Editing Lola Montez (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
[[File:Lola Montez portrait by Josef Heigel before 1840.jpg|thumb|Lola Montez portrait by {{ill|Joseph Heigel|de}} before 1840]]
[[File:Lola Montez (Lithography after Jules Laure).jpg|thumb|Lola Montez's lithography]]
[[File:Lola Montez & Alights-on-a-Cloud Cheyenne chief, 1850s.jpg|left|thumb|Lola Montez with Alights-on-a-Cloud, 1850s]]
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert was born into an [[Anglo-Irish people|Anglo-Irish]] family, the daughter of Elizabeth ("Eliza") Oliver, who was the daughter of [[Charles Silver Oliver]], a former [[High Sheriff]] of [[Cork (city)|Cork]] and member of [[Parliament of Ireland|Parliament]] for [[Kilmallock (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Kilmallock]] in [[County Limerick]], [[Ireland]].<ref name="Seymour"/>{{rp|4}} Their residence was the former [[Castle Oliver]] which stood a thousand yards to the south-west of the current castle by the same name. In December 1818, Eliza's parents, [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] Edward Gilbert and Eliza Oliver, met when he arrived with the [[King's Own Scottish Borderers|25th Regiment]]. They were married on 29 April 1820, and Lola was born the following February, in the village of [[Grange, County Sligo|Grange]] in the north of [[County Sligo]], refuting persistent rumours that her mother was pregnant with her at the time of the wedding.<ref name="sligo">{{cite web|title=Lola Montez 1821-1861|url=http://www.sligotown.net/lola-montez.shtml?i=1|website=Sligo Town|access-date=1 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502064725/http://www.sligotown.net/lola-montez.shtml?i=1|archive-date=2 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The young family made their residence at King House in [[Boyle, County Roscommon|Boyle]], [[County Roscommon]], until early 1823, when they journeyed to [[Liverpool]], England, and later departed for [[British India|India]] on 14 March.<ref name="Seymour">{{cite book |first=Bruce |last=Seymour |title=Lola Montez, a Life |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1996 |isbn=9780300063479 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=F4DCffNBbPMC}}</ref>{{rp|4}}

Published reports differ regarding the actual date of Eliza's birth. For many years, it was accepted that she was born in the city of [[Limerick]], as she herself claimed, possibly on 23 June 1818; this is the year that was graven on her headstone. However, when her baptismal certificate came to light in the late 1990s, it was established that Eliza Rosanna Gilbert was actually born in [[Grange, County Sligo|Grange]], [[County Sligo]], in [[Connacht]], Ireland, on 17 February 1821.<ref name="rte">{{cite web |first=Anne |last=Roper |date=2006 |url=http://www.rte.ie/tv/hiddenhistory/hernamewaslola.html |title=Her name was Lola |website=RTÉ Television |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504132917/http://www.rte.ie/tv/hiddenhistory/hernamewaslola.html |archive-date=4 May 2008 }}</ref> At the time of her birth, all of Ireland was part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. She was baptised at St. Peter's Church in Liverpool, England, on 16 February 1823, while her family was ''en route'' to her father's post in India.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Shortly after their arrival in India, Edward Gilbert died of [[cholera]].<ref name="spartacus">{{cite web|title=Lola Montez|url=http://spartacus-educational.com/WWmontezL.htm|website=Spartacus Educational|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> Her mother, who was then 19, married Lieutenant Patrick Craigie the following year. Craigie quickly came to care for the young Eliza, but her spoiled and half-wild ways concerned him greatly.<ref name="headstuff">{{cite web|last1=Conliffe|first1=Ciaran|title=Lola Montez, the Spider Woman - Part 1 - Headstuff|url=https://www.headstuff.org/history/lola-montez-the-spider-woman-part-1/|website=Headstuff|access-date=1 May 2018|date=16 March 2015}}</ref> Eventually, it was agreed she would be sent back to Britain to attend school, staying with Craigie's father in [[Montrose, Angus|Montrose]], Scotland. But the "queer, wayward little Indian girl" rapidly became known as a mischief-maker.<ref name="headstuff"/> On one occasion, she stuck flowers into the wig of an elderly man during a church service; on another, she ran through the streets naked.<ref name="another">{{cite web|last1=von Reynolds|first1=Shola|title=Meet Lola Montez: Dancer, Countess, Whip-Wielding Socialist|url=http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/8694/meet-lola-montez-dancer-countess-whip-wielding-socialist|website=AnOther|access-date=1 May 2018|language=en|date=18 May 2016}}</ref>

