Lola Montes
“When you met Lola Montes, her reputation made you immediately think of bedrooms” wrote Aldous Huxley in regards to Lola, a famous dancer, courtesan, and many other things. The history of Lola Montes seems steeped in mystery – her own autobiography is considered by some scholars as utter bologna, and the specifics of her life are difficult to pin down due to press coverage from her heyday leaving truth behind for tantalizing stories. A sex symbol to some and an inspiring dancer to others, while the details aren’t all clear Lola Montes left a mark on the entertainment industry.
Montes was originally born Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert on February 17th, 1821 in Ireland. She spent the majority of her childhood in India as her father was in the military, before receiving most of her schooling in Scotland and England. She married an army lieutenant herself before separating after five years, then commencing her career as a dancer in 1843. She seems to have been a hit very quickly, and romances with musicians seems to have worked her career along as well. She toured England, France, and Germany where she met Louis I of Bavaria and commenced a lengthy mistress-ship resulting in a castle and titles of Baroness and Countess. Montes was influential enough for Louis to make liberal and anti-Jesuit policies – but also supposedly his infatuation with her resulted in the collapse of his regime and revolution in 1848.
She had a short marriage following, and then settled in the United States and performed major cities. The mention here of Lola visiting the hotel in Crimea would have likely been a performance for the morale of soldiers. Although Montes’ life is shrouded in mystery and exaggeration, her legacy is clear in the various film, theatre, and literary productions about her in up to the (relatively) present day.
Works Consulted and Further Readings
Burns, Mickey. “Lola Montes.” Cineaction, no. 40, 1996, pp. 38-0_3.
Lola Montès. Directed by Max Ophüls, Gamma Film, Gamma Film, Florida Films, 1955.
Lola Montez | Irish Dancer, Courtesan & Actress | Britannica. 20 July 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lola-Montez.
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Magnificent Montez, by Horace Wyndham. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21421/21421-h/21421-h.htm#pic_05. Accessed 15 Sept. 2023.