April 2, 2018
Attorney Renton’s thorough, if less than fully captivating, biography of three high-society sisters who were part of the British cultural and political elite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries provides a portrait of the aristocratic intelligentsia in Victorian and early Edwardian England. Mary (1862–1937), Madeline (1869–1941), and Pamela Wyndham (1871–1928) come across as less vapid, more intellectual proto-Kardashians who were known mostly for being known. Daughters of a conservative politician, the sisters were immortalized in a John Singer Sargent painting and were prominent members of a circle of socially and politically influential friends dubbed the “Souls.” They served as informal confidantes for their husbands and rumored lovers, including Mary’s close “Soul” friend, Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, raising the possibility that they had influence on public policy. By the time they are middle-aged, the Wyndhams’ distraught letters reveal their devastation after WWI killed most of their sons and ended their prewar way of life. Renton uses a light, almost gossipy tone in describing the Souls’ early games of wit and petty squabbles, and pulls no punches in describing Pamela’s literal carpet-biting tantrums or Mary’s coldness toward her progeny. Drawing on an impressive array of family and acquaintance diaries, journals, and letters, Renton attempts to flesh out the Wyndhams to explain both public fascination with them and also their hand in creating pre–WWI British culture, but the famed Wyndham charisma doesn’t quite shine through. This tale of the witty, sparkling privileged set may appeal most to fans of Downton Abbey.