Gail MacCollRezensionen

It's well documented that this was the book that inspired Downton Abbey. So, what can I say? If you like digging into the real life history behind the entertainment you'll probably enjoy this book.

It explains why Anglo-American marriages were such a trend at the turn of the 20th century. It has to do with the Prince of Wales, the impoverished state of many British nobles, the perceived value of social status for the nouveaux riche, the snobbery of New York, and the cultural freshness of Americans.

While occasionally I noticed the book making some sweeping generalizations/stereotypes, and it was chronologically quite jumpy, overall it was interesting. Lots of photographs.

I listed to this audio book as it seemed timely given the furor surrounding the releaser of Prince Harry’s autobiography. It seems that Americans have always been controversial – even now when due to the passage of time and the number of marriages that took place in the 19th Century, it seems that the majority of the English aristocracy must have an American hiding out on one of the limbs of their family trees.

Ok, this is a book full of really interesting information, but I can only assume that it is extremely odd in format -- either a chapter or a heading after every few paragraphs. And by assume, I mean that I had the misfortune to listen to the audio book version of it -- if you think the text was choppy in print, imagine a crisp, rarely expressive voice reading it with all seriousness. Its confusing, and just when she gets a rhythm going, she has to swap to another anecdote. When she started reading a table listing the names of American fathers and their titled daughters, I had to walk away. Who thought this would be a plausible audio book? Anyway. The content seems good, the reader is very clear, the delivery of all of it was a terrible idea.

Picked this up because it is reportedly the inspiration behind Downton Abbey.

From an historical perspective, it was interesting to read how the American rich went about buying European titles for their daughters. But none of the recounted stories went particularly deep into anything other than the societal “warfare” and strategies for winning.

From a modern perspective ... ick. It felt more like breeding dogs or race horses. I’m not sure who most resembled prostitutes: the mothers and daughters marketing themselves for a title or the English lords trading their titles for money to maintain their lifestyles. I have to wonder if the English system of nobility wouldn’t have collapsed a century ago but for the infusion of cash and fresh blood the heiresses brought into the mix.

All in all, it leaves me glad to be living in the times and economic status I do; and makes me feel rather sorry for “the ruling class” that lived to see their empire begin to fall apart.

Most of my sympathy is reserved for the American industrialists who got to see their hard-earned wealth blown through by extravagantly spending wives, over-indulged daughters, and essentially useless sons-in-law.½

I actually enjoyed this more than I remembered. This is light and quirky.
Must read for fans of Downton Abbey and 'Cash for titles' history.

it was entertaining and light reading

The history and dresses behind the Downton Abbey TV series.

I love the history and information in this book, and I loved the number of photos and images included, they really helped bring history and stories more to life and there were a LOT of them. The more the better...usually.

I was not a fan of the overall format and layout of the images and the side bubbles of stories. You would be on a roll reading an engaging story and then turn the page and instead of what you were reading you would have a page or two of photos and illustrations often not about what you were just reading. And then it would go back to your story. This made it very difficult at times to keep things straight and made the photos mean less because they were so annoying.

To fans of the period or the shows Downton Abbey, there is still a lot of value in this book, especially if you just want to have it to reference once in a while. I did learn new things and I really enjoyed seeing images of the dresses referred to in the text but I have no cohesive sense of what I read. If you are looking for a more serious history book or a more coherent story, I'd say skip it.

An interesting window into a time when New York Society ruled the U.S. and those who were shut out of it chose to go across the ocean to England to find titled husbands. This was helped by the fact that the U.S. allowed daughters to inherit while English law permitted only male inheritance. Therefore, destitute noblemen could look to American heiresses to ease their debts in ways that English women could not.

At first I was impressed w/ the glitter & lifestyles, but then I read about how awful country life could be; MacColl doesn't really go into to the relationships of the rich imported heiress & their new staid English servants, but it could not have been easy nor would it have been easy getting along w/ in-laws...

It was amazing to learn that after many couples had their heir, they began multiple or long-term affairs and no one blinked an eye: going so far as to have house parties where both lovers were invited.

...and one could almost feel badly for them, until one reads about the wild parties both in & out of London & the flagrant waste of money, especially when entertaining Edward VII & Alexandra. The women had no less than 4-6 changes of clothing per day and during a house party (whether it be overnight or several days) no one ever wore the same thing twice. The one redeeming factor was that all leftover food was given either to the village or the London poor.

Families covered included: Astor, Vanderbuilt, Wadsworth, Pfizer, Post, Pinchot, Leiter (Curzon), Jerome (Churchill), Hammersley (Churchill-Marlborough), Golet, Colgate, & Burbank; to name a few.

