Mervyn, 7th Viscount Powerscourt, and Lady Julia, Viscountess Powerscourt, are coincidentally another set of the Duchess of York’s great-great-grandparents. It is from Viscount Powerscourt’s own work, A Description and History of Powerscourt, that much of the detail of the house is taken, including his obsession with stags’ heads. Interestingly, while there’s nothing to associate Lady Margaret with Powerscourt, there is an oil painting of the forest at Achnacarry with Ben Nevis in the background recorded as hanging in one of the bedroom passages, so it is just possible that Lord Powerscourt and Donald Cameron were acquainted.

Lady Julia’s desire for children was eventually fulfilled, though not until she had been married for sixteen years, after which she had five in rapid succession. Lord Powerscourt, however, had long before given up hope of having an heir and apparently set out to spend his considerable wealth in order to prevent his brother Lewis from inheriting, which meant, sadly, that his son’s inheritance was much depleted.

As for Lewis Strange Wingfield—it would be impossible for a novelist to invent a more colourful life than the one he lived. The third and youngest son of the 6th Viscount and Lady Elizabeth, some believed his father to be the 4th Marquess of Londonderry, his mother’s second husband. Lewis was variously a traveller, actor, critic, playwright, theatrical costume designer, novelist, and painter (his work was exhibited at the Royal Academy) with a penchant for role playing, spending nights in workhouses and pauper lodgings, and becoming an attendant in a madhouse and a prison. He travelled to Paris as a war correspondent during the Franco-German War (1870–71), where he trained as a surgeon. Though rumoured to be gay, he did marry in 1868, though he had no children.

The New York section of our book is also peppered with real historical characters. While their interactions with Lady Margaret are entirely imagined, every effort has been made to be true to the real person’s character and history—with apologies for any mistakes, oversights, or omissions.

Mrs. William Astor was still climbing the social ladder when Margaret arrived in New York, just ahead of the Gilded Age and the legendary “Four Hundred” defined by Samuel Ward McAllister, but they were already assuming their roles as gatekeepers to society, and the competition to gain an invitation to “the” party of the Season was fierce.

Jane Cunningham Croly, who wrote a number of hugely popular articles and a cookbook as Jenny June, was a founding member of the Sorosis Club, whose first meeting took place in 1868 in Delmonico’s. Mary Louise Booth, also a founding member, became the first editor of Harper’s Bazar the same year. Both were advocates of a woman’s right to earn a living and were closely involved with the women’s suffrage movement.