To Marry an English Lord

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.

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 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.

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