While certain details in The American Heiress might seem unbelievable, like the solid gold on the corset that Cora Cash wears on her wedding day, her trousseau is a replica of Consuelo Vanderbilt’s. At her wedding to the Duke, Consuelo carried orchids that had been grown in the greenhouses of Blenheim and then shipped to New York in a specially refrigerated chamber because Marlborough brides always carried flowers from Blenheim. When I borrowed the detail about Cora’s bouquet being brought over from England for my novel, my editor produced her red pencil and said, “This can’t possibly be true.” But in fact, you would have to have a very vivid imagination indeed to match the real extravagance and excess of the Gilded Age. Just as contemporary starlets are written about in the media today, every detail of Consuelo’s wedding was chronicled in Vogue.
In the late nineteenth century, American heiresses who fancied being called “my lady” subscribed to a periodical called Titled Americans—a pre-digital version of Match.com—that listed all the titled bachelors still on the market. The trade-off between money and titles was so successful that about a quarter of the members of the House of Lords in 1910 had American wives. American money probably kept the stately homes of England going for another generation.
Those of you who enjoyed the Masterpiece Theatre series Downton Abbey will remember that the Earl of Grantham married an American heiress (also called Cora) whose dowry saved the family estate from ruin. But Downton Abbey is set twenty years after The American Heiress. By that time even the stuffiest English aristocrats had realized that American money had stopped the roof leaking. The traces of these American girls are everywhere in Britain today; most people know that Winston Churchill’s mother was American, but the great-grandmother of Princess Diana was also an American heiress.
For many of these American brides, however, a title really didn’t make up for the horrors of English country life. A dollar princess frequently found herself isolated and miserable in a great pile of a house that, however exquisite, was miles away from anywhere, with no heating apart from open fires and—horror of horror—no bathrooms. One titled American bride wrote home to her mother that she hadn’t taken her furs off all winter even when she went to bed. Another heiress gave up going to dinner at people’s country houses because she couldn’t bear the arctic temperatures in an evening dress. And English society was not exactly welcoming to these rich newcomers: Imagine Kim Kardashian marrying Prince Harry today and you get the general idea of the suspicion and disdain that the Americans encountered. In Downton Abbey, when Cora, Countess of Grantham, wonders whether a potential suitor for her daughter comes from an old family, her mother-in-law, played by Maggie Smith, retorts, “Older than yours, I imagine.” And even the Countess’s own daughter, Lady Mary, dismisses her mother by saying, “You wouldn’t understand. You’re American.”
You will have to read The American Heiress to the last page to find out if Cora Cash wins her own particular War of Independence, but you can rest assured that every detail in the story, however outlandish, is grounded in fact.
DAISY GOODWIN is a leading television producer in the U.K. She has published several poetry anthologies, and was chair of the judging panel of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. She and her husband, an ABC TV executive, have two daughters and live in London. The American Heiress is her first novel.
Why English Noblemen
Seek American Brides…
And Other Excerpts from
Titled Americans*
March 1890
* * *
WHO NEEDS MATCH.COM?
*When Daisy Goodwin was researching her novel, The American Heiress, she discovered that rich American girls (and their mothers) who were seeking a match with an English lord would typically start by consulting the quarterly publication, Titled Americans, which listed all the eligible titled bachelors still on the market, with a handy description of their age, accomplishments and prospects.
* * *
Why English Noblemen
Seek American Brides.
Chauncey M. Depew’s Views on the Subject.
“Why do Englishmen select American wives?” was asked the silver-tongued orator, Mr. Chauncey M. Depew, who submitted himself graciously to a reporter’s inquisition on the subject of paramount interest and continuous discussion since the Endicott-Chamberlain wedding.
“Do you think I can answer that question without getting up another war with England? If I may express my opinion, without shattering the international treaty, I should say that the American girls has the advantage of her English sister in that she possesses all that the other lacks. This is due to the different methods in which the two girls are brought up. And English girl is, as a rule, brought up very strictly, kept under rigid discipline, sees nothing of society until formally brought out, is not permitted to think or act for herself, or allowed to display any individuality. As a result she is shy, self-conscious, easily embarrassed, has little or no conversation, and needs to be helped, lifted. The English young man has not the helpful qualities that characterize the typical American masher, and, in consequence, the two present, as I have often seen them, a very helpless combination. Then the American girl comes along, prettier than her English sister, full of dash, and snap, and go, sprightly, dazzling, and audacious, and she is a revelation to the Englishman. She gives him more pleasure in one hour, at a dinner or ball, than he thought the universe could produce in a whole life-time. Speedily he comes to the conclusion that he must marry her or die. As a rule he belongs to an old and historic family, is well educated, traveled, and polished, but poor. He knows nothing of business, and to support his estate requires an increased income. The American girl whom he gets acquainted with has that income, so in marrying her he goes to heaven and gets—the earth.”
