Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Okay, I'm actually a month late on the anniversary front but that's because I've been hard at work researching my next few posts for Scandalous Women. It's hard for me to believe that it was a year ago that I first started this blog to share the stories of these remarkable and, in some cases, notorious women. It's truly been a labor of love for me. As you can see Scandalous Women has a new look in honor of the blog's first year in existence. In addition, starting November 2nd (my birthday), I'll be running a new contest all month. Anyone who leaves a comment will be entered in a raffle to win a bottle of Ralph Lauren's new fragrance Notorious. After all what else would a Scandalous Woman wear? The winner will be announced on November 30th.

I just joined Bloglovin Follow my blog with bloglovin´ Scandalous Women has also received the Premio Dardos award from Nothing Elegant . This award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing...that's the general idea. Here it is, more eloquently, in Portuguese: O conceito deste prémio passa por reconhecer valores culturais, éticos, literários e pessoais, transmitidos de forma criativa e original nos pedacinhos rabiscados por cada blogueiro que o receba. The rules of this award are as follows: show the image of the award on your blog, link back to the blog that gave the award, and nominate 15 other blogs that you consider deserving the same. So here are my 15 blogs in random order: Kwana Writes Risky Regencies Virtual Dime Museum Tea at Trianon Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century History and Women Bowery Boy...

"Don't cry for me Argentina, the truth I never left you, all through my wild days, my mad existence, I kept my promise, don't keep your distance!" Evita on the balcony of the Casa Rosada in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber's Evita . When we last left Eva, she and Peron had married after his release from prison. Peron announced his candidacy as part of the newly formed Labor Party. Eva broke new ground by being the first candidate's wife to stand by her husband in a political campaign. At each campaign stop, Eva greeted the people, handing out campaign buttons. She even took a tentative step at making speeches on her own. On February 8 a group of working women met at Luna Park to show their support for the Labor Party ticket. Peron was ill and couldn't attend. Eva was sent in his place. It was supposed to be her debut as a speaker- but they wouldn't let her speak. Every time she tried, the women shouted, "We want Perón!" In a few months ...

"Oh what a circus, oh what a show, Argentina has gone to town, over the death of an actress called Eva Peron!" Che Guevara in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Evita . In 1978, two Englishmen, Andrew Lloyd-Weber and Tim Rice premiered a new musical in London about the second wife of Argentine President Juan Peron. They called it “Evita.” The musical became a smash success, spawning productions around the globe, launched the career of Elaine Paige, won Tony Awards for Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone. Actresses from Liza Minnelli to Meryl Streep were dying to play Eva Peron in the movie version which eventually ended up starring Madonna. But how close to the truth was “Evita”? And how did this illegitimate daughter from a backwater town in Argentina come to be revered as practically a saint in Argentina? Eva Maria Duarte was born on May 7, 1919 in the small town Los Toldos in Argentina. Her father Juan Duarte was not married to her mother, he had another fam...

A reader wrote to me recently that she was looking for information about a particular Scandalous Woman. "Here is what little I know of her: She was married and widowed, seduced her next husband by literally serving herself up for dessert. She was carried into the dining room while laying nude on a silver platter, covered only in fruit." Wow, I would love to know who this woman is. If anyone has any ideas, leave a comment or email me. I would love to share her story with readers.

For ten years, she managed to hold sway over Europe, dancing in Monte Carlo, Berlin, Vienna, and Spain. She even auditioned for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe, although she was incensed that he sent Massine to audition her instead of showing up himself. She danced in Operas, and in music halls. But time was running out, she was pushing forty, and in the wake of her success, came imitators. The one role that she was most suited for, she never got, Salome in Richard Strauss’s opera, although she tried desperately. She was no longer as original as she had once been. She took to holding concerts in her mansion in Neuilly, where she danced accompanied by a Sufi holy man and master musician, Inayat Khan. Otherwise, she was supported by her various lovers, many of whom were officers. Everything changed for Mata Hari when the war started. She was in Berlin where she had been engaged to perform for several months in the autumn. When war broke, Mata Hari tried to get out of her contract. Her dresser ...