The book itself was amazingly interesting, but oddly put together....

I really dislike being in the middle of something only to have it interrupted on the next 1-2 pages with an inserted anecdote or informative blurb; I find it more than distracting & irritating. The paper was stark white w/ small print, so at times it was difficult to read.

There were too many asides and the stories of the heiresses were broken up & strewn about from one chapter to the next, which was why I only gave this 3 stars.

Really enjoyed this look at the American bridal invasion into the British aristocracy during the late 1800's. Great photos and illustrations enhanced the well written text.

I loved this book! The authors did a great job of giving the reader all sorts of information; not only on the trend of poor English lord marrying rich American heiress, but also the social rules and etiquette in American and England. The one criticism I have is about the layout. There is so much information and in between chapters there were too many inserts. Other than that, it is a fun read and a must for the anglophiles!

Account of a social phenomenon; American ladies marrying British gentlemen in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the latter often titled but impoverished. Copiously illustrated but (by its nature) somewhat superficial. Still, an interesting insight into a vanished world.½

Despite plenty of interesting information, stories, and people, this book was ultimately hard to enjoy. Broken up, with numerous insets, asides, and tangents, it was hard to keep up with the many people who were covered, and sidebars about particular fashions/behaviors would sometimes be 50+ pages past a point where it might make sense in narrative to discuss them in more detail. Surely someone has written a a better book on the subject.

Confession: I am not nor have I been watching Downton Abbey.
I am a huge Masterpiece fan and have watched many many of them since the 70's. Some of my absolute favorite entertainment.
However, there have been too many other wonderful distractions, so doubt I'll ever catch up with this series.
Deciding to invest more time in reading is a trade-off and this book was extremely interesting in detailing facts that were surprising.
Perhaps Downton Abbey fans already have all this info - if not - Read it!
Background on NewYork and London society, the reasons for and the mechanics of sending daughters to London to marry a title. And the wisdom of the Brits in sharing their title for the tremendous new wealth of American daughters. What splendid arrangements.
The number of these Trans-Atlantic arrangements was astounding - would not have believed it without the summary lists included here.
One can only hope there was some true love amongh all the pairings for titles and monies.

The best thing about this book is the many photographs included; too bad it wasn't just designed as a coffee table book. I was fairly engaged by the early chapters, which detailed the first wave of American heiresses going abroad (mainly to England) in search of titled husbands. But once I got past Jennie Jerome, Consuelo Vanderbilt and a few others, their stories became repetitive, and in fact, the remainder of the books became repetitive. It's not just that the women's stories were all similar; MacColl actually recaps the SAME stories two, three, even four times in subsequent chapters. Then there are all those horrendous alphabetical lists. The worst was the last, which seemed to go on forever, listing each heiress with her father, husband, and manor house--again with much repetition. Add to this the fact that the book is full of annoying typographical errors (such as Alva Vanderbilt being referred to, not once, but twice, as "Aha"). I can only recommend that you flip through it to look at the photos and find a better book on the subject (which indeed deserves much better).

An interesting study of the curious period when American heiresses would 'cross the pond' to marry titled gentry in England. The book gives accounts of the societies on both sides and their upper class social structure, all the causes for such a pattern to occur, how each society viewed this change, how the marriages changed society, how the British Aristocracy (including the Royal house) embraced it (or didn't), and on an individual basis how the marriages succeeded (or didn't). There were lots of photographs which were helpful in illustrating some of the ways that things were changed, especially apparel and jewelry, and it was fun to see all the wonderful houses and beautiful people. This book was apparently the inspiration for the Downton Abbey program, of which I am a fan.

This book, a cultural history of American heiress marrying English Lords, is just plain fun and fascinating. The Kindle version is currently on sale in the US, but To Marry an English Lord is so lavishly illustrated with photos and drawings on every page that I can’t imagine reading an ebook copy.

By the late 1800’s--early 1900’s there was a growing number of young ladies in the US who had lots of family money, but who couldn’t break into proper American “Society” because being nouveau riche they had no social status. At the same time across the Atlantic noble British families were having trouble paying for the upkeep and modernization of their estates--which is understandable since it wasn’t considered proper for the aristocracy to work--so marriage between the two groups made sense, but whoa! The culture shock! All of which is entertainingly recounted in this book.

After growing up in a fancy, almost palace-like mansion the American heiress often started married life in her British husband’s dark, deteriorating ancestral manor without indoor plumbing. The large (and very interesting) contrasts in attitudes about married life, gender roles, infidelity, money, servants, and politics further complicated her assimilation into her new life. There were a variety of ways to cope and the book delves into the personal stories of many of the women, including Jennie Jerome Churchill (mother of Winston) and Consuelo Vanderbilt.

