The Husband Hunters, Anne de Courcy
The Husband Hunters, Anne de Courcy
3 Rating(s)
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The Husband Hunters
American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy

Author: Anne de Courcy

Narrator: Clare Corbett

Unabridged: 10 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/07/2018


Synopsis

"[Narrator Clare Corbett's] lively performance and clear diction help listeners understand the complicated social rules underlying the splendor of the world's richest as they vied for the perfect spouse." — AudioFile Magazine

The Husband Hunters is a deliciously told historical audiobook about 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.

Praise for The Husband Hunters:

"Witty and well researched, Anne de Courcy brings to colorful, dramatic life these dollar princesses whose vast fortunes propelled them to glittering trans-Atlantic marriages that captivated international society."— Daisy Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of American Heiress

“Downton Abbey fans will swoon over this trip through the privileged turn-of-the-century world of cash, class, and coronets." — Kirkus

About Anne de Courcy

Anne de Courcy is the author of several widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including CHANEL'S RIVIERA, THE HUSBAND HUNTERS, MARGOT AT WAR, THE FISHING FLEET, THE VICEROY'S DAUGHTERS and DEBS AT WAR. She lives in London and Gloucestershire.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Penny on August 13, 2017

More than a bit disappointed with this book. The subject matter sounded perfect for me, and I've enjoyed de Courcy's works in the past. I marvel at how sometimes writers can turn the most interesting subjects into dull books. So many clichés. Basically it seemed to boil down to 'American girls had mon......more

Goodreads review by SueKich on June 28, 2017

Peerless? It is a truth universally acknowledged that the stately homes of England have always been in dire need of an injection of capital. Equally, that American money looks to the English aristocracy for an injection of class. At the turn of the last century, this mutual requirement reached its ap......more

Goodreads review by Kelley on April 16, 2021

Fascinating book about wealth and noble titles 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 typ......more

Goodreads review by Christina on June 27, 2019

This non-fiction audio book was just as riveting as some of the fictional tales I've listened to lately. De Courcy focuses on the Victorian and the Edwardian eras and the American heiresses who married into the British aristocracy. I was worried a non-fiction audio book wouldn't work for me and that......more

Goodreads review by Lois on March 22, 2022

4 solid stars 2022 I am researching The Gilded Age while watching the TV show by Julian Fellowes of the same name. I returned to this book for reference and it is fantastic. I must've been in a bad mood upon my initial reading of this. This gives so much background, richness and depth to this entire co......more