A Carefully Compiled List of Peers
WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE EAGER TO LAY THEIR CORONETS, AND INCIDENTALLY THEIR HEARTS, AT THE FEET OF THE ALL-CONQUERING AMERICAN GIRL.
If one should give full credit to the bitter cry of the British-Matron-With-A-Lot-of-Marriageable-Daughters, he would imagine that there were no more any eligible bachelors to be found between Land’s End and John O’Groat’s; that Belgravia was an Adamless Eden, and Mayfair suffering from a modern version of the Rape of the Sabines, with that part of the Sabines assumed by the British Young Man and that of the Romans by the American Girl. For the sake of international comity, however, we are glad to be able to assure our readers that this is not so. Diligent search by a corps of experienced explorers reveals a goodly number of Britannia’s sons who have not yet bowed the knee to Miss Columbia. The following catalogue of them is printed, not, of course, to hold up offers of coronets before American eyes, but to vindicate our country-women against the charges of wholesale spoliation. The list comprises all sorts and conditions of “eligible parties,” from Dukes of prophyrogenous degree and fortunes that would make old Crcesus seem a pauper, down to the poor little heirs to Baronies of yesterday’s creation whose income would make the merry iceman smile with pitying scorn. This publication will perhaps arouse the ambition of the American Girl with the prospect of other worlds to conquer; doubtless it will, as Pope prophetically wrote, “Cause hope to rise within Britannia’s breast. At thought her unwed daughters may e’en yet be blest.”
The Right Hon. John Abercrombie.
Eldest son and heir of Lord Abercrombie; forty-eight years old; educated at Harrow; formerly captain of the Rifle Brigade; divorced from Baroness von Heidenstam of Sweden; has no children.
The entailed estates amount to 16,000 acres, yielding an income of $75,000.
Family seats: Three Castles in Scotland.
The Hon. Frederic Amherst.
Eldest son and heir of the Earl of Amherst.
The entailed estates amount to 25,600 acres, yielding an income of $200,000.
The family is very wealthy, the two previous possessors of the title having received lands, pensions, and gifts from the Crown, to the amount of over $3,000,000.
Lord Ampthill
Is second Baron, twenty years of age, and was educated at Eton. He has an income of $20,000; no landed estates. His father was the celebrated diplomatist, and belonged to the historical house of Russell. Lord Ampthill is closely related to the Duke of Bedford, Earl Russell, the Earl of Clarendon, etc.
Lord Apsley.
Eldest son and heir of the Earl of Bathurst.
The entailed estates amount to 13,600 acres, yielding an income of $105,000.
Lord Apsley is twenty-five years old, and was educated at Eton.
Family seat: Cirencester.
The Earl of Ancrum.
Eldest son and heir of the Marquis of Lothian, K. T.
The entailed estates amount to 23,000 acres, yielding an income of $260,000.
Lord Ancrum is twenty-four years of age, and a lieutenant in the army.
Family seat: Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian.
Lord Ardee.
Eldest son and heir to the twelfth Earl of Meath.
The entailed estates amount to 15,400 acres, yielding an income of $50,000.
The Earl of Meath married an heiress, and is worth about $700,000.
Lord Ardee is in his twenty-first year.
Family seat: Kilruddery, County Wicklow, Ireland.
Earl of Ashburnham.
Is the fifth Earl, forty-nine years old; possesses entailed estates amounting to 24,500 acres, yielding an income of $125,000.
He is a Knight of Malta, and a Catholic; he has never been married.
Family seats: In Sussex and Suffolk.
The Hon. John Ashburnham.
Is forty-two years old, heir to the Earldom of Ashburnham; was formerly in the diplomatic service, and has a private income of about $20,000 and a country seat in Sussex.
The entailed estates amount to 24,500 acres, yielding an income of $125,000.
Family seats: Two splendid Castles in Sussex and Suffolk.
Lord Ashtown.
Is third Baron.
The entailed estates are at Woodlawn, County Galway, and at Kilfinane, County Limerick, Ireland. They yield but a small income, in consequence of the agricultural distress in Ireland.
Lord Ashtown is twenty-two years old, and was educated at Eton.
Family seat: Lotherton Hall, Milford Junction, Ireland.
Lord Athlumney.
Is second Baron, twenty-four years of age; was educated at Harrow, and is a lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards.
The entailed estates amount to 10,500 acres, yielding an income of $60,000.
Family seat: Somerville Castle, County Meath, Ireland.
The Earl of Ava.
Eldest son and heir of the first Marquis of Dufferin.
The entailed estates amount to 18,200 acres, but owing to mortgages do not yield their nominal value of $100,000 income.
