1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Danish Schwartz, the host of Noble Blood. 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Just a little bit of housekeeping, tiny little announcement before 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: we start. I have a new podcast called Hoax. It's 4 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: a very casual podcast with my friend Lizzie Logan, where 5 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: every other week we do a deep dive into a famous, 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: historical or not so historical hoax that fascinates one or 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,119 Speaker 1: the other of us. It's so much fun to do. 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: And if you like Noble Blood and you just want 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: to hear me talk in a more casual way, listen 10 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: to Hoax. Hoax exclamation point. We have a lot of 11 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: fun making it. I also have a new book coming 12 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: out in May twenty twenty six. I co wrote this 13 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: book under a pseudonym. It's called The Arcane Arts. I 14 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: co wrote it because we alternate points of view in 15 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: the book. I write the female point of view. My 16 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 1: co author, my friend Dan, writes the male point of view. 17 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: It's a dark academia sexy thriller. If that's the sort 18 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: of thing you think you might like, look up The 19 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: Arcane Arts by s. D. Coverly. Pre Orders really really help. 20 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: So if the book seems like it's something that would 21 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: interest you, please preorder the book, but as always, just 22 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: thank you for listening to the show and letting me 23 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: make Noble Blood. Let's get into it. Welcome to Noble Blood, 24 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: A production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. 25 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: Listener Discretion advised. Bavaria in the middle of the nineteenth 26 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: century was a country in peril. The King, Ludwig the 27 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: First had once been beloved, but now he was mired 28 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: in a firestorm of controversy. His subjects were furious with him. 29 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: Scandals piled up as rumors swirled that his judgment had 30 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: been compromised, that he was being controlled by shadowy outside forces. 31 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: High ranking officials were dropping like flies, while citizens took 32 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: to the streets in protest. By the middle of the 33 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: eighteen forties, the demonstrations had reached a fever pitch. The cabinet, 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: the people, and eventually even the rest of the royal 35 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:15,519 Speaker 1: family turned against Ludwig. It reached the point where Ludwig 36 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: knew he couldn't continue to rule, at least not without 37 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: undermining the institution of the monarchy itself, and so on 38 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: March twentieth, eighteen forty eight, he abdicated the throne, allowing 39 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: his son Maximilian to become the new King of Bavaria. 40 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: What had caused King Ludwig's remarkable downfall? What had turned 41 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: the people against him? Like any question in history, the 42 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: answer is complicated and layered. But at the heart of 43 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: it all in this case is an exotic dancer whom 44 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: the king had made a countess, a woman named Lola Monte. 45 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: I'm Danish Schwartz and this is noble blood. Lola Montes 46 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: blazed a trail throughout the Western world, rubbing elbows and 47 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: more with some of the greatest minds and most powerful 48 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: men of the era, but her fiery spirit and insatiable 49 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: lust for life turned out to be far too much 50 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: for any one man, even a king, to handle. She 51 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: was a master of reinvention, an opportunist whose motto was 52 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: courage and shuffle the cards. She wasn't actually as she 53 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: claimed until her death from Spain, nor was her real 54 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: name Lola Montes, but for simplicity's sake, we'll call her 55 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: Lola throughout the episode. She was born in Ireland and 56 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: given the name Eliza Rosanna Gilbert. Her birth year was 57 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: most likely Lee eighteen twenty one, although with all things 58 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: Lola Montes, we should take it with a grain of salt. 59 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: Her dad, Edward, was a British officer and her mom 60 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: the illegitimate daughter of a local politician. There were rumors 61 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: that her mom was already pregnant when she got married, 62 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: and that was in addition to the circling allegations that 63 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: Lola's mother and even her grandmother were also illegitimate. Lola 64 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,840 Speaker 1: never stood a chance. She was just born into a 65 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: scandalous life. In eighteen twenty three, the family moved to India, 66 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: where Edward's regiment was dispatched. Tragically, Edward died of cholera 67 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: soon after their arrival. Lola's mother, Elizabeth, a widow at 68 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: only nineteen years old, remarried within