Although she held two Democratic fundraisers at Maine Chance in the immediate aftermath of Marbury's death, in 1936 she returned to the Republican Party. According to a recent biography, during the 1952 Presidential race she told her guests "you can't vote for [Democrat Adlai] Stevenson, the man's a queer!"

Sponsor Message.

Arden finally divorced Lewis in December of 1933. There is no evidence to suggest that she maintained any connection with Marbury's network of friends. She was later known to be involved with a married executive from Hearst, a leading publisher of magazines, and in 1942 she married Michael Evanloff. They were divorced 11 months later.

Arden died October 18, 1966 of complications following a stroke and pneumonia. Despite an outstanding tax bill of $35 million dollars, she died an extremely wealthy woman. In 1970, Eli Lilly bought Elizabeth Arden for $38.5 million.

Often overlooked in mainstream publications on the cultural history of salons is that many of the salon hostesses and attendees were lesbian, bisexual, or gay.

The most famous actress of her time, Sarah Bernhardt scandalized and titillated Paris by wearing pants, taking men's roles in some of her plays, and having numerous love affairs, some with women.

Accomplished playwright, actor, composer, and lyricist, Sir Noël Coward was also a singer and cabaret performer; he dominated the British stage between the world wars, then reoriented his career in the direction of America.

An important advocate for the poor and oppressed and one of the most influential women in the world, Eleanor Roosevelt had throughout her life strong attachments to women, some of them probably resulting in sexual intimacy.

Oscar Wilde is important both as an accomplished writer and as a symbolic figure who exemplified a way of being homosexual at a pivotal moment in the emergence of gay consciousness.

American lesbian Elsie de Wolfe helped create the profession of interior decorating; she was also one of the central figures of an elite New York "Amazon enclave" during the early years of the twentieth century.