Titled Americans, 1890: The Real Heiresses' Guide to Marrying An Aristocrat (Old House Projects)

This unique reproduction is the how-to directory which guided wealthy American heiresses in their quest to marry a titled British aristocrat in the turn-of-the-century Downton Abbey era, the core story of the TV series itself. A fascinating Introduction to the "Dollar Princess" trade by noted historian Eric Homberger explains the phenomenon of American brides exchanging enormous dowries for the right to be the Lady of a great English manor. What would entice a young American bride to leave their families, homes and everything familiar to travel thousands of miles away to a land and culture with a myriad of rigid and absolutely foreign social rules, traditions and customs? The bachelors who are chronicled in Titled Americans drew the attention of many aspiring American bridal prospects who thumbed through the pages of this Who's Who of British aristocracy, letting their hearts fill with the fantasy of being the Lady of a great estate as they mulled over the directory's full details of every bachelor's income, property value and net worth!

Includes a new Introduction by noted historian Eric Homberger.