the year to Lieutenant 69 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: Patrick Craigie. Craigie was fond of his stepdaughter, but he 70 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: was seriously concerned about her her behavior. A childhood in 71 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: a foreign land with a loving but laid back aya 72 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: or nursemaid was fertile ground for young Lola's spirited nature 73 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: to blossom into problem child territory. At age ten, Lola 74 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: was sent away to live with Craigie's relatives, the idea 75 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: being that sometime in England would groom the foreign wildness 76 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: out of her, but it didn't work. Lola quickly earned 77 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 1: a reputation as a troublemaker and was bounced from boarding 78 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: school to boarding school, always leaving chaos in her wake. 79 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: By the time Lola was sixteen, her mother was eager 80 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: to marry her off. Elizabeth was an ambitious social climber 81 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: and saw her daughter's marriage as the perfect way to 82 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: elevate both the family's status and also make her daughter 83 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: someone else's problem. Elizabeth showed up at Lola's school at 84 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: this point in Bath and announced her plan. Lola would 85 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: come back to India and marry Sir Abraham Lumley, a 86 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 1: wealthy and powerful judge. Lola bulked at the union for 87 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: many reasons, not least of which was that Lumley was 88 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: sixty years old. Lola wanted nothing to do with that 89 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,040 Speaker 1: old man. She sought the advice of a young army 90 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: lieutenant named Thomas James, whom her mother had befriended on 91 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,919 Speaker 1: her journey to beth. Lola poured out her heart to 92 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: this visiting stranger, and for the first time, but certainly 93 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:44,039 Speaker 1: not the last, a man found himself captivated by her 94 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 1: Lieutenant James was taken with the vibrant young girl and 95 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 1: decided on the spot that he would be the one 96 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: to save her. That very night, he took Lola to 97 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: his family home in Ireland, where they were married days later. 98 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: Lola's mother was apoplectic. Her carefully devised social climbing had 99 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: ended in complete betrayal, but the marriage was doomed from 100 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: the start. Lola was too young and inexperienced to understand 101 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: what she'd committed to, and had mostly been focused on 102 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: getting out of a bad situation. And here is where 103 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,119 Speaker 1: we q getaway car by Taylor Swift. Thomas James did 104 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: care for his young bride, but they were never really 105 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: a good fit. Lola wrote of her time in Ireland, quote, 106 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: I wished for nothing more intensely than to be abducted 107 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: once more, but this time not by a potential husband, 108 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: but by anything or anyone who could rescue me from 109 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: the deadly monotony of this eternally repetitive life. From these 110 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: cold English faces, no smiles, no friendly glances, no kind words. 111 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: What started as verbal arguments escalated into physical abuse. Things 112 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: improved slightly when the couple returned to India in eighteen 113 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: thirty eight and could enjoy some semblance of a social life, 114 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: but they parted ways five years later. Desperate to leave 115 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: that chapter of her life behind, Lola sailed for London 116 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: a single woman, now with her whole life before her. 117 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: She was never one to be without a man for long. 118 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: Whether that was a matter of convenience or of genuine 119 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,959 Speaker 1: emotion and preference, will never know, although she most likely 120 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 1: landed somewhere in the middle, regardless of the reasons why exactly. 121 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: Upon her arrival in London, Lola immediately took up with 122 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: a man she met on the ship. Between the money 123 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: she had gotten from both her stepfather and her then 124 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: ex husband, Lola arrived in London with around ten thousand dollars, 125 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: but thanks to her extravagant spending, it didn't last long. 126 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: Neither did that new relationship I alluded to. Now alone 127 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: and broke, Eliza needed a new plan. For a single 128 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: young woman in the eighteen forties, employment opportunities were scarce. 