To Marry an English Lord makes lively use of its rich historical material and is full of fruitful background information for further enjoying fiction and film. Edith Wharton and Henry James used the Victorian-Edwardian era tension between British and American customs in their novels and Julian Fellows, the creator of Downton Abbey, says this book inspired the Cora character in that series.

Interesting companion to Downton Abbey, but print version was wayyyyyyyyyy too long. Second half seemed very repetitious, and didn't provide much information. Contained information about the 50 year history involved in purchasing English titles. Explained meaning of titles, etc.½

It's a source book, and maintains a tone of "this is a sign of real social success!" While the phenomenon existed, and the results of the process included Winston Churchill, I didn't really find the book entertaining.

Gives a good taste of the times in the upper reaches of society, but it's too much of a good thing. The repetition becomes cloying and it all jumbles together. The format, with info boxes and sidebars was distracting. Longer, leisurely chapters without the clutter might have been more appealing. Just thumbed through the second half.½

An interesting look at the social issues and events surrounding the entrance of wealthy Americans into the Victorian Peerage, complete with gossip, economic and political ramifications, and a list of who's who during the era, on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. Enjoyable nonfiction, coming from someone who usually prefers to stick with fiction.

I read this in eBook format, on my Kindle, which affected the way the chapters flowed, interrupted by the images and asides. It was slightly distracting, but I would expect the problem to be avoided with a print copy.

Interesting information, but dull writing and the format was onerous.

Good companion while watching Downton Abbey. Lots of photos to enliven a rather dry text.

One of the slew of books related to Downton Abbey to be released after the show's success, in this case, the book is a re-release of a 1989 non-fiction book, which (much to the publisher's delight)has a cover blurb from Julian Fellows, creator of Downton Abbey himself. To further drive the point home, the cover also bears the words: "An inspiration for the popular Television Series Downton Abbey."

But for all the purported connection the part of the plot most literally inspired by the book - the marriage between American heiress Cora and impoverished peer Lord Grantham - takes place some nineteen years prior to the first episode of the show. The book actually covers the period from about 1871 to 1910, which means that the ends just between the timeline of the show begins.

That said, I'm glad that the Downton Abbey craze lead to this book being republished, because regardless of how relatively tenuous the connection to the show is, it's a fabulous book. The writing is exciting, and not at all dry; the authors are capable of capturing all sorts of interesting personalities, and most of all, it's incredibly comprehensive. I wouldn't be surprised if the book had also inspired numerous historical fiction writers, because it covers every single detail of the time period you'd ever need. The main narrative, which details the trend of American heiresses marrying impoverished English peers for their titles is split up by two-page spreads and inserts giving detailed information on the social mores of the time, the differences between American and British society, biographies of various important people, overviews of the types of heiress hunting swains, and New York fathers, timetables for sojourns in Newport, the staff of an English manor, lists of everything from prerequisites for an American heiresses London campaign to how to keep the Prince happy at a 'Friday to Sunday' house party, and of course, a lot of photographs of gorgeous heiresses and handsome peers.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. The only bad thing is that it made me want a Downton Abbey prequel...

One of the slew of books related to Downton Abbey to be released after the show's success, in this case, the book is a re-release of a 1989 non-fiction book, which (much to the publisher's delight)has a cover blurb from Julian Fellows, creator of Downton Abbey himself. To further drive the point home, the cover also bears the words: "An inspiration for the popular Television Series Downton Abbey."

But for all the purported connection the part of the plot most literally inspired by the book - the marriage between American heiress Cora and impoverished peer Lord Grantham - takes place some nineteen years prior to the first episode of the show. The book actually covers the period from about 1871 to 1910, which means that the ends just between the timeline of the show begins.

That said, I'm glad that the Downton Abbey craze lead to this book being republished, because regardless of how relatively tenuous the connection to the show is, it's a fabulous book. The writing is exciting, and not at all dry; the authors are capable of capturing all sorts of interesting personalities, and most of all, it's incredibly comprehensive. I wouldn't be surprised if the book had also inspired numerous historical fiction writers, because it covers every single detail of the time period you'd ever need. The main narrative, which details the trend of American heiresses marrying impoverished English peers for their titles is split up by two-page spreads and inserts giving detailed information on the social mores of the time, the differences between American and British society, biographies of various important people, overviews of the types of heiress hunting swains, and New York fathers, timetables for sojourns in Newport, the staff of an English manor, lists of everything from prerequisites for an American heiresses London campaign to how to keep the Prince happy at a 'Friday to Sunday' house party, and of course, a lot of photographs of gorgeous heiresses and handsome peers.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. The only bad thing is that it made me want a Downton Abbey prequel...