Mabel Louisa Dean Paul

Mabel Louisa Dean Paul (1872–1919) was an English novelist and prominent Edwardian socialite, widely regarded as one of the most glamorous women in British high society. Celebrated for her beauty, wit, and literary ambitions, she became a frequent subject of press fascination and public scrutiny owing to her turbulent private life. Throughout the Edwardian period, her name appeared repeatedly in fashionable Society lawsuits and scandals that attracted intense newspaper attention. She was divorced by her first husband, Colonel Thomas James Atherton (1856–1920), following an adulterous scandal involving Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (1879–1953).

Mabel Louisa Dean Paul by George Charles Beresford. 1902. Credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

Early life Mabel Louisa Dean Paul was the daughter of Edward J. Dean Paul, 4th baronet (died 1895), and his second wife, Elisa Monckton Ramsay, the daughter of Major General James Ramsey, the younger brother of George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie.

Public figure

Mabel Louisa Dean Paul, later known as Mabel Louisa Eliot, has been described by many contemporaries as a celebrated society beauty. Tall and slender, exquisitely gowned, and frequently displaying priceless jewels in public, she was referred to by the London press as "the beautiful Mrs. Atherton" and "a fascinating disturber of Society". To those dearest of her friends, she was Nancy, while her novels were published under the pseudonym "Maimie Atherton".

She been described by some as a clever and versatile, with a vivid personality who could dominate any social function. Between 1901 and 1919 much of her private life received public interest and she became more notable for her relationships with royal figures and noblemen. Her looks and personality attracted interest, not seen since Lillie Langtry (1853–1929), a mistress of Edward VII.

During the Boer War, Mabel Louisa Dean Paul — then widely known as Mrs Atherton — emerged as a leading figure among a party of fashionable society women who travelled to Cape Colony with the stated intention of nursing wounded soldiers. Contemporary reports, however, suggested that she attracted equal attention for her conspicuous charm and flirtatious conduct towards British officers, behaviour that caused considerable gossip both within military circles and in the London press.

Society women in the Boer War. Coloured pen and pencil drawing by A. Lynch. Credit: Wellcome Library, London

The affair with the Duke When Mrs Atherton arrived in Cape Colony in 1899, her husband's regiment was under the Command of Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen at the Battle of Modder River. Mrs Atherton proceeded there and for some time stayed at the same British Army camp as the 21 year old, Captain Hugh Grosvenor, the 2nd Duke of Westminster. An affair ensued with the Duke, which continued when she reached Cape Town.

When her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Atherton was made aware of her adulterous affair, he arranged for her safe passage back to England during October 1900, whilst the Governor of the colony, Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner ensured that the young Duke was not on the same steamer as Mrs Atherton. Both vessels stopped in Madeira and the adulterous affair with the Duke affectionately known as "Bendor", after his racehorse Bend Or, or "Benny" continued.

Atherton, who at the time was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, refused a cheque for £40,000 from the Grosvenor family lawyers and filed for divorce. Since the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, divorce in England was a civil affair, with a civil court in London handling all cases.

The affair was sensationalised in the American newspapers, since Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster was named as co-respondent a week after his marriage to another socialite, Constance (Shelagh) Cornwallis-West. However it is King Edward VII who was credited by the society inner circles for ending the Duke of Westminster scandal. This involvement by the new King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India was soon reported in the Australian newspapers. By April 1901, there was much speculation of a money offer to prevent the high-profile case from going to court, which Lieutenant-Colonel Atherton at the time had publicly declined. Privately however, the New Zealand newspapers had reported that in addition to a plea from the British Monarch, many thousands of British pounds had been paid by the Grosvenor's for the Atherton's silence. Many society spectators made their way to the divorce court on the basis of “Will the man in the South African affair be mentioned?”, only to be disappointed that the Duke's was never mentioned by name; simply merely as “a certain gentleman”.

On 6 August 1904 a large full length portrait of Mrs Atherton appeared on page 586 of The King and His Navy and Army magazine. Some newspaper articles have incorrectly referred to her as Mabel Louise. Her official birth record records her name as Mabel Louisa, although to her friends she was known as Nancy.

The breach of promise to marry In 1907, Atherton (née Dean Paul) brought an action for breach of promise of a high-profile marriage against Captain John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston (1873–1930), who on 24 April 1907, had married the music hall singer, Denise Orme.

At that time the decree in her divorce suit had not been made absolute, hence Justice Charles Darling, 1st Baron Darling proclaimed that it was a question whether the promise had been made while the plaintiff was still a married woman. Mrs Atherton waived her claim for damages and judgment was entered for her, with costs.

The affair with Baron Hermann von Eckardstein

By 1905, Baron Eckardstein (1864–1933) had marriage woes of his own and his wife had given birth to a child from another man. For a time he was a companion of Mrs Atherton, and he invited her to Germany to meet his mother. Clara Elizabeth Taylor Stirling, an American born actress and ex-chorus girl, alleged that her noble Scottish husband had been unfaithful with Mrs Atherton. Some sources refer to Stirling as the Laird of Kippendaire.

