtaining water, not without difficulty, I freshened up and decided to go downstairs for lunch and also to ask the customs chief to return some of my books, because I wanted something to read.

On entering the salon, I found my adorable little dog Lloydy in my maid’s arms, having convulsions. I did all I could to save his life, but all my efforts were in vain and my dear beautiful pet died before my eyes.

I was desolated and I wished I were in a more hospitable land.

After lunch I returned to my gloomy room to mourn alone the loss of the poor little dog, victim of the Russian cold, and also to try and get some rest. However, my curiosity was stronger than my fatigue and I went to look through my window to see what this Country looked like.

The window was sealed tight and because of the dust I could not see anything.

I climbed up on the window sill and found a small spring that I wiggled and

Reviews for Fanny Lear

[briandrewz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was a disappointment, especially considering that it could have been so much more. The real "meat" of the book consists of the memoirs of Fanny Lear, mistress of Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich of Russia. Long since lost and translated here from the French, they tell of a woman in love with a public figure only to suffer the inevitable collapse of such a relationship as between Grand Duke and courtesan. This part of the book is very interesting.What it lacks, however, is the representation of scholarly details. The authors don't include footnotes or endnotes, which would have helped tremendously in the figuring out of who is who. The short bibliography is given under the heading of "Acknowledgements". The book very briefly glosses over Fanny Lear's early life and first marriage, which resulted in the birth of a daughter. However, the authors don't even give us a clue as to the daughter's fate, after the end of this marriage. Several pieces of information near the end of the book are repeated several times.I wish the authors would go back and give this book a good edit. They could really have something here, but unfortunately, this edition falls a little flat.