Author:

MacColl, Gail 1954-  Search this

Wallace, Carol 1955-  Search this

Physical description:

x, 403 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Type:

Books

History

Place:

New York (State)

New York

England

New York (N.Y.)

United States

Date:

1989

©1989

19th century

1865-1918

Notes:

One photograph inserted.

Contents:

The buccaneers. Old New York ; Rule Britannia ; Pushy mamas ; The first marriages -- The fair invaders. A turn in the tide ; Audacity & innocence ; The siege of London ; The competition ; Poor peers ; The self-made girl's wedding -- American heiresses : what will you bid? He stoops to conquer ; The plutocrats' daughters ; The match of the century ; She is now a duchess ; The American aristocrat's wedding -- Married heiresses. Happily ever after ; American wives & English husbands ; The heir & the spare ; Ch©Øtelaine, or, Where the money went ; Survival of the fastest ; At long last, love -- The new heiresses. Vivat rex ; Entertaining Edward ; The last marriages ; Till death or the judge do us part : the American heiress divorce ; Epilogue -- An American heiress directory. Register of American heiresses ; Walking tour of the American heiresses' London

Summary:

In 1895, nine American girls married peers of the British realm. It was the peak year of a social phenomenon that began when the entrenched members of old New York snubbed these "new money" families after the Civil War, sending them off to England in quest of class. MacColl presents a rich tapestry of essays, sidebars, fact-filled boxes, and lively anecdotes to chronicle the era respresnted by Downton Abbey and Upstairs, downstairs.

Topic:

Upper class--History  Search this

Nobility--History  Search this

Marriage--History  Search this

Social life and customs  Search this

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1086018