129 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,199 Speaker 1: Lola didn't have the right disposition to be a governess, 130 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: and given her scandalous social life, she probably wouldn't have 131 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: kept a position for too long. Besides, the other option 132 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: was much more appealing to her the stage. Lola started 133 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: her training, but things didn't go perfectly well. Her voice 134 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: was too weak for the theater, and she wasn't naturally 135 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: gifted as a dancer either. But she had one big 136 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 1: thing going for her. She was beautiful, with a magnetic 137 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: presence and a killer body. Spanish dances were fashionable at 138 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: the time and required much less in the way of technique, 139 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: at least two English audiences. After a few months of 140 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: training and a trip to Spain to study the language 141 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: and customs, Lola reinvented herself completely as someone glamorous and 142 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:24,200 Speaker 1: quote unquote exotic. She adopted the stage name Lola Montes 143 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: full name Dona Maria Dolores de Pores Emntez. She had 144 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: learned just enough of the language and Spanish customs to 145 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 1: seem authentic to the casual English observer. She started smoking 146 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:46,199 Speaker 1: thin black cigars and spun multiple invented gloriously dramatic backstories 147 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: for herself. She was ready to take the world by storm, 148 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: but even Lola herself couldn't have imagined how far she'd go. 149 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,559 Speaker 1: You might be asking yourself why Spanish. At this time, 150 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: Spanish culture was very popular in Europe. It represented passion, mystery, sensuality, 151 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: all the things that other cultures, especially early Victorian England, 152 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: were sorely lacking. Spanish dancers had a reputation for being 153 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: fiery and uninhibited, which coincidentally could provide excellent cover for 154 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 1: a lack of technical prowess. It was the perfect persona 155 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: for a woman looking to reinvent herself and stand out. 156 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty three, Lola had her stage debut. She 157 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: went on a press tour where she posed as a 158 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: genuine Spanish woman telling stories in broken English. She charmed 159 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:56,199 Speaker 1: the press completely. Her reviews were nearly unanimous, although most 160 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: critics did note that she was more style than substance, 161 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: but they didn't seem to mind. But there was one problem. 162 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: She was almost immediately recognized. People began to talk, and 163 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: Lola Montes was outed as Missus James and identified as 164 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: most definitely not being actually Spanish. London was too close 165 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: for Lola. If she wanted to make her new persona stick, 166 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: she needed to put more distance between her old life 167 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: and her new one. It assumed that around this time 168 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 1: Lola was putting her natural charms to work as a 169 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: means of supporting herself. Whether that was outright sex work 170 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: or just keeping company with wealthy men who showered her 171 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 1: with gifts, we can't say, but Lola was never shy about, 172 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: let's say, maximizing her assets. Around this time, Lola met 173 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: a rich, elderly German prince who soon found himself entranced 174 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: by the exotic young woman. He gave her money to 175 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 1: pay off her debts and extended an offhand invitation to 176 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: come visit his court if she were ever in his country. 177 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: That was all the encouragements our girl needed, and she 178 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: headed for the continent. Things didn't go well with the princeling. 179 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: Lola's casual swearing and rejection of royal protocol rubbed everyone 180 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: the wrong way, but Lola kept it moving, still trying 181 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: to get a foothold as a performer. Lola's reception in 182 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: Germany was basically the same as it had been in London. 183 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: Some were entranced by her brash stage presence and gonzo 184 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 1: performing style, but for most patrons, Lola was the inverse 185 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: of that famous song from a chorus line. She was 186 00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: looks ten Dance three Again. Lola's temper also got her 187 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,559 Speaker 1: in trouble. She was almost thrown in prison for hitting 188 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: an officer with a whip while trying to sneak into 189 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: a state visit from Zar Nicholas, the First of Russia. 190 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: Lola incidentally loved a whip and she needed little excuse 191 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: to break it out. But with that, it was time 192 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: for her to move on again. In Poland, Lola found 193 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: new benefactors, including the composer Franz List. More stage time 194 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: brought more mixed reviews and more controversy. Then it was 195 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: on to Paris, where Lola made her stage debut in 196 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: an opera, but that didn't go particularly well either, and 197 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: she soon found herself taken off line ups. People seemed 198 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: to either love her or hate her, with no in between. 