Lord Ava, who is twenty-six years of age, is a lieutenant in the 17th Lancers.
Family seat: Clandeboye, County Down, Ireland.
Viscount Avonmore.
Is sixth Viscount. The entailed estates are at Roscrea, Tipperary, and at Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, and yield but a small income, owing to the agricultural distress in Ireland.
Lord Avonmore is twenty-six years of age; a lieutenant in the army.
Family seat: Belle Isle, Tipperary.
Lord Bagot.
Is thirty-two years of age.
The entailed estates amount to 32,000 acres, yielding an income of $125,000.
He is a gentleman of the Privy Chamber.
Family seats: Blithfield Hall, Rugely, and Pool Park, Ruthin.
Viscount Baring.
Is the eldest son and heir of the Earl of Northbrook.
The entailed estates amount to 10,500 acres, yielding an income of $80,000.
The Earl, who has been a Cabinet Minister and Viceroy of India, is a partner of the banking house of Baring Brothers, and inherited a personality of $8,000,000 on succeeding to the title.
Viscount Baring is thirty-six years of age; was a captain of the Grenadier Guards and is a Member of Parliament.
Family seat: Stratton, Hampshire.
The Hon. Francis Baring.
Eldest son and heir of Lord Ashburton.
The entailed estates amount to 37,000 acres, yielding an income of $250,000.
Besides having an interest in the banking house of Baring Brothers, Lord Ashburton inherited about $3,000,000 from his father.
The Hon. Francis is twenty-four years of age.
Lord Borthwick.
Is sixth Baron; twenty-three years of age; educated at Oxford.
Family seat: Ravenstone, Wigtonshire, Scotland.
Lord Bennet.
Eldest son and heir of the sixth Earl of Tankerville.
The entailed estates amount to 31,000 acres, yielding an income of $150,000.
The Earl owns the only herd of wild cattle to be found in Great Britain.
Lord Bennet, who has at present nothing but a very small allowance, has served in the navy and in the army, and is thirty-six years of age.
Family seat: Chillingham Castle, Northumberland.
Lord Bertie.
Eldest son and heir of the eleventh Earl of Lindsay.
The entailed estates amount to 4,790 acres, yielding an income of $50,000.
Lord Bertie is twenty-seven years of age, and a lieutenant in the army.
Family seat: Uppington House, Stamford.
Earl of Buckinghamshire.
Is the seventh Earl, twenty-eight years of age.
The entailed estates amount to 5,200 acres, yielding an income of $25,000.
Lord Buckinghamshire was educated at Cambridge.
Lord Boston.
Is sixth Baron; twenty-eight years of age; Lord-in-waiting to H. M. the Queen. He was educated at Eton and Oxford, and is a great favorite of the Queen.
The entailed estates amount to 12,500 acres, yielding an income of $77,000.
Family seats: Porthamel, Anglesey, and Hedsore Castles, near Maidenhead.
Viscount Boyle.
Is the eldest son and heir of the Earl of Shannon.
The entailed estates amount to 11,200 acres, yielding an annual income of $70,000.
The Viscount is twenty-eight years of age, was educated at Eton, and was formerly a lieutenant of the Rifle Brigade.
Family seat: Castle Martyr, Cork.
Lord Byron.
Is ninth Baron; thirty-three years old; educated at Harrow and Oxford.
The entailed estates amount to 19,000 acres, yielding an income of $8,000.
Marquis De Brissac.
Grandson and heir of the Duke of Brissac.
The Marquis is exceedingly wealthy, and is twenty years of age, his mother, the Vicomtesse de Tredern, being the heiress of the great French sugar refiner, Say.
Family seats: Chateau de Brissac, Anjou, and Chateau de Clermont-Gallerande, Sarthe.
The Earl of Burford.
Is the eldest son and heir of the Duke of St. Albans, who is the hereditary Lord High Falconer of England.
The entailed estates amount to 8,300 acres, yielding an income of $70,000.
The Earl is in his twentieth year, and is a godson of the Prince of Wales.
Family seat: Bestwood Lodge, Nottingham.
Earl of Camperdown.
Is third Earl, forty-eight years old, is Lord-in-Waiting to H. M. the Queen.
Possesses entailed estates to the amount of 14,000 acres, yielding an income of $50,000.
Family seat: Camperdown, Dundee.
What happens after the fairytale wedding to an English lord?
THE AMERICAN HEIRESS marks the debut of Daisy Goodwin, a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the tradition of Edith Wharton and Jane Austen.
THE AMERICAN HEIRESS
978-0-312-65865-6 • $25.99/$29.99 can.
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p; On-sale June 2011
Chapter 1
The Hummingbird Man
Newport, Rhode Island, August 1893
THE VISITING HOUR WAS ALMOST OVER, SