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The husband hunters : American heiresses who married into the British aristocracy  Cover Image Book Book

The husband hunters : American heiresses who married into the British aristocracy / Anne de Courcy.

De Courcy, Anne, (author.).

Summary:

"A deliciously told group biography of the young, rich, American heiresses who married impoverished, British gentry at the turn of the twentieth century - the real women who inspired Downton Abbey. Towards the end of the nineteenth century and for the first few years of the twentieth, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, fifty years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known 'Dollar Princess', married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage, bringing with them all the fabulous wealth, glamour and sophistication of the Gilded Age. Anne de Courcy sets the stories of these young women and their families in the context of their times. Based on extensive first-hand research, drawing on diaries, memoirs and letters, this richly entertaining group biography reveals what they thought of their new lives in England - and what England thought of them"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781250164599
  • ISBN: 1250164591
  • Physical Description: x, 307 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First U.S. edition.
  • Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, [2018]

Content descriptions

General Note:
"First published in Great Britain by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd, an Hachette UK company"--title page verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 286-291) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Where they came from -- The 'buccaneers' -- Jennie -- The first duke captured -- Living in the country -- Mrs. Paran Stevens -- Alva -- Newport -- The 'Marrying Wilsons' -- The call of Europe -- Virginia -- Maud -- Royal connections -- The Bradley-Martins -- Fitting in--or not -- Tennie Claflin : the odd one out -- The river of gold -- It was all too much.
Subject: Americans > Great Britain > Biography.
Americans > Great Britain > History > 19th century.
Heiresses > Great Britain > Biography.
Heiresses > Great Britain > History > 19th century.
Aristocracy (Social class) > Great Britain > History.
Great Britain > Social life and customs > 19th century.
Genre: Biographies.

Available copies

  • 3 of 3 copies available at Lehigh Valley Library System. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Easton Area Public Library System. (Show)

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Easton Main Library 305.48 O291h (Text) 31901004284206 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Allentown Public Library 305.48 DECO (Text) 34455006495382 Adult Nonfiction 2nd FL Available -
Bethlehem Main Library 305.482 (Text) 33062009066011 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Boone Area Library 305.4821 DEC (Text) 33249023560885 Non-fiction Available -
Gettysburg Library 941.081 DE COURCY (Text) 35740635365026 Nonfiction Available -
Guthrie Memorial Library: Hanover's Public Library Adults 305.48 DE Nonfiction (Text)
Bookplate: Plated 2018: In Memory of Mary Hilda Spalding
34007002324981 Adult Area Available -
Guthrie Memorial Library: Hanover's Public Library Adults 305.48 DE Staff Access Nonfiction (Text) 34007002186000 Archives Available -
Kutztown Community Library 305.48 DEC (Text) 33249023218732 Non-fiction Checked Out 04/27/2024
New Castle Public Library 305.482 De Courcy (Text) 31902005400734 NWCM Non-Fiction Available -
Reading Public Library RPL - Main 305.4821 DeC (Text) 33223008325242 Non-fiction Available -


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