199 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: It can't really be a coincidence that the ones who 200 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 1: loved her were usually predominantly wealthy, powerful men who were 201 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: also happy to bankroll her lifestyle. Through a relationship with 202 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: newspaper owner and drama critic Alexandra Dujarier, Lola was able 203 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: to boost her performing career, and she continued to perform 204 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: to wildly varying reviews. As always, her beauty and stage 205 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,760 Speaker 1: present made up for her lack of real skill. She 206 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: cared deeply for Dujarier and hoped to marry him someday, 207 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: but he was killed in a duel, and Lola found 208 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: herself once more without a protector. She moved from place 209 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: to place and man to man, but no one could 210 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: keep up with her. Finally, in eighteen forty six, Lola 211 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: traveled to Munich, where she bagged her biggest catch yet, 212 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: the King of Bavaria. Ludwig the First was sixty years 213 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: old when he met Lola. I'm guessing the royal title 214 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: made him much more palatable than the sixty year old 215 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: her mother had tried to marry her off to back 216 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: in India. Ludvig at this time was generally popular among 217 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: his subjects. As a ruler, he had little political ability, 218 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: content to leave the government in the hands of others 219 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: while he focused on the arts and on beautiful women. 220 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: For years, his subjects, as well as Queen Terrace, had 221 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: tolerated Ludwig's dalliances, knowing any fling would be short lived 222 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: and result in not much more than a new portrait 223 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: for his gallery. There was no reason to think that 224 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: this Spanish dancer would be any different. They had no 225 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: idea just how different this one would be. Lola and 226 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: Ludwig met in October eighteen forty six. There was a 227 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: rumor that Ludwig asked her in public if her breasts 228 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: were real, and she responded by tearing off enough of 229 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,439 Speaker 1: her garments to prove that they were. Whether or not 230 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 1: that story is apocryphal, it's undeniable that Ludwig fell under 231 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: her spell, and Lola immediately began to exercise her control. 232 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 1: She started getting stage time, and audiences were once again 233 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 1: divided between love her and hate her. What was obvious 234 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: was Ludwig loved her. Within a month, she had a 235 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: yearly allowance of ten thousand florins, five times as much 236 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:42,199 Speaker 1: as a university professor's salary and nearly twice that of 237 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,640 Speaker 1: a cabinet minister. A couple weeks after that, Ludwig had 238 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: Lola ridden into his will. By December, he had bought 239 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: her a house purchased in her name. This was both 240 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,560 Speaker 1: to keep the money trail clean and to help her 241 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: establish residence. More than anything, Lola wanted Bavarian citizenship as 242 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: well as elevation to nobility, and she wasn't shy about 243 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: letting the king know. Within just days of meeting her 244 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:18,439 Speaker 1: Ludwig had presented Lola to his ministers. Gentlemen, you have 245 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,360 Speaker 1: the honor to meet my new best friend, he declared, 246 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,239 Speaker 1: Please oblige me by treating her at all times with 247 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:30,199 Speaker 1: the same respect you have always shown me. But Lola 248 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: immediately recognized the stern men as potential enemies and boldly 249 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: warned King Ludwig that his Jesuit packed government controlled him. 250 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,720 Speaker 1: She singled out Prime Minister Carl von Abel as being 251 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: particularly untrustworthy. Ludwig was stunned she had identified in mere 252 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 1: weeks what he had been questioning for years. In his eyes, 253 00:18:55,480 --> 00:19:00,479 Speaker 1: that gave Lola enormous credibility. For her part, Lola truly 254 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:05,160 Speaker 1: believed that she was freeing the king's mind from outdated conventions. 255 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: She saw herself as the people's liberator, symbolizing freedom in 256 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: a new age. Ludwig was deaf to suggestions that she 257 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: was manipulating him. The Jesuits called her the apocalyptic Pore. 258 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 1: Lola's stubbornness and temper were still on full display, making 259 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: her extremely unpopular among the people. Ludwig was spending astronomical 260 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 1: amounts of money on her, and despite his attempts to 261 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: rein her in she continued to blow past her allotted allowance. 