At the age of ten, Eliza was moved again—this time to [[Sunderland]], England, where her stepfather's older sister, Catherine Rae, set up a boarding school in [[Monkwearmouth]] with her husband. Eliza continued her education there.<ref name="headstuff"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Racy-life-of-our-Lola.1404162.jp|title=Racy Life of Our Lola|access-date=30 March 2008 |publisher=Sunderland Echo|year=2006}}</ref> Eliza's determination and temper were to become her trademarks. Her stay in Sunderland lasted only a year, as she was then transferred to a school in Camden Place (now [[Camden Crescent, Bath|Camden Crescent]]), Bath, for a more sophisticated education.<ref name="headstuff"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Raffael |first1=Michael |title=Bath Curiosities |date=2006 |publisher=Birlinn |isbn=978-1841585031 |page=134}}</ref>

In 1837, sixteen-year-old Eliza eloped with Lieutenant Thomas James, and they married.<ref name="irishtimes1">{{cite news|last1=Collins|first1=Pádraig|title=An Irishman's Diary on the glamorous and dangerous Lola Montez|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/an-irishman-s-diary-on-the-glamorous-and-dangerous-lola-montez-1.1867228|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=1 May 2018|date=16 July 2014}}</ref><ref name="adb">{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |last1=Cannon |first1=Michael |title=Lola Montez (1821–1861) |id2=montez-lola-4226 |year=1974 |volume=5 |access-date=1 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126203945if_/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/montez-lola-4226 |archive-date =26 November 2012}}</ref> The couple separated five years later, in [[Calcutta]], India, and she became a professional dancer under a stage name.<ref name="irishtimes1"/>

When she had her London debut as "Lola Montez, the Spanish dancer" in June 1843, she was recognised as "Mrs. James". The resulting notoriety hampered her career in England, so she departed for the continent, where she had success in Paris and Warsaw.<ref name="irishtimes1"/> At this time, she was almost certainly accepting favours from a few wealthy men, and was regarded by many as a courtesan.<ref name="eireann">{{cite web|title=1861 – Death of Eliza Gilbert (Lola Montez).|url=https://stairnaheireann.net/2014/01/17/1821-birth-of-eliza-gilbert-lola-montez/|website=Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland|access-date=1 May 2018|date=17 January 2014|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331190907/https://stairnaheireann.net/2014/01/17/1821-birth-of-eliza-gilbert-lola-montez/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Blason de la comtesse de Landsfeld, Marie Parris y Montès (Lola Montez).svg|thumb|Coat of arms given to Montez when she was made Countess of Landsfeld by [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]]]]

===Life as a courtesan===
[[File:Joseph Karl Stieler - Lola Montez.jpg|thumb|right|{{center|''[[Portrait of Lola Montez]]'' (1847), painted by [[Joseph Karl Stieler]] for [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]] and his ''[[Schönheitengalerie]]''}}]]
[[File:C Buchner - Lola Montez (Guache 1847 PhS115).jpg|thumb|Lola Montez ([[Gouache]] by {{ill|Carl Buchner|de}}, 1847)]]

In 1844, Eliza, now known as Lola Montez, made a personally disappointing Parisian stage debut as a dancer in [[Fromental Halévy]]'s opera ''[[Le lazzarone]]''. She met and had an affair with [[Franz Liszt]], who introduced her to the circle of [[George Sand]]. After performing in various European capitals, she settled in [[Paris]], where she was accepted into the city's [[Bohemianism|literary bohemia]], becoming acquainted with [[Alexandre Dumas père|Alexandre Dumas]], with whom she was also rumoured to have had a dalliance. In Paris she would meet {{ill|Alexandre Dujarrier|fr}}, "owner of the newspaper with the highest circulation in France, and also the newspaper's drama critic". Through their romance, Montez revitalised her career as a dancer. Later on, after the two had their first quarrel over Lola's attendance at a party, Dujarrier attended the party and, in a drunken state, offended {{ill|Jean-Baptiste Rosemond de Beauvallon|fr}}. When Dujarrier was challenged to a duel by de Beauvallon, Dujarrier was shot and killed.<ref name="48LawsPower77">{{cite book|last=Greene|first=Robert|title=The 48 Laws of Power|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2000|page=77|isbn=978-0-14-028019-7}}</ref>