Clara Stirling had petitioned for divorce, naming Mrs Atherton as Co-respondent. However, in John Stirling's action, an allegation was made that Clara Stirling had herself had committed adultery with the son of Uchter Knox, 5th Earl of Ranfurly, Thomas Uchter Knox, Viscount Northland (1882–1915) of the Coldstream Guards.

Stirling vs. Stirling was a lengthy court case. Mrs Atherton's Lady's maid, Thérèse Dagorne, testified as to her mistress's encounters with the dashing Mr Stirling.

Dagorne provided extensive testimony for the prosecution, and during one court session, revealed that her own lover was the Stirling's valet. Between 1908 and 1909 British newspaper readers were transfixed with the Stirling Divorce case, with Mrs Atherton's own private affairs being subject to public scrutiny.

Witnesses included Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr, who stated that he had known Mrs Atherton since South Africa and that his intentions towards Mrs Atherton had always been honourable. His wife was also good friends with Mrs Atherton. His attendance in court, was as a result of also being named by Mrs Atherton's treacherous Lady's Maid, who provided the court with details of her visiting De La Warr at a bungalow in Bexhill-on-Sea.

Further evidence in the court related to Mr and Mrs Stirling, Northland and Mrs Atherton having visited Paris together during June 1908.

Morals were brought into question when couples swapped company during their stay in public. Stirling had claimed that they had each stayed in adjacent rooms. However witnesses called to testify stated that the suites were interconnected, and that Stirling's bedroom had been left untouched. A monogrammed handkerchief belonging to Stirling had been found under her pillow by her Lady's maid at Mrs Atherton's riverfront home, Amberley Cottage in Maidenhead. During the court case the Daily Mirror reported that the court was presented as evidence a model of The Ocean Hotel in Sandown to better aid understanding of the proximity of each co-respondent when they were simultaneously guests at this particular Isle of Wight hotel.

After much deliberation, the court eventually ruled in favour of John A. Stirling and Mrs Atherton. The charges against Mrs Atherton were held unfounded. In delivering his judgement, Charles John Guthrie, Lord Guthrie criticised all parties stating all had led selfish and idle lives.

In relation to Atherton he said she was: "a lady by birth and fitted to take a conspicuous place in society, but had been ostracised by her own wrong-doing."

Two months later, Clara Stirling lodged an appeal against Lord Guthrie's court decision, but was unsuccessful. The Stirling's divorced and Clara remarried in 1911. Her new husband was George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley and for a short time Clara was Lady Cholmondeley.

Arthur Weigall and a winter in Egypt (1909 to 1910) Having been paraded around the court in Edinburgh with the Stirling Divorce case, providing months of entertainment for the British public during 1909, Mrs Atherton chose to leave London and spend the next winter in Egypt, far away from the unforgiving society hostesses of London and journalist's primed for the next society scandal.

Whilst in Luxor, Mrs Atherton spent time at the Winter Palace Hotel as the Edwardian era was drawing to a close. Mrs Atherton came into frequent contact with the renowned Egyptologists, Alan Gardiner, Arthur Weigall, Flinders Petrie, Gaston Maspero, Theodore Davis, Percy Newberry, Howard Carter and others, such as Ronald Storrs and socialised with Arthur Weigall, who took her to tour the monuments. Weigall, a cousin of Archibald Weigall, described Mrs Atherton in a positive light in his letters to his American born first wife, Hortense (née Schleiter), who had remained in London. Weigall's wife was furious with him and his transparency about receiving so much female attention. His close family compared Mrs Atherton in a disparaging way to the devilish heroine in Robert Hitchens 1909 hit novel, Bella Donna.

Bordering on infatuation, Weigall described her as: Weigall invited her to many functions and social dinners. Over time this became a source of social gossip, and soon this reached her circle of acquaintances in London.

Mrs Atherton, in an attempt to clear her good name, brought a slander action against her sibling, Sir Aubrey Dean Paul and his wife Lady Irene, who was professionally known as the renowned composer, Poldowski.

In court, Mrs Atherton alleged that Lady Irene Dean Paul had elated of her that she had been turned out of the Savoy Hotel in Cairo, and that she was a disreputable woman. These remarks were made to Richard Stacpoole, who was married to her sister Edith. Atherton went to the Dean Paul residence and was directly accused by Lady Irene of being a disreputable woman. The jury awarded Mrs Atherton one farthing. Colonel Atherton, by now frustrated with his ex-wife's profile in the newspapers asked her to remarry him just for the sake of the children, but she refused.

First World War During the First World War she managed to lower her public profile, since the press did not covet her as they had done previously for more than a decade. Mrs Atherton did feature in Tatler on 25 August 1915 whilst staying at The Wentworth Hotel in Aldeburgh in Suffolk. She was photographed whilst sat on the steps in a bathing suit and also in the water.

Grey Sand Her novel “Grey Sand”, was published in 1915 by Everett & Company. It was story about a mock marriage and the disastrous effect on the political career of the hero.

The short lived second marriage In the last two and a half months of her life, Atherton, a wealthy divorcee, a woman of independent means, and weary of publicity, finally remarried on 26 April 1919.

