Lady Caroline Blackwood
Lady Caroline Blackwood | |
|---|---|
| Born | Caroline Maureen Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood 16 July 1931 4 Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge, London, England |
| Died | 14 February 1996 (aged 64) Mayfair Hotel, Park Avenue, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Author, socialite, muse |
| Years active | 1950s–1996 |
| Known for | Novels and autobiographical works |
Lady Caroline Blackwood (born Caroline Maureen Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood; 16 July 1931 – 14 February 1996) was a distinguished English author, socialite, and muse. Her literary works gained recognition for their sharp wit and intellectual depth. She also penned an autobiography that recounted her affluent yet challenging upbringing. As a member of British nobility, she was the eldest daughter of the 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava and Maureen Constance Guinness. Each of her three marriages was to men prominent in their respective professions.
Early life
Caroline Maureen Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood entered the world on 16 July 1931 at 4 Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge, London, the family home of her parents, Maureen Constance Guinness and Basil Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava.
She characterized her schooling as "limited," having attended institutions such as Rockport School in County Down and Downham School near Essex, among others.
In 1949, following her education in Oxford, Blackwood made her debut as a society debutante at a ball held at Londonderry House.
Career
Blackwood's professional journey began at Hulton Press, where she worked as a secretary before advancing to journalism assignments under the direction of Claud Cockburn. While in Paris, she encountered Picasso, famously choosing not to wash for three days after he sketched on her hands and nails.
After marrying the artist Lucian Freud in 1953, she became a prominent figure within London's bohemian scene, frequenting venues like the Gargoyle Club and Colony Room, distancing herself from conventional Belgravia drawing room society. She served as a model for several of Freud's paintings, including Girl in Bed, and drew creative inspiration from the artistic approaches of Freud and Francis Bacon, which influenced her subsequent literary work.
During the early 1960s, Blackwood contributed articles to Encounter, London Magazine, among other publications, addressing subjects such as the beatnik movement, sectarian conflict in Ulster, feminist theatre, and New York’s free school initiatives. At this time, she was involved in an affair with Robert Silvers, co-founder of The New York Review of Books.
Her third marriage to American poet Robert Lowell had a profound effect on her writing career; he encouraged her to release her first book, For All That I Found There (1973), which includes a memoir recounting her daughter's treatment in a burns unit.
Blackwood’s first novel, The Stepdaughter (1976), garnered critical praise and won the David Higham Prize for best debut novel. This was succeeded by Great Granny Webster (1977), partially drawn from her own childhood experiences, depicting an elderly woman’s destructive influence on her family; it was shortlisted for the 1977 Booker Prize.
Written in 1980 but withheld from publication until after Suzanne Blum’s death in 1995, The Last of the Duchess explores the connection between the Duchess of Windsor and her legal advisor Suzanne Blum.
Her third novel, The Fate of Mary Rose (1981), delves into the aftermath experienced by a Kent village after a young girl suffers rape and torture; it is narrated by a historian whose personal life unravels due to his obsessive nature.
Additionally, she released a collection of five short stories titled Good Night Sweet Ladies (1983). Her final novel, Corrigan (1984), did not achieve significant commercial success.
In her later years, Blackwood focused on social commentary through interviews and short pieces: On The Perimeter (1984) addressed the activism surrounding the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp at RAF Greenham Common, while In The Pink (1987) examined both hunting practices and hunt saboteur groups.
Published works
Throughout her career, Blackwood authored ten books, with The Collected Stories being issued after her death.
Novels
- The Stepdaughter (1976)
- Great Granny Webster (1977)
- The Fate of Mary Rose (1981)
- Corrigan (1984)
Collections
- For All That I Found There (1973)
- Good Night Sweet Ladies (1983)
- Never Breathe a Word: The Collected Stories of Caroline Blackwood (2010)
Other
- Darling, You Shouldn’t Have Gone to So Much Trouble (1980)
- On the Perimeter (1984)
- In the Pink (1987)
- The Last of the Duchess (1995)
Personal life
Blackwood entered into matrimony three times and was mother to four children.
- Lucian Freud, married in 1953, divorced in 1958.
- Israel Citkowitz, married 1959, divorced 1972; they had three daughters: Natalya, Eugenia, and Ivana.
- Robert Lowell, married in 1972, with whom she had one son; Lowell passed away in 1977.
In 1957, she relocated to New York City to pursue acting studies at the Stella Adler school. Introduced by socialite Ann Fleming, she eloped with Freud in Paris in 1953.
By 1966, her marriage to Citkowitz had ended, though he stayed nearby to support their daughters until his death. During the mid-1960s, Blackwood was involved romantically with Robert Silvers, co-founder of The New York Review of Books, who remained close to the family. Although Silvers was believed to be Ivana's father, Blackwood disclosed on her deathbed that screenwriter Ivan Moffat was Ivana’s biological parent.
On 22 June 1978, her eldest daughter Natalya died at age 17 from postural asphyxia caused by a drug overdose.
Blackwood and Lowell resided in London and Kent. Lowell’s poetry collection The Dolphin (1973) captures the turmoil of their relationship and the arrival of their son. Lowell struggled with bipolar disorder, which caused Blackwood considerable distress regarding its effects on their family. He died in 1977 in New York while en route to visit his former wife, writer Elizabeth Hardwick.
To minimize tax liabilities, Blackwood moved to County Kildare, Ireland in 1977, living at Castletown House owned by her cousin Desmond Guinness. She returned to the United States in 1987, settling in Sag Harbor on Long Island. Despite battling alcoholism, she continued her literary work, including memoirs of Princess Margaret and artist Francis Bacon published in The New York Review of Books in 1992.
Death
Lady Caroline Blackwood passed away from cancer on 14 February 1996 at the Mayfair Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City, aged 64.