In 1846, she arrived in [[Munich]], where she was discovered by and became the mistress of King [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]].<ref name="48LawsPower77"/> There was a rumour that when they first met, Ludwig asked her in public if her breasts were real. Her response to the question was to tear off enough of her garments to prove that they were.<ref>BBC - Woman's Hour - January 2007</ref><ref>James Morton, ''Lola Montez - Her Life and Conquests'' (2007)</ref> She soon began to use her influence on the king and this, coupled with her arrogant manner and outbursts of temper, made her extremely unpopular with the [[Bavarian people]] (particularly after documents were made public showing that she was hoping to become a naturalised Bavarian subject and be elevated to [[German nobility|nobility]]). Despite opposition, Ludwig made her Countess of Landsfeld and Baroness of Rosenthal on his next birthday, 25 August 1847, and along with her title, he granted her a large annuity.<ref name=amer>{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Montez, Lola|year=1920}}</ref><ref name=colliers>{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Montez, Lola}}</ref><ref>[https://pfaffs.web.lehigh.edu/node/54272 The Vault at Pfaff's.- An Archive of Art and Literature by the Bohemians of Antebellum New York]</ref>

For more than a year, she exercised great political power, which she directed in favour of [[liberalism]], [[anti-Catholicism]], and in attacks against the [[Jesuits]].<ref name="amer"/><ref name="colliers"/> Her ability to manipulate the king was so great that the Minister of State, [[Karl von Abel]], was dismissed because he and his entire cabinet had objected to Lola being granted Bavarian nationality and the title of countess. The students at [[Munich University]] were divided in their sympathies, and conflicts arose shortly before the outbreak of the [[revolutions of 1848]], which led the king, at Lola's insistence, to close the university.<ref name=amcyc>{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Lola Montez}}</ref>

In March 1848, under pressure from a growing revolutionary movement, the university was re-opened, Ludwig abdicated in favor of his son, King [[Maximilian II of Bavaria|Maximilian II]], and Montez fled Bavaria, ending her career as a power behind the throne.<ref name="eireann"/><ref name=amcyc/> It seems likely that Ludwig's relationship with Montez contributed greatly to his forced abdication despite his previous popularity.<ref name="48LawsPower78">{{cite book|last=Greene| first=Robert|title=The 48 Laws of Power|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2000|page=78|isbn= 978-0-14-028019-7}}</ref>

After a sojourn in [[Switzerland]], where she waited in vain for Ludwig to join her, Lola made one brief excursion to France and then removed to London in late 1848. There she met and quickly married George Trafford Heald, a young army [[Cornet (military rank)|cornet]] (cavalry officer) with a recent inheritance.<ref name="48LawsPower78"/> But the terms of her divorce from Thomas James did not permit either spouse's remarriage while the other was living, and the beleaguered newlyweds were forced to flee the country to escape a bigamy action brought by Heald's scandalised maiden aunt.<ref name="48LawsPower78"/> The Healds resided for a time in France and Spain, but within two years the tempestuous relationship was in tatters.  George would survive a reported drowning in Lisbon in 1853, but three years later would be dead from tuberculosis.<ref name="Seymour"/>{{rp|302, 353}} <ref name="adb"/> Meanwhile Lola in 1851 set off to make a new start in the United States, where she was surprisingly successful at first in rehabilitating her image.<ref name="Seymour"/>{{rp|283}}

===American career===
[[File:Lola Montez - 1851.jpg|thumb|Lola Montez in 1851, [[daguerreotype]] by Southworth & Hawes]]
[[File:Lola Montez Caricature Departure for America.jpg|thumb|A caricature by [[David Claypoole Johnston]] from the period showing Lola Montez leaving Europe for the United States]]

From 1851 to 1853, Lola performed as a dancer and actress in the eastern United States, one of her offerings being a play called ''Lola Montez in Bavaria''.<ref name=amer/> In May 1853, she arrived on the west coast in [[San Francisco]],<ref name="48LawsPower78"/> where her performances created a sensation, but soon inspired a popular satire, ''Who's Got the Countess?''<ref name="Kamiya2014">{{cite web
 |last=Kamiya 
 |first=G. 
 |title=Notorious Lola Montez kept the men in S.F. panting 
 |work=SFGate 
 |publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] 
 |date=31 May 2014 
|url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Notorious-Lola-Montez-kept-the-men-in-S-F-panting-5517992.php 
 |access-date=1 June 2014 
 |archive-date=1 June 2014 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140601164831/http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Notorious-Lola-Montez-kept-the-men-in-S-F-panting-5517992.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> She married Patrick Hull, a local newspaperman, in July and moved to [[Grass Valley, California]], in August. Her marriage soon failed; a doctor named as {{Not a typo|co-respondent}} in the divorce suit brought against her was murdered shortly thereafter.<ref name="adb"/>

Lola remained in Grass Valley at her little house for nearly two years.<ref>Marshall Dill, Jr., ''Germany: A Modern History'' (University of Michigan: Ann Arbor, 1970) pp. 104–5.</ref> The restored [[Home of Lola Montez|property]] went on to become [[California Historical Landmark]] No. 292.<ref name="parksCAgov">{{cite web|url=http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/292|title=Home of Lola Montez |access-date=27 July 2008| website=parks.ca.gov}}</ref> Lola served as an inspiration to another aspiring young entertainer, [[Lotta Crabtree]], whose parents ran a boarding house in Grass Valley. Lola, a neighbour, provided dancing lessons<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standingstones.com/crabtree.html|title=Lotta Crabtree and Lola Montez|website=Standing Stones|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref> and encouraged Lotta's enthusiasm for performance.

