An interesting email from blackburne includes
...I tried to look up Jerome on Wikipedia, with no success (there's only one person who could write the entry - you!), but I did find that Winston Churchill's mother, who was American of course, had a maiden name of Jerome! It's not a very common name, so I wondered if there could be a family connection? Now that would be interesting.
A connection between Alonzo Wheeler Jerome and Winston Churchill??
That would indeed be interesting.!
As Anne Sebba writes in American Jennie The Remarkable Life of Lady Randolph Churchill
And when Jennie displayed some daring originality or eccentricity the relations would comment: 'How very American. How very Jerome.'
I will see what I can discover. Readers are welcome to join in!
2 comments:
Hello! It's Anne ( with an e) Sebba here. Have you tried Jerome Arizona or Jerome Avenue in the Bronx? The Jerome links are alive and well throughout the US. Try the US Churchill Centre for more Jerome links. Glad you liked the book!
Anne
Thank you for posting, Ms. Sebba, and my apologies for misspelling your name - it has been corrected in my post.
Your comments are quite welcome. I found The Remarkable Life of Lady Randolph Churchill to be an engaging read, and a tonic for the hackneyed idea that the "old days" were in any way boring or lacking in intrigue.
Indeed, the name "Jerome" pops up in New York in a nod toward Jennie's family, especially her father, Leonard Jerome. The old Jerome Park Racetrack, for example, (now replaced by the Jerome Park Reservoir) is where the first Belmont Stakes was held in 1867. The venerable Yankee Stadium is/was located between Jerome Avenue and River at 161st Street.
I still hope to see a Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona (see "Is it September already?").
Post a Comment