Emilie Grigsby was the real life counterpart to Berenice Fleming in the Titan and Stoic books. Acknowledged by contemporaries to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, she had an affair with Charles Yerkes, who built her a mansion (which came to be known as the House of Mystery) in New York, close to his own home.
After Charles Yerkes’ death, newspapers reported that he prepared a second will just before his death, which bequeathed his riches to Emilie instead of his wife and children. However, his doctor didn’t permit him to sign this will because of his bad state. Still, Emilie Grigsby’s house and gifts from Yerkes made her very rich regardless.
In 1911 she sold her estate before moving to England.