262 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 1: She was arrogant and often abusive to anyone who caught 263 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: her at the wrong moment. She was seen with lots 264 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 1: of other men. She was often scandalously under dressed. Despite 265 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: opponents installing a spy in Lola's household and reporting back 266 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:04,840 Speaker 1: her ar radic behavior, Ludwig couldn't accept the truth. Despite 267 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: extreme oppositional pressure, Ludwig granted Lola Bavarian citizenship in February 268 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: of eighteen forty seven. The Minister of the Interior resigned 269 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: in protest, and many of his colleagues followed. Suit protests 270 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: erupted all over, including one outside Lola's house, where it 271 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: is rumored that she, in characteristic fashion, flashed her breasts 272 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,479 Speaker 1: at the crowd. Ludwig was becoming a joke to his 273 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,479 Speaker 1: own people. He and Lola followed all the hallmarks of 274 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:45,320 Speaker 1: a toxic couple. Break up, get back together, cause chaos, 275 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: repeat the cycle. Despite all the drama, on Ludwig's birthday, 276 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: August twenty fifth, eighteen forty seven, Ludwig made Lola the 277 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: Countess of Landsfeld and Baroness of Rosenthal. He wrote her 278 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: a letter asking her to please behave in accordance with 279 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: her new title, essentially begging her not to embarrass him. 280 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,880 Speaker 1: Please please, please, You won't be shocked to know it 281 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: didn't work. Lola's elevation to nobility only increased her appetite 282 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: for power. Her arrogance, her hatred of the Jesuits, her 283 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: blatant greed were all the talk of Europe. Her public 284 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: behavior was increasingly shocking, spitting at a bishop, thrashing a worker, 285 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: smashing a shop window, or breaking her parasol over the 286 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: head of a nobleman who opposed her. On more than 287 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: one occasion, she threatened an angry crowd with her whip, 288 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:53,680 Speaker 1: pistol or dagger. One of her lovers was a university student, 289 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: and she essentially turned his fraternity, the Alimanon, into her 290 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 1: own private army. She parted with them, and they worshiped her. 291 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:10,160 Speaker 1: When Lola set her bulldog on a much respected university 292 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: professor of philosophy who had done her no harm, she 293 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: unwittingly set in motion her own downfall. The students were 294 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:26,239 Speaker 1: tremendously supportive of the professor. Munich University students revolted, with 295 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: clashes erupting between the Alamanen and the rest of campus 296 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:36,440 Speaker 1: who hated her. Ludwig closed the university, which only escalated 297 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:42,120 Speaker 1: the situation. By March eighteen forty eight, pressure was mounting. 298 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 1: The specter of the French Revolution still hung over Europe 299 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 1: decades later, and the very real threat of revolution was 300 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:56,480 Speaker 1: enough to knock some sense into Ludwig. He reopened the 301 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: university and abdicated, leaving his son Maximilian the Second to 302 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: become the new king. Lola fled the country. In less 303 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: than two years, Lola Montes had brought a country to 304 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: its knees and permanently changed the geopolitical landscape. Not bad 305 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: for a random girl from Ireland. Lola Montes found herself 306 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: stripped of the power she had enjoyed and abused as 307 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: King Ludwig's number one mistress. Without her benefactor and protector, 308 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: she was suddenly Bavaria's public enemy number one. Lola fled 309 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,120 Speaker 1: to Switzerland, where she waited for Ludwig to come for her. 310 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,160 Speaker 1: He never did, but Lola didn't spend too much time 311 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,159 Speaker 1: tied up in grief. She dusted herself off and kept 312 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: things moving. She moved to London in eighteen forty eight, 313 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: and you guessed it met another guy, George Held was 314 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: a twenty one year old officer with serious family money, 315 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 1: as well as an apparent affinity for passionate dancer types. 316 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: The two were married quickly, but soon ran into problems 317 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,119 Speaker 1: Lola's separation from Thomas James. The ex that she had 318 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: left back in India contained terms that prohibited either of 319 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: them from remarrying while the other was still alive. That 320 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,800 Speaker 1: meant that Lola and George had to leave the country 321 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 1: to escape bigamy charges. The two lived in France and 322 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: Spain for a while, but within two years the marriage 323 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 1: fell apart. At this point, Lola decided to do what 324 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,719 Speaker 1: so many before her also did, try her luck in America, 325 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 1: where she was surprisingly successful in rehabilitating her image for 326 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: a time at least. She threw in some acting with 327 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: her dance performances, and her shows sold out across the country. 