To Marry an English Lord

By: Gail MacColl, Carol McD. Wallace

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

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 quotes and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette - To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.

©1989, 2012 Gail MacColl & Carol McD. Wallace (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"In your very flattering article about books that might please fans of Downton Abbey, I was sorry that one title was missing: To Marry an English Lord.... It is a marvelous and entertaining study." (Julian Fellowes, writer and creator of Downton Abbey)

better than expected

if you're interested in Edwardian history between England and the US you'll find this book rather interesting

fascinating

a lot of it really interesting information and juicy gossip about a fascinating time in history

Loved it

I loved it, learning about the Gilded Age is fun. This book gives a lot of knowledge she was well researched.

Perhaps its true, money does not equal happiness

This is an interesting list of facts about young wealthy young American women who traded their wealth for social status and a British title. Later the young men who owned those titles but whose estates no longer supported them came to America hoping to meet these young women. But it is just a list of who did what when and superficially why.

Downton Abbey script idea

Enjoyed the book. It fleshed out the English/American marriage phenomenon and many DA script highlights used by Julian Fellows.

Of Course it’s non-fiction

This is very interesting. I see a few one star reviews because people don’t seem to have understood it is supposed to be a nonfiction book. comparing it to Downton Abbey is weird, because this is not fiction. Anyway, it was fascinating, and the narration was fantastic.

interesting but scattered

Enjoyable but scattered facts. Wanted more structure and less speculation. Still a nice listening entertainment.

A fun book for Downton Abby fans

I have always had a deep and abiding interest in the gilded age in the US. This book gives a very nice overview of American heiresses who came to England to marry English nobility starting with Jenny Jerome.

It was a lot of fun to listen to. It Drew a detailed picture of the manners and personalities and lifestyles of these Edwardian celebrities.

The narrator did a good job of reading the book with the right blend of insouciance and wit.

A book about the uncivilised parading as civilised

This literary work captivated my attention. It is an excellent tome, remarkable in both its exquisite writing and thorough research. The sheer effort which must have been expended to attain such a level of social acceptability must have been tiring beyond measure.

Yet, I must also express my concern that the book is not without its shortcomings. While it is indeed an entertaining read, I do hope that young people will take it only as such, lest they be misled by the portrayal of fine attire and contrived mannerisms as the hallmark of the so-called upper classes.

Indeed, one might even argue that such depictions can serve to legitimize uncivilized and inappropriate conduct.

However, as an exercise in entertainment and literary prowess, it is truly outstanding.

I liked it!

I really liked this book! I know people complain about the long lists of names and I think that could have been addressed by attaching a PDF to the download to peruse through those bits on your own if you want to. But otherwise I thought this was very entertaining to listen to!