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algae429's review against another edition
4.0
It was interesting, but definitely a light read and I thought it simply glossed over a lot of details. It also made it sound as if hordes of American misses were swarming London's High Society, and then later refer to 10 or so matrons banding together as American sisters to do something.
elarsonwhittaker's review against another edition
4.0
it was really informative and the narrator of the audiobook version was great.
ipomoea's review against another edition
Gossipy and entertaining. Would appeal to fans of historical British fiction, Downton Abbey, or anyone who loves reading about the shenanigans of the obscenely wealthy.
katie_lack's review against another edition
3.0
This book was definitely interesting but it had too many small side stories and pictures that kept disrupting. It was educational but a little too plodding at times.
edressa's review against another edition
5.0
Got this book recommended to me by the History Chicks podcast - and it did not disappoint! I really wish more books were written and presented in the same way, because I'd LOVE to read a similar one about Tudor women or women at Louis XIV's court.
spauffwrites's review against another edition
3.0
A great book for Downton Abbey fans, especially Season 1, and probably best read in your snootiest Julian Fellowes/Maggie Smith voice. It's a good place to get context for Robert and Cora's marriage, since the Earl of Grantham married the American heiress for her money. It's definitely a history focused on society and celebrity -- no wars, pestilence or other "middle class" worries are mentioned. I thought the chapters on an American heiress's life after marriage were the most interesting. It can be easy to get all of the names mixed up -- I had a hard time distinguishing between the Duchess of Manchester and the Duchess of Marlborough, since they were both named Consuelo -- but there is a handy guide in the back which lists all the American heiresses who married into the British aristocracy. It made me want to read more Edith Wharton and Henry James.
katiebellmoore's review against another edition
4.0
An irreverent book about an irreverent time. As a Downton Abbey fan, this book is heaven.
There are lots of factual, historical information but it's presented with too many interruptions.
There are lots of factual, historical information but it's presented with too many interruptions.
betsyrisen's review against another edition
5.0
A bear of a book, but totally worth it. Fascinating!
berlinbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting book about a strange phenomenon that began around the end of Victoria's reign. American heiresses coming to England in order to snag a title, and impoverished English lords only too glad to snatch at the cash infusion to keep their estates solvent. The book's style is conversational and gossipy, quite fitting for this sort of topic. I would have liked the book to go into more depth on the fates of these heiresses after marriage, but this was clearly not meant to be academic, so I can let some shallowness slide.
noellita234's review against another edition
3.0
So full of information. It reads more like a textbook that’s a stories but the stories are incredible.