The Meteoric Rise and Fall of 19th-Century Spiderwoman Lola Montez
She danced with spiders, toppled a king, and her lovers were a who’s who of the 19th century’s rich and famous
This lady doesn’t look Spanish, does she? She was, in fact, Irish. Throughout her relatively short life (1821–1861), she went by a lot of names, but the one that stuck was Lola Montez. If ever the term “femme fatale” or “maneater” applied to anyone, it did to her. She was stunningly beautiful and left a legion of men in her wake on land and sea, not all of them still breathing.
From wild child to free spirit
The woman who would become Lola Montez was born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert on February 17, 1821, in the village of Grange, County Sligo, Ireland. Her parents were Edward Gilbert, a junior British Army officer and Eliza Oliver, daughter of Charles Silver Oliver, a member of Parliament.
In March of 1823, the young family moved to India. Shortly after that, Edward Gilbert contracted cholera and died. His wife, who was only 19 at the time, quickly remarried to Lieutenant Patrick Craigie in 1824.
While still only a toddler, little Eliza’s spoiled and reckless behavior was of grave concern to her stepfather. Craigie convinced his wife to…
