Joe Carstairs
- Bobby Kelley
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
(February 1, 1900 - December 18, 1993)
Marion Barbara “Joe” Carstairs, the speedboat champion and eccentric heiress, often said she was “never a little girl.” Born on February 1, 1900, in London, she was the first child of American heiress, Frances Evelyn Bostwick.
Joe was the Grand daughter of Jabez Bostwick, a founding partner of Standard Oil. Her legal father was Captain Albert Carstairs of the Royal Irish Rifles—though even Joe doubted his paternity, as he re-enlisted in the army just before her birth and quickly divorced her mother.
Joe’s childhood was chaotic. Her mother struggled with addiction and cycled through lovers and husbands, the most memorable to Joe being Count Roger de Périgny. He treated Joe more like a friend than a stepdaughter, introducing her to speed, thrill, and racecars. By 16, she was behind the wheel of one of his modified racers.
The marriage didn’t last, but her love of adrenaline did.
Determined to escape her upbringing, Joe persuaded her grandmother, Nelly Bostwick whom she idolized to let her join the American Red Cross during World War I. Stationed in Paris, she drove ambulances and forged a new identity, spending her free time among artists and bohemians, including Dolly Wilde, niece of Oscar Wilde, who became Joe’s first great love. It was the start of a long and prolific romantic life. By her death, Joe had a photo album of 120 lovers, among them Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Tallulah Bankhead.
Joe behind the wheel Joe & Lord Tod Joe Carstairs
When word of her relationships reached Evelyn, Joe was summoned home and threatened with disinheritance unless she married a man. In characteristic defiance, Joe wed a French aristocrat rumored to be her mother’s lover, secured her dowry, and parted ways with him immediately after the reception.
With her inheritance, Joe pursued independence. She worked odd jobs, including running a chicken farm and a Bugatti showroom, before opening X-Garage, an all-women chauffeur service staffed by former ambulance drivers. The business thrived, attracting high-profile clients. Around this time, she fell in love with Ruth Baldwin,
a woman she reportedly loved above all others. For Christmas 1925, Ruth gave Joe a leather Steiff doll she named Lord Tod Wadley. Joe became inseparable from the doll, who would remain her constant companion for life, impeccably dressed in bespoke Savile Row suits and Italian shoes.
Joe’s passion soon turned to speedboats.
With her grandmother’s fortune, she commissioned a series of hydroplanes, beginning with Gwen, which famously flipped during testing and was rechristened Newg—“Gwen” spelled backward. In 1925, she earned the title “the fastest woman on water” after racing on the Thames. She went on to set records and rack up victories, ultimately competing for the prestigious Harmsworth Trophy in a custom-built black boat, Estelle II. Despite setbacks, crashes, and financial losses, Joe was undaunted. By 1930, she had set an American water-speed record, though she retired from racing soon after, joking, “You’d better get a good look at me, because I am not coming over again.”
Facing tax troubles in the U.S. and Britain, Joe purchased Whale Cay, a Bahamian island. Enchanted by its beauty, she transformed it into her private kingdom, building roads, plantations, a lighthouse, a church, and homes for the island’s residents—provided they followed her strict rules.
To her loyal subjects, Joe was generous; to those who crossed her, she was ruthless, banishing offenders. Whale Cay became legendary: Joe often donned a military uniform and false mustache to preside over her domain and thrilled visiting dignitaries, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Once, she staged a mock attack on her home to amuse guests.
Another visitor recalled being greeted at gunpoint by the “short, stock-built dame” with “dull menace in her lovely orbs.”
More of Joe At Whale Cay, 1. Aerial View. 2, Joe in the library. 3, Joe with the Duke & Duchess of Windsor. 4, Joe in the trophy room. 5 Joe With a bow & arrow. 6, Joe Relaxing by a palm tree smoking.
When Whale Cay lost its charm, Joe moved to Miami and later Naples, Florida. She died in 1993 at age 93, with Lord Tod by her side. True to her wishes, the doll was cremated and buried with her and Ruth in Oakland Cemetery, Sag Harbor, New York.
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