To Marry an English Lord
I just finished reading a fascinating book titled To Marry an English Lord.
It's about American heiresses who married English aristocrats and/or royalty. This was a great arrangement for both parties because although they were ridiculously wealthy, many American parents wanted their daughters to have the class and stature that having a British title would confer on them. The men, in many cases, were titled Englishmen, but sorely lacking in the financial area, some even nearly destitute. The heiress got a title and the Englishman got a desperately needed infusion of cash.
I learned of this book while watching an interview with the cast of Downton Abbey. Julian Fellowes, creator of DA, said he got the idea for the television series from this book. As fans of the show know, the male lead character, a Lord, married an American heiress, not for love (which did come later), but because she was very wealthy. He was running out of funds necessary to maintain his ancestral estate, Donwton Abbey. If any of you are interested in reading it, especially fans of Downton Abbey, I highly recommend it. It's available in a good quality paperback from amazon.com in the US and amazon.co.uk in the UK.
It's available both places in the Kindle version, but I don't think I'd recommend it. The book is loaded with photographs, some of which are very old, and in many cases the photo and the corresponding extensive captions are on facing pages...awkward to view on a Kindle. Also, anecdotes are inserted on full pages within the text which would make keeping track of where you are a bit difficult on a Kindle.
Once I started reading, I could not put this book down.
It's about American heiresses who married English aristocrats and/or royalty. This was a great arrangement for both parties because although they were ridiculously wealthy, many American parents wanted their daughters to have the class and stature that having a British title would confer on them. The men, in many cases, were titled Englishmen, but sorely lacking in the financial area, some even nearly destitute. The heiress got a title and the Englishman got a desperately needed infusion of cash.
I learned of this book while watching an interview with the cast of Downton Abbey. Julian Fellowes, creator of DA, said he got the idea for the television series from this book. As fans of the show know, the male lead character, a Lord, married an American heiress, not for love (which did come later), but because she was very wealthy. He was running out of funds necessary to maintain his ancestral estate, Donwton Abbey. If any of you are interested in reading it, especially fans of Downton Abbey, I highly recommend it. It's available in a good quality paperback from amazon.com in the US and amazon.co.uk in the UK.
It's available both places in the Kindle version, but I don't think I'd recommend it. The book is loaded with photographs, some of which are very old, and in many cases the photo and the corresponding extensive captions are on facing pages...awkward to view on a Kindle. Also, anecdotes are inserted on full pages within the text which would make keeping track of where you are a bit difficult on a Kindle.
Once I started reading, I could not put this book down.