The Luxurious London Ritz

Edward VII was painted there. King Alfonso of Spain stayed there. Even James Bond stayed in a sumptuous room overlooking Green Park in the movie, Diamonds are Forever.

Lady Furness famously asked her friend, Wallis Simpson, to take care of the Prince of Wales in the hotel. Wallis took a little too much care of him, to Lady Furness's chagrin!

The Ritz, which opened in 1906, has always been a favourite of royalty and the wealthy. The seven-storey building was designed by the architects, Charles Mewes and Arthur Davis, to resemble a Parisian chateau at the height of the Belle Epoque. It was also the first large building in London to have a steel frame.

Ritz managed the hotel for a long time and placed the famous French chef, Escoffier, in charge of the meals. It must have been wonderful to dine at the Ritz in those days or stay in one of the rooms furnished in Louis XVI style. The beautifully restored rooms have gold leaf mouldings, chandeliers, and marble fireplaces.

If you can't afford to stay at the Ritz, perhaps you can take Afternoon Tea in the gorgeous Palm Court.

Toulouse-Loutrec's Favourite Dancer

The lithe redhead captivated the audience with her dancing. They liked her beauty charm and grace. Yet they found her melancholy.

Jane Avril had good reason to be melancholy. She had had to overcome great odds to achieve her dream of becoming a successful dancer. She had had very inauspicious beginnings.
Born in 1848, Avril was the daughter of La Belle Elise, a society girl, and Count Luigi di Font, a nobleman. Her father was mostly absent and her alcoholic mother beat her and even wanted her to be a prostitute.

Unsurprisingly, Avril ran away from home. She was picked up by the police who thought that she was insane and placed her in Paris's famous Salpatriere Hospital. Here she was put into the care of the nuns and Charcot, the expert on women's 'hysteria'.

Luckily, the nuns and Charcot discovered that the young girl loved to dance and determined that she was not insane. They released her at 16. Avril didn't return to her mother, however. (Who could blame her?)

She became a rider at the Hippodrome and a cashier at the World's Fair but she really wanted to dance. Eventually she became a dancer at the Moulin-Rouge and then the Jardin de Paris. The artist, Toulouse-Lautrec, identified with the young woman's sadness and used her as his model for many posters. They became good friends and shared a love of intellectual society. Avril was cultured and liked to mix with great writers such as Paul Verlaine. There is even speculation that Lautrec fell in love with the slim redhead.

In 1895 Avril seized her chance. She was offered a lot of money to replace Louise Weber, who was retiring. She accepted and became a lead dancer at the Moulin-Rouge. She even toured London.

In 1910 at the age of 42 Avril married the journalist, Maurice Blais. He was unfaithful and didn't have much money. After he died she was penniless and died in a nursing home.

Toulouse-Lautrec's art has made Jane Avril, with her sad look, her grace, and her flaming red hair, immortal.

Links

I was delighted to find this site devoted to Jane by Craig: Jane Avril of the Moulin Rouge Here you will find a detailed biography and interesting links.

Cafe Chantants

The original cafes chantant (concert cafes) were probably quite enchanting. They consisted of performers (often singers)entertaining audiences in outdoor cafes in France. These first began as long ago as the eighteenth century. Eventually they evolved into famous 'music-halls', such as the Folies Bergere.

The cafes chantant were extremely popular in the Belle Epoque. They had become rather dark, smoky, crowded places by then and the atmosphere was probably a bit rough and unpleasant. They were very popular with the working-classes and aristocratic young men looking for a good time. (The hero of Colette's Cheri comes to mind.) Theodore Child wasn't impressed with the cafes chantant. He found them 'inept and stupid.' He describes the Parisian cafes of 1889 here: Parisian Cafes.

The concert cafes soon became popular in other countries. They began in Italy in the 1890's. Here is a description of the

Cafe Margherita in Naples.

Singers at the cafe chantants included Lina Cavalieri and Yvette Guilbert.

More refined concert cafes became very popular amongst the English aristocracy and the American upper classes during Edwardian times. Often cafe chantants were staged for charity. I would have liked to attend this .
charity evening.

About Decorative Style

It's a pity that these wonderfully interesting online magazines have been discontinued. There are articles on Belle Epoque fashion, the history of fans, corsets, and many other Victorian and Edwardian topics. You can find them here:
About Decorative Syle.

The Courtesan Who Became A Princess

My new post at Suite 101 is about a courtesan who became a princess: Liane de Pougy.

NB: This has also been posted at my Royal Rendezvous blog.