American Lady : The Life of Susan Mary Alsop (9781101601167) by Frances (INT) Caroline; Fitzgerald De Margerie Page B
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complained at timesabout the monotony of her life, judging it to be useless, especially when she compared herself with her friend Marietta Tree, who had returned to New York and become an activist for the Democratic Party. “I am sick of running a travel agency,” she told Marietta. “You do so many things of use and importance. I sit here and, except for an absorbing life with my two little children, the rest is meeting trains and making hotel reservations for the mothers of girls I didn’t even like at school and taking them to the American Hospital when they have acute appendicitis, which turns out to be overeating half the time.” 32 She also regretted that Bill had obliged her, in the name of the professional discretion imposed on all diplomats’ spouses, to turn down the offer to write a weekly column for
Harper’s Bazaar.
Invited to inaugurate a community center near Lille in the presence of the French health minister, she went off, trembling, in a pretty hat and came back in high spirits, basking in the warm welcome her accent and carefully rehearsed speech had received. “That’s the life for a woman. How sad to have had a taste of it just one sweet hour and now back to doing up Anne’s nappies.” 33
Susan Mary loved taking care of her children even though, if truth be told, she rarely changed their diapers herself. As sincere as her regrets about not having a career of her own might have been, they remained periodic and rarely troubled her serenity. The atmosphere at the embassy and the nature of Bill’s work had changed for the better since their arrival. In May 1949, the Francophile David Bruce, who until then had been head of the French branch of the Marshall Plan under the overall European supervision of Averell Harriman, replaced Ambassador Caffery. Chip Bohlen became his number two. David and his second wife,Evangeline, and especially Chip and Avis Bohlen, were old friends of the Pattens. Much to Bill’s delight (for he had grown weary of economic and financial questions), Chip took him on as part of his team. As Susan Mary began her sixth year in France, she had only one wish: that Bill’s position—secured by her efforts, divine providence, and the State Department—continue on an even course. But turbulent changes were on the way.
The first incident was not too serious. The Aldrich cousins had decided to take back the house on the square du Bois de Boulogne so that they could rent it at a better price. This was fair enough, but it created a problem, because the postwar Parisian housing crisis was still very much a reality. Hearing the news, their circle of friends came together to help. There were some grandiose plans, including an apartment in the Hôtel Lambert, but this never came to fruition. Finally, in April 1950, the Pattens found a house on the rue Weber, just steps away from their former home. The children would be able to continue playing in the Bois de Boulogne. While she was waiting for her furniture to arrive from the United States, Susan Mary amused herself by cobbling together a sitting room à la Pompadour and a Three Musketeers–themed dining room with the help of shabby old cinema sets, which she rented in a rare and deliberate spate of bad taste that appalled the nanny, Duff, and Charlie de Beistegui.
Then Bill fell badly ill at the beginning of June. What began as pneumonia evolved into heart failure. Dr. Varay came to the house morning and evening. One of Bill’s legs was paralyzed and a pacemaker was put in his bedroom. An English specialist was called in for a second opinion and recommended that Bill betransported to London for a bronchoscopy, a plan that Dr. Varay opposed. Trying to keep herself from panicking and painfully aware of her ignorance in such matters, Susan Mary decided that Bill would stay in Paris. His condition varied constantly. He often had trouble breathing and this made his pulse race even faster. Suffering led him to utter spiteful remarks,
Harper’s Bazaar.
Invited to inaugurate a community center near Lille in the presence of the French health minister, she went off, trembling, in a pretty hat and came back in high spirits, basking in the warm welcome her accent and carefully rehearsed speech had received. “That’s the life for a woman. How sad to have had a taste of it just one sweet hour and now back to doing up Anne’s nappies.” 33
Susan Mary loved taking care of her children even though, if truth be told, she rarely changed their diapers herself. As sincere as her regrets about not having a career of her own might have been, they remained periodic and rarely troubled her serenity. The atmosphere at the embassy and the nature of Bill’s work had changed for the better since their arrival. In May 1949, the Francophile David Bruce, who until then had been head of the French branch of the Marshall Plan under the overall European supervision of Averell Harriman, replaced Ambassador Caffery. Chip Bohlen became his number two. David and his second wife,Evangeline, and especially Chip and Avis Bohlen, were old friends of the Pattens. Much to Bill’s delight (for he had grown weary of economic and financial questions), Chip took him on as part of his team. As Susan Mary began her sixth year in France, she had only one wish: that Bill’s position—secured by her efforts, divine providence, and the State Department—continue on an even course. But turbulent changes were on the way.
The first incident was not too serious. The Aldrich cousins had decided to take back the house on the square du Bois de Boulogne so that they could rent it at a better price. This was fair enough, but it created a problem, because the postwar Parisian housing crisis was still very much a reality. Hearing the news, their circle of friends came together to help. There were some grandiose plans, including an apartment in the Hôtel Lambert, but this never came to fruition. Finally, in April 1950, the Pattens found a house on the rue Weber, just steps away from their former home. The children would be able to continue playing in the Bois de Boulogne. While she was waiting for her furniture to arrive from the United States, Susan Mary amused herself by cobbling together a sitting room à la Pompadour and a Three Musketeers–themed dining room with the help of shabby old cinema sets, which she rented in a rare and deliberate spate of bad taste that appalled the nanny, Duff, and Charlie de Beistegui.
Then Bill fell badly ill at the beginning of June. What began as pneumonia evolved into heart failure. Dr. Varay came to the house morning and evening. One of Bill’s legs was paralyzed and a pacemaker was put in his bedroom. An English specialist was called in for a second opinion and recommended that Bill betransported to London for a bronchoscopy, a plan that Dr. Varay opposed. Trying to keep herself from panicking and painfully aware of her ignorance in such matters, Susan Mary decided that Bill would stay in Paris. His condition varied constantly. He often had trouble breathing and this made his pulse race even faster. Suffering led him to utter spiteful remarks,
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