328 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,720 Speaker 1: At New York's Broadway Theater, she pulled in over four 329 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in a single week, a box office record 330 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,719 Speaker 1: for that venue. Lola was smart enough to know why 331 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: audiences came. They wanted to see the King's scandalous Mistress, 332 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:21,440 Speaker 1: the woman famous for her whip and pistol. The notorious 333 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: bedroom adventurer Americans showed up expecting a shameless, talentless royal plaything. Instead, 334 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 1: they found someone surprisingly refined and tasteful, although she couldn't 335 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 1: help herself from throwing in some of her old dances 336 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,360 Speaker 1: for good measure. She created a show called Lola Montes 337 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: in Bavaria, where she played four versions of herself. It 338 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: wasn't high art, probably more like a play based on 339 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 1: the pages of US Weekly, but audiences loved it. That 340 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:02,880 Speaker 1: legendary temper still made frequent appearing, especially during her dance performances, 341 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,919 Speaker 1: and some audiences would deliberately provoke her just to watch 342 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: the show within a show. During her American sojourn, Lola 343 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: had her own California adventure, which lasted a few years 344 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 1: and was full of the highs and lows that defined 345 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: her life. Rough crowds heckled her, sometimes chasing her off stage. 346 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: There was another marriage and an attempt at domesticity, but 347 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 1: her wild past threatened the new guy, and the union 348 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: ultimately fell apart. In eighteen fifty five, Lola sailed to Australia, 349 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: reviving her career by performing for gold miners. As soon 350 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:54,120 Speaker 1: as she landed in Sydney, she started generating headlines. Her 351 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 1: notorious spider dance, in which she lifted her skirts high 352 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: enough for a viewers to see that she wasn't wearing underwear, 353 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: caused an uproar. A local newspaper declared her show quote 354 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:13,439 Speaker 1: utterly subversive to all ideas of public morality, and ticket 355 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,679 Speaker 1: sales tanked. In another town, Lola took the bad press 356 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: into her own hands and attacked a newspaper editor with 357 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:26,199 Speaker 1: a whip. The editor was actually armed with a whip 358 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,479 Speaker 1: of his own, Lola's reputation having preceded her, and the 359 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:36,480 Speaker 1: altercation escalated into a full blown fight. The stormy ups 360 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: and downs with the Australian public continued, and after nearly 361 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,719 Speaker 1: a year down under, Lola headed back to the US. 362 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 1: During the voyage back to San Francisco, her manager went 363 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 1: overboard and drowned. Given Lola's legendary temper, it's been considered 364 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: if he had any ill timed, unwonted feedback for his client, 365 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: and whether a whip had been involved in his untimely 366 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:15,399 Speaker 1: accidental demise. Back in America, Lola tried repeatedly to resurrect 367 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:20,680 Speaker 1: her theatrical career, but nothing really took hold. By this point, ever, 368 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:27,359 Speaker 1: the reinventor Lola pivoted to image rehabilitation. In eighteen fifty seven, 369 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: she began touring the country giving lectures on what Else 370 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:39,040 Speaker 1: morality and doing charity work helping vulnerable women. Whether her 371 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 1: late stage religious awakening was sincere or just another performance 372 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: is up for debate. But Lola brought the same fervor 373 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,840 Speaker 1: to this new chapter that she had to everything else 374 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: she did. By eighteen sixty, advanced syphilis was destroying her body. 375 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: She died on January seventeenth, eighteen sixty one, at just 376 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: thirty nine years old, which seems almost astonishing given how 377 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 1: much life she had lived. Lola Monte's international scandal is 378 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 1: buried in Brooklyn's green Wood Cemetery with a headstone that 379 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: reads simply Missus Eliza Gilbert. It's ironic, but ultimately fitting 380 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: that the woman who tore across continents and came dangerously 381 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 1: close to toppling an empire would be memorialized with her maiden name. 382 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: It's probably for the best, because when it came to Lola, 383 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:45,520 Speaker 1: the man on her arm would always be the least 384 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: interesting thing about her. Ludwig outlived her by seven years 385 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: after Lola exited his life and he'd transferred governing responsibilities 386 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: to his son, he returned to his truth passions, poetry, art, 387 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: and beautiful young women. He won back the love of 388 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: his former subjects and spent his final years surrounded by 389 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: the beautiful city that he had been instrumental in creating. 