Short Synopsis
This social history on the influx of American heiresses marrying into titled English families serves as an inspiration for the award-winning television series Downton Abbey.

Full Synopsis
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 photographs, illustrations, quotes, and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette—To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.

"Using a
proper British accent as the backdrop for these larger-than-life characters, Reading utilizes changes in tone
and accent for dialogue and quotations, when appropriate." ---Booklist Audio Review

"Kate Reading has her work cut out for her, narrating a book that is heavily illustrated on the page, and she brings to it an admirable precision. Her diction is crisp, and her attention to detail serves the listener beautifully." ---AudioFile

"Kate Reading's narration deftly weaves the extensive information in the print book's many sidebars into the larger story without loss of clarity." ---Library Journal Audio Review

"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

"This delightful account . . . demonstrates that our national infatuation with British aristocracy is nothing new." ---Publishers Weekly

"To Marry an English Lord is a fascinating glimpse of human nature and American fascination with British aristocracy." ---Midwest Book Review