The Husband Hunters: American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy

What a great book! Anne de Courcy has written a wonderful history of 19th century American mega-heiresses who crossed the pond in search titled husbands. There were 102 such brides who married British peers between 1870 and 1914. The noblemen/grooms typically were impoverished and desperately searching for cash infusions to save their debt-ridden estates. Most of these marriages were unsuccessful though some were happy. Usually American brides were free-spirited, and well educated, quite different than their subdued English and European counterparts, hence they were exotic by comparison and desirable (though their money surely was the biggest factor spotlighting their charm). Yet they found themselves strangers in strange lands still adjusting to customs, even after 50 years of living there, often with intense unhappiness.I learned a lot from this book. de Courcey has an engaging writing style, capturing the essence of many different heiresses in her many biographical essays. My single small issue was her complex sentences detailing relationships between the various actors. So many were in some sentences it was impossible to decipher all the names and match them with correct corresponding pronouns. Aside from this, what a book! Get lost in history and be entertained by the tales of America’s wealthiest families in search of buying titles for themselves.

This is a fun read; for me, I was inspired of course by Jennie Churchill, Sir Winston’s mum, who was a member of this category and happily, de Courcey calls her the pioneer of the Gilded Age brides. Jennie is the “stunningly gorgeous” daughter of Wall Street financier Leonard Jerome. She was also a fashionista of her day, never known to compromise on her clothes, and in various letters written by Gilded Age brides, they describe their clothes, what they wore where and when, at great length. Dresses were expensive (especially the ones made by Worth) and the maids were employed to look after the clothes, although many women only wore a frock once in society....or, if more often, would have changeable collars and cuffs. Ruffles absorbed most of the dirt and soil and could easily be replaced so a dress would look new. Ladies arrived at grand houses for long weekends—-sometimes they would have as many as 100 trunks. Many were groomed for this particular destiny, and they, as American girls, were quite at ease conversationally with men—-somewhat different from British women of the day. Affairs were understood to be typical, travel, horses, house parties, shooting parties, grand houses, and newspapers are all central to the times. But the times ebb at the turn of the century when Mrs. Astor yields her place to Mrs. Vanderbilt who perpetuates the old rituals and ways. Yet, a certain liberation had crept its way into the social dialog, and even Alva Vanderbilt could not resist the emerging suffragette movement. Profligate spending was no longer the ultimate goal as women—and the men who courted them—-began talking about political interventions for education and other worthy goals. DeCourcey is fair minded about the effect Americans and their wealth had on British society given the restoration of many estates, the accumulation of great galleries of art, and collections of fine things from furniture to jewelry. She notes that the “American invasion” had a profound and lasting effect on British society. Though Winston Churchill (“perhaps our greatest Prime Minister”) stands as a descendent of the Gilded Age matrimonial schemes, many others documented in this engaging work have been less known yet critical to social changes. Mary Curzon once wrote to her father: “...50 years in a new country never alters your nationality and I shall never be an Englishwomen in feeling or character and oh! the unhappiness I see around me here in England amongst American women.”. Something uniquely American came to Britain with those wealthy wives which shook the place up a bit. Blessed be.

I got to this somehow from Downton Abbey, as it is about American heiresses who married titled Englishmen, like Cora, Lady Crawley. It worked out because the man had a large estate to maintain but not cash and the American heiress had a lot of cash and a social climbing appreciation for the title.There are portraits of several of the women and descriptions of the society of the era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In America, men made money and women spent it and ruled the social system in the era of conspicuous consumption. If you were not a part of the top 400 families recognized by Mrs. Astor, your goal was to get in. For example, the exploits of Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt got them in and are fun to read about.It inspired me to read The Age of Innocence, which contains some not too disguised portrayals of some of these ladies. By this time, the amount of snobbery and social climbing is kind of amusing. And of course, money is no object. The author describes the way they spent it in those days, to show how rich they were - balls with tons of flowers, yachts, big houses in Newport, trips to Europe and the UK, and of course, clothes and jewelry. And yet, happiness was just as fleeting as for anyone else.

Most of this wasn't news to me as I had read it in other books. There was much to much detail in my opinion down to the description of undergarments. How in the world did a generation think it was okay to "sell" your daughter for a title? Most were miserable in these relationships. Thankfully the Bradley-Martin's ended the Gilded Age before moving to England.I did notice in Chapter 17 on page 259 there was a reference to a Mamie Stuyvesant Smith in lieu of the correct name of Mamie Stuyvesant Fish who owned Crossways. *See photo

I am really enjoying this book. I have been to Newport Rhode Island and have had the opportunity to tour some of the homes mentioned in the book. I am totally fascinated by the gilded age of America. I love reading the stories of the women in this book. The book is biographical but it is written in a way that is very entertaining.

This is my fourth Anne De Courcy book and I've enjoyed them all. In The Husband Hunters she tells the true stories that inspired Downton Abby and Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers -- how rich American heiresses like Jenny Jerome and Consuelo Vanderbilt invaded England, married into the British aristocracy, and provided a much-needed infusion of cash that saved fading estates and broken down castles. It's fascinating history, filled with intense competition, domineering mothers, horrible husbands, and the occasional happy ending. Lavish wealth from the Gilded Age and obsessive social climbing drove it all. Each chapter is more interesting than the last, giving the story a delightful momentum. Good pictures, too. A very enjoyable read.

Learned a great deal from this book. My only criticism would be the lack of pictures and their location at the END of the book, instead of the correlating chapter.

This is a very interesting, detailed, and factual account of how New York families raised their social standing by marrying their daughters into the English landed gentry. The young women obtained titles and the English gentlemen found funds to finance their cash poor estates. The book is beautifully written to understand New York at the turn of the 19th century—a great historical account.

This book is such a great read. Written in an engaging style, it's not dry but rather makes these women come to life.

Well-written book about the Gilded Age, especially about the most well-known families.

I have read most of Anne de Courcy's books and enjoyed them. She writes well and researches carefully. However, this is my least favourite of all her books. The extravagance and selfish displays of the 'elite' New Yorkers become rather sickening and in fact, unusually for me, I never finished this book. Impossible to admire the lavish dinners and parties when so many immigrants were living in such abject misery on the lower East Side.It contrasts quite sharply with her 'Fishing Fleet'. Generally those women were seeking a husband in India because their position in England, probably quite genteel but with few resources made it imperative to find a mate if they were not to have a life of poverty or existing as a barely tolerated 'poor relation' in another woman's house.