390 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: No doubt his thoughts would drift to his adventures with 391 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: the sultry Spanish dancer. If not the one who got away, 392 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: then the one who very nearly carried him away. Lola 393 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,920 Speaker 1: Montes is one of the most intriguing talked about women 394 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:37,280 Speaker 1: of the mid nineteenth century. An inveterate liar, Lola's biggest 395 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: and longest sustained lie was her reinvention of herself when 396 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: she had returned from India in eighteen forty one, escaping 397 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: a loveless marriage and an ambitious mother. That reinvention changed 398 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: not only her name, but also her destiny. Lola defied 399 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: social norms and blazed her own trail. Chaotic as it was, 400 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: society's reaction to her highlighted just how threatening a sexually 401 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:12,720 Speaker 1: liberated woman was and still can be to the status quo. 402 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: There have been many books written about her, each exploring 403 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: different facets of her personality. But the best authority, or 404 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:28,040 Speaker 1: at least the most entertaining one, is Lola herself. Lola's 405 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: autobiography was based on interviews with the writer Charles Chauncey 406 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: Burr and probably contains to be fair more fiction than truth. 407 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: But as Amanda Darling writes in her book Lola Montes quote, 408 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: in a sense, Lola's wild disregard for truth reveals more 409 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: about her character than documented statistics would. Just as the 410 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: psychiatrist of today find the day dreams of his patient 411 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,920 Speaker 1: as significant as sleeping dreams, so Lola's reshaping of her 412 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: past tells us far more than she realized about the 413 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: forces that formed and motivated her. How much truth does 414 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,719 Speaker 1: a woman owe to a world that is set up 415 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 1: against her? From Lola's autobiography quote what can a woman 416 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,360 Speaker 1: do then? Who cannot take her part? The great misfortune 417 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,240 Speaker 1: that there was too much of her to be held 418 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: within the prescribed and safe limits a lotted to women. 419 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: But there was not enough to enable her to stand 420 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: securely beyond the shelter of conventional rules. At any rate, 421 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,280 Speaker 1: such is the social and moral fabric of the world 422 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: that woman must be content with an exceedingly narrow sphere 423 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: of action, or she must take the worst consequences of 424 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 1: daring to be an innovator and a heretic. I do 425 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: want to say, on a personal note, I do not 426 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: think Lola Montes is in any way a hero. And 427 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: of course she is wildly self aggrandizing. What she is 428 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:10,160 Speaker 1: is entertaining, and it's worth looking at the question of 429 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 1: who she might be in today's world. A diagnosed sociopath, 430 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 1: a politician, a reality TV star, an influencer, always on 431 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 1: the verge of getting herself canceled. One thing is certain, 432 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 1: we wouldn't be able to look away. As Lola herself said, quote, 433 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,840 Speaker 1: even my many enemies must admit I always had a 434 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:48,160 Speaker 1: flair for living. That is the scandalous story of Lola 435 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 1: Monte's But keep listening after a sponsor break to hear 436 00:33:52,120 --> 00:34:05,040 Speaker 1: one more scandal in Lola's life. There's one last anecdote 437 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: that showse the strong reaction people always had to Lola Montes. 438 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:15,200 Speaker 1: Remember Alexandra Dujarier, the newspaper owner and drama critic, that 439 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:19,480 Speaker 1: Lola mete in Paris. Lola had serious feelings for him, 440 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:22,840 Speaker 1: and the two had planned to be married at one point, 441 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,560 Speaker 1: though the two had their first fight over whether or 442 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:31,040 Speaker 1: not Lola should join him at a party Dujarier attended 443 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:35,840 Speaker 1: alone and, in a drunken state, offended another man. A 444 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: rival journalist with a grudge named Jean de Bauvan de 445 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:44,840 Speaker 1: Bauvian challenged Dujarier to a duel where Djarier was shot 446 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:49,080 Speaker 1: and killed. This might be the only time in her 447 00:34:49,120 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: life where Lola Montes's presence could have actually caused less drama. 448 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:06,080 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim 449 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by 450 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:15,279 Speaker 1: me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, 451 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 1: Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Melaney. The show is 452 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 1: edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima 453 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:29,360 Speaker 1: il KLi and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and 454 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 455 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:40,720 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.