Synopses & Reviews
AMERICAN HEIRESSES TAKE ON THE PEERAGE
In 1895, nine American girls, including a Vanderbilt (railroads), LaRoche (pharmaceuticals), Rogers (oil) and Whitney (New York trolleys), married peers of the British realmoXamong them, a duke, an earl, three barons and a knight. It was the peak year of a social phenomenon that began in the Gilded Age after the Civil War and handed down the legacy of Anglomania, Preppies, the Jet Set, even Winston Churchill and Princess Diana, offspring of such Anglo-American alliances. In all, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles. TO MARRY AN ENGLISH LORD is their story.
The book thato_s comme il faut
Tales of wealth and marriage, sex and snobbery, featuring:
Ñh Stuffy Old New York and Mrs. Astoro_s oß400or
Ñh Pushy Mamas, Wall Street Fathers and The Quest for Class
Ñh Edward, The Prince of Wales Who Loved Rich American Girls
Ñh The Marriage Contract, Keeping House in a Castle, Doing Your Wifely Duty: The Heir and the Spare
Ñh Complete with: the Parties, the Clothes, the Scandals, the Love Affairs, and 100-Year-Old Gossip Thato_s Still Scorching
Review
“Marvelous and entertaining.” — Julian Fellowes, creator of DOWNTON ABBEY
Synopsis
Gilded Age American Heiresses Take on the Peerage
In 1895 nine American girls, including a Vanderbilt (railroads), LaRoche (pharmaceuticals), Rogers (oil), and Whitney (New York trolleys), married peers of the British realm--among them, a duke, an earl, three barons, and a knight. It was the peak year of a social phenomenon that began in the Gilded Age after the Civil War, and handed down the legacy of Anglomania, preppies, and the world of two television series, Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age.
In all, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles. Filled with a wealth of historical personalities, grand houses, gossipy anecdotes, and a feature called comme il faut--the very finest points of etiquette that ruled Victorian and Edwardian society--To Marry an English Lord is their story.
Synopsis
"Marvelous and entertaining." --Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey
Discover the true stories behind the women who inspired DowntonAbbey and NBC's The Gilded Age, the heiresses--including a Vanderbilt (railroads), a LaRoche (pharmaceuticals), and a Rogers (oil)--who staked their ground in England, swapping dollars for titles and marrying peers of the British realm. Filled with vivid personalities, grand houses, dashing earls, and a wealth of period details and quotes on the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette, To Marry an English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible. Sex, snobbery, humor, social triumphs (and gaffes), are all recalled in marvelous detail, complete with parties, clothes, scandals, affairs, and 100-year-old gossip that's still scorching.
Synopsis
From the Gilded Age until 1914, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles--just like Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, the first of the Downton Abbey characters Julian Fellowes was inspired to create after reading To Marry An English Lord. Filled with vivid personalities, gossipy anecdotes, grand houses, and a wealth of period details--plus photographs, illustrations, quotes, and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette--To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.
Synopsis
AMERICAN HEIRESSES TAKE ON THE PEERAGE
In 1895 nine American girls, including a Vanderbilt (railroads), LaRoche (pharmaceuticals), Rogers (oil), and Whitney (New York trolleys), married peers of the British realm—among them, a duke, an earl, three barons, and a knight. It was the peak year of a social phenomenon that began in the Gilded Age after the Civil War, and handed down the legacy of Anglomania, preppies, and the world of the television series, Downton Abbey.
In all, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles. Filled with a wealth of historical personalities, grand houses, gossipy anecdotes, and a feature called comme il faut—the very finest points of etiquette that ruled Victorian and Edwardian society—To Marry an English Lord is their story.
About the Author
Gail MacColl Jarrett is a writer who lives in England.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
THE BUCCANEERS
Old New York
The Cut Direct
At Home on Washington Square
The Mrs. Astor
Rule Britannia
At Home on Berkeley Square
Their Noble Lordships
The London Season
Pushy Mamas
Words for Those on the Outside Wanting In
The Age of Revenge
Wall Street Father No. 1: The Sporting Man
The First Marriages
The Wilson Family Scorecard #1: May and Ogden
The Last Word
CHAPTER 2
THE FAIR INVADERS
A Turn in the Tide
Calling-Card Protocol
The Wilson Family Scorecard #2: Orme and Carrie
The Big Showdowns
Audacity and Innocence
The Genius of Clothes
Wall Street Father No. 2: The Silent Partner
The Top Dollars
The Siege of London
The Flip Side: Queen Victoria's Court
Fifth Avenue Meets the Peerage
The Wilson Family Scorecard #3: Belle and Mungo
Miss Daisy Miller
The Competition
Points in Her Campaign
Poor Peers
Estate Drains
Rating a Mate
Darling Daisy
The Self-Made Girl's Wedding
CHAPTER 3
AMERICAN HEIRESSES: WHAT WILL YOU BID?
He Stoops to Conquer
The Other Astors
The Princess Diana Connection
Duke's Progress: The English Lord's American Journey
The Plutocrat's Daughters
The Louis Fixation
Wall Street Father #3: The Collector
The Match of the Century
Like Father, Like Son
The Newport Schedule
Doing the Continental
Annus Mirabilis
Let's Make a Deal
She Is Now a Duchess
The Heiress's Newport
The Wilson Family Scorecard #4: Grace and Neily
The American Aristocrat's Wedding
The Vanderbilt-Whitney Show
CHAPTER 4
MARRIED HEIRESSES
Happily Ever After
Bringing Home the Bride
A Room with a View
American Wives and English Husbands
Jennie Gets Pinned
The Heir and the Spare
"I Baptize thee Albert Edward"
Chatelaine, or Where the Money Went
Upstairs, Downstairs
A Place for Everyone
Costume Changes
Survival of the Fastest
In the Public Domain
The Glitter and the Gold
Portrait of a Lady: Sitting to Sargent
At Long Last, Love
A Wealth of Love
CHAPTER 5
THE NEW HEIRESSES
Vivant Rex
Thoroughly Modern Jennie
Earning a Title
The Great Durbar
Devonshire House Ball
Entertaining Edward
Taking the Measure
The Crowning Touch
Out of the Past
"I thought everyone must know"
The Last Marriages
Court Curtsey
"Are there any more like you at home?"
Till Death or the Judge Do Us Part: The American Heiress Divorce
Epilogue
"A Hanging Offense"
AN AMERICAN HEIRESS DIRECTORY
Register of American Heiresses
Other Distinguished 19-Century Englishmen with American Wives
Brothers Who Married Heiresses
Cousins Who Married Heiresses
Father-Son Duos
Once Is Not Enough!
The Bridesmaid Connection
Walking Tour of the American Heiresses--London
Bibliography/Selected Reading
Index