American Queen: Gilded Age Woman Of Scandal, By John Oller
Paul Rutan III
Hist 370
Book Review #2
05-01-2015
"American Queen: The Rise and Fall of Kate Chase Sprague, Civil War 'Belle of the North' and Gilded Age Woman of Scandal" by John Oller; Da Capo Press
“American queen” by John Oller chronicles the life and times of Kate Chase Sprague (1840-1899) a political socialite who, at a time when women were to be seen and not heard, became one of the most influential women in American politics than any woman before. For nearly two decades Kate reigned, as “Queen of Washington”. Her reign would end with a sex scandal that would rock the U.S Capital. The scandal would force Kate out of the political spotlight and into a life of poverty.
Kate Chase Sprague was born in 1849. She was oldest surviving daughter
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At the time William Sprague was one of the richest men in America. Their marriage thrust Kate into the status of royalty. Many people believed that the marriage driven by Kate’s desire to make her father president. Oller asserts otherwise. He states that Kate was “accustomed to issuing commands and being obeyed,” and that “she had given it all up for one long dream of happiness and love.”
Sadly, it soon became clear to Kate that her marital bliss was only temporary. Like her childhood relationship with her father Kate and Sprague spent much of their time apart. Sprague forgot their anniversaries and her birthdays. Sprague was also notorious for being a raging alcoholic. It would later be alleged that he had several affairs. The most significant being a long-term relationship with a woman he fathered a child with by the name Mary Viall. To make matters worse he lost his empire in the stock market crash of 1873.
Eventually, the disaffection with her marriage led her into the arms of a very power married man, Senator Roscoe Conklin. Roscoe Conklin was the boss of the NY Republican political machine. The affair with Conklin would eventually lead to an ugly divorce. The public airing of their dirty laundry would topple both Kate and Conklin from their positions of
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