===Australia tour===
In June 1855, Lola departed the U.S. to tour [[Australia]] and resume her career by entertaining miners at the gold [[diggings]] during the [[Victorian gold rush|gold rush]] of the 1850s. She arrived in Sydney on 16 August 1855.<ref name="eireann"/>

Historian Michael Cannon claims that "in September 1855 she performed her erotic Spider Dance at the Theatre Royal in [[Melbourne]], raising her skirts so high that the audience could see she wore no underclothing at all. Next day, ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]]'' thundered that her performance was 'utterly subversive to all ideas of public morality'. Respectable families ceased to attend the theatre, which began to show heavy losses."<ref>Michael Cannon, ''Melbourne After the Gold Rush'', pp. 313–4</ref>

She earned further notoriety in [[Ballarat, Victoria|Ballarat]] when, after reading a bad review of her performance in ''The Ballarat Times'', she attacked the editor, [[Henry Seekamp]], with a whip.<ref name="another"/><ref name="adb"/> Although the "Lola Montes Polka" (composed by Albert Denning) is rumoured to have been inspired by this event, the song was published in 1855 and the incident with Seekamp occurred months later in February 1856.<ref name="eireann"/> At [[Castlemaine, Victoria|Castlemaine]] in April 1856, she was "rapturously encored" after her Spider Dance in front of 400 diggers (including members of the Municipal Council who had adjourned their meeting early to attend the performance), but drew the wrath of the audience after insulting them following some mild heckling.<ref>Seymour, Bruce, ''Lola Montez: a life'', Yale University Press, 1996, p.347</ref>

She departed for San Francisco on 22 May 1856.<ref name="eireann"/> On the return voyage her manager was lost at sea after going overboard.<ref name="adb"/>

===Later life in the U.S.===
Lola failed in her attempts at a theatrical comeback in various American cities. She arranged in 1857 to deliver a series of moral lectures in Britain and America written by Rev. [[Charles Chauncey Burr]].<ref name="adb"/><ref name="Varley1996">{{cite book|author=Varley, J. F.|title=Lola Montez: The California Adventures of Europe's Notorious Courtesan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlQjAQAAIAAJ&q=syphilis|year=1996|publisher=Arthur H. Clark Company|isbn=978-0-87062-243-4|oclc= 32892255}}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Gilbert, Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna}}</ref> She spent her last days in rescue work among women.<ref name=amer/> In November 1859, ''[[The Philadelphia Press]]'' reported that Lola Montez was:

<blockquote>living very quietly up town, and doesn't have much to do with the world's people. Some of her old friends, the Bohemians, now and then drop in to have a little chat with her, and though she talks beautifully of her present feelings and way of life, she generally, by way of parenthesis, takes out her little tobacco pouch and makes a cigarette or two for self and friend, and then falls back upon old times with decided gusto and effect. But she doesn't tell anybody what she's going to do.<ref>Relayed in "Personal," ''New York Tribune'', 21 November 1859, p. 5, col. 4.</ref></blockquote>

===Burial===
[[File:Lola Montez grave headstone.jpg|thumb|Lola Montez's grave in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York]]
By 1860, Lola was showing the [[Syphilis#Tertiary|tertiary effects of syphilis]], and her body began to waste away.<ref>{{cite news|last=Collins|first=Pádraig|title=An Irishman's Diary on the Glamorous and Dangerous Lola Montez|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=16 July 2014|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/an-irishman-s-diary-on-the-glamorous-and-dangerous-lola-montez-1.1867228|access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> She died at the age of 39 on 17 January 1861. She is buried in [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York, where her tombstone erroneously lists her age at death as 42, reading "Mrs. Eliza Gilbert | Died 17 January 1861 | [[Æ]]. 42".<ref name="adb"/><!-- On 30 June 1860, she suffered a stroke and was partially paralysed for some time. In mid-December, she had recovered enough to walk with a slight limp and went out for a stroll in the cold weather. She contracted [[pneumonia]], lingering for nearly a month before dying one month short of her fortieth birthday.{{citation needed|reason=This whole line conflicts with the previous info, and it is unsourced}} -->