“Marvelous and entertaining.” —Julian Fellowes, creator ofDownton Abbey Discover the true stories behind the women who inspired
DowntonAbbeyand HBO’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 Lordis 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.
Gail MacColl Jarrett is a writer who lives in England.
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 AbbeyandThe 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 calledcomme il faut—the very finest points of etiquette that ruled Victorian and Edwardian society—To Marry an English Lordis their story.
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
THE BUCCANEERS
Old New York
The Cut Direct
At Home on Washington Square
Th
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