Her choice of second husband was the Honourable Arthur Ernest Henry Eliot (1874–1936). "Ernie" was a playwright, with a passion for Edwardian musical comedy, and cousin to Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne and Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough. He was educated at Charterhouse School, as her first husband, and had served in the Boer War as a Lieutenant. Eliot lacked financial acumen and was declared bankrupt three times. He had also been married twice before Atherton accepted his hand in marriage.

Mrs Atherton was once again in the public eye, albeit for the wrong reasons. Upon her tragic death, the Daily Herald commented that:

Mrs Atherton was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery as Mabel Eliot. She left no will. Letters of administration were granted to her sister, Edith Stacpoole of 10 West Chapel Street, Mayfair. At the inquest, Eliot stated that Mrs Atherton received £4,000 to £5,000 a year. A few months later the press reported that her estate was only valued at £8,206.

Inquest The official inquest into her death was reported in newspapers globally. Eliot's stepdaughter, Miss Nellie Cornell, took to the stand, and denied that there had ever been any impropriety with her stepfather, Eliot.

Eliot's defending position on his good character was that his new wife had been sending him anonymous threatening letters, which had forced him to leave his home. The verdict reached was suicide, while of an unsound mind. Despite this verdict, Bruce Bairnsfather, the prominent British humorist and cartoonist who had been actively collaborating with Eliot at the time, promptly dissociated himself from this scandal in order to prevent it from damaging his reputation.

Public fascination into the reasons for her suicide continued into the 1920s, with American newspapers evoking comparisons to other high-profile suicides during this time period, such as Alma Vetsera Hayne, Hallye Whatley Peck and Florence Schenke. Further associations have been made to the gradual loss of status in society, with comparisons made to Clara Ward, Princesse de Caraman-Chimay. Coincidentally, Mrs Atherton's second husband was involved with this particular Edwardian musical comedy.

Family connections Mabel Atherton (née Dean Paul) was a descendant of the 1st Duke of Marlborough Her paternal ancestor was Sir John Dean Paul, 1st Baronet (1775–1852). Her new husband was 16 years her senior.

Her husband, then Captain Thomas J. Atherton had been orphaned as an infant and was educated at Charterhouse School and at Cambridge. He entered the 12th Royal Lancers in 1880 as a serving officer. His brother, Major Walter Hyde Atherton, had recently died a hero in the Battle of Abu Klea on 17 January 1885.

They had two sons. The first son, Walter Wentworth Atherton was born on 4 June 1893. This son was killed in a carriage accident when the horse bolted when frightened by a bear in 1898. At the time the Atherton family residence was 82 Sloane Street, Kensington. An inquest into his death was held at Marylebone. Walter, aged 4, had been traveling with his nurse, Kate Thompson in his father's four-wheeled brougham carriage. A bear was being led along the road at the time. The horse bolted, the brougham collided with a waggon, and the nurse was thrown into the road. Walter suffered a skull fracture and was taken to Middlesex Hospital where he was pronounced dead. After the evidence, an opinion was given that it should not be allowed that bears to be led in public thoroughfares. Walter's uncle Captain William Cossley Atherton (late Lt RN) of the Fife Artillery stated that he knew of a similar incident. Horses could smell bears, and took fright. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. A second son, Aubrey James Atherton was born on 5 April 1899.

In 1900, her then husband, succeeded to the command of his regiment in South Africa, during the Boer War, after the death in action of Lieutenant-Colonel David Ogilvy, 11th Earl of Airlie. Prior to this, Major Atherton's and his regiment had been heavily engaged at the Battle of Magersfontein, the Siege of Kimberley and the Battle of Diamond Hill. After being promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, and taking command of his regiment, he led his troops in the sweeps in the vicinity of Rustenburg, Magaliesberg and the Elands River, followed by Wittebergen. At the end of 1900, he handed over command, and from July to November 1901 he was given command of a cavalry column, consisting of 480 12th Lancers. It was during this commanding role that he filed for divorce and his wife returned to England via Madeira.

In 1904, whilst staying away from London in the countryside with her 4-year-old son, she had the misfortune of being seriously injured in a house fire. Her son's father Colonel Atherton would die a year later.

On 26 April 1919, she married Hon. Arthur E. H. Eliot, the son of Colonel Hon. Charles G. Cornwallis Eliot (1839–1901), a courtier and army officer; the son of Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans. In the census of 1911 he claimed that he was employed as a journalist by the editor of Vanity Fair. By 1913 he was working as one of Charles B. Cochran managers at the Olympia Circus. With the outbreak of hostilities in France in 1914 he served with the Indian Division. After the war, Eliot achieved some credibility with a handful of successful theatrical projects and was part author of The Better 'Ole. The original London production in 1917 was a hit, running for over 800 performances at Oxford Music Hall.

By 1918 this co-authored play received acclaim at the Greenwich Village Theatre and destined for the Broadway theatre.

Eliot remarried in 1933, fourteen years after her death. His fourth wife was the Argentine born racecourse owner, Eleanor Whyte Hughes Brownlee (1885–1976). Eliot died in a north London nursing home in 1936. Aubrey returned to England prior to World War II. He retired to Conwy, Wales where he died on 18 June 1977.