To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery in the Gilded Age (an Inspiration for Downton Abbey)

by Gail MacColl, Carol Wallace, Carol McD.Wallace

Book Overview

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,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761171959
• ISBN13: 9780761171959
• Release Date: March 2012
• Publisher: Workman Publishing
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Like reading the gossip tabloid

This is a very unique book. Within its reading is other reading at your leisure. Great pictures and it reads like the gossip tabloids of the day with truthful accounts. It’s a great getaway read for bring by the pool or on the beach or on a porch on a getaway week or weekin. Great stories and pictures. Wonderful nice feeling pages. Not a Cheap version. Done very very well. A real treasure find.

What a World! What a World!

Those few of us who have wondered why in the world a comfortable, cosseted American girl would want to marry an Englishman and live in a cold climate in an even colder stone castle will find answers here, even if the answers aren't satisfactory to the modern ear.Think of it: wealthy American society girls, products of generations of men and women who gave lives and fortunes to escape a Royalist society, thought it a worthy investment of their lives, loves and wealth to buy an English title in the form of a husband. It's understandable that men who have no money and are saddled with huge estates and titles with no way to support themselves "in the manner to which they have become accustomed" would search out these women. It's another matter to understand the women, especially if they were bright and energetic (like the fabled Jenny Jerome).Of course the first women to get involved in this weird method of social climbing didn't realize what was involved. (Though why American society decided that an English title was important in the United States, especially if it could be bought with money, still escapes me.) The problems included loveless husbands who paid little attention to their wives and carried on affairs; cold and drafty castles into which Papa sank tons of money to no avail as far as comfort was concerned; families who refused to accept them in spite (or because) of the fact that they provided the money to keep the lifestyle intact; servants who often were sulky and rebellious ("but we've ALWAYS done it that way"); children they handed over to nannies. The first brides must have kept the hardships and loneliness from the succeeding generation, for the rage for English titles prevailed from the mid-19th century almost through the mid-20th century.TO MARRY AN ENGLISH LORD is a fascinating and complete look at these women and the lives they led. Illustrations showing the homes and households of the times and how they operated, fashions, maps, photographs of the women and their friends, families and husbands all combine to present the core of that particular section of society in that particular age.The book is meticulously researched and includes a bibliography, a register of American heiresses, a suggested walking tour of the women's London and a very handy index. It's built around the stories of these women and the men who wooed and won them. Who they were, what they did and what the consequences were -- all adds up to an intriguing and fascinating read.

The most fun history book you will ever read!

"To Marry An English Lord" may sound like a how-to guide, but it is really one of the most fascinating history books on the English Peerage ever written. This book specifically follows the migration of rich American girls to England and, subsequently, to marrying a member of the English peerage. It also reveals life in both England and America at the dawn of the 20th century. This book contains the most fascinating and seldom-explored facts from the period, and really takes an in-depth look at the everyday lives of the privileged during the Gilded Age. If for nothing else, buy this book for the pictures! With cartoons, photographs, maps and paintings, you get a visual guide to the period. This book is so well organized that practically every page gives you detailed information on a specific subject, and a picture to illustrate it. Most pages also have small factoids that are some of the best parts of the book. Certainly the best part of the book is how it follows a few American heiresses throughout the book, which really makes you care about the 'characters' and gives you the full story: from start to finish. If you love Victorian/Edwardian history, or the English Peerage, you will absolutely love this book. I refer to it almost once a week and enjoy re-reading it whenever I have some spare time!

Great reference

This nonfiction work offers a a variety of informative, interesting details that brings a moment in history to life. Though not exhaustive, it certainly covers this ironic phenomenon in enough detail to satiate the reader's apetite. Most importantly, there are so many insights into the social workings of both the American upper-class and the British aristocracy that it works as an excellent reference for any Anglophile, history-phile, etc.

A fun book for Anglophiles.

This book takes an often tongue-in-cheek look at alliances between American women seeking respectability marrying English noblemen seeking cash. The tone of the book is fun and sometimes gossipy, but don't be fooled. The background material on the history of England and America in the late Nineteenth century is worth the price of the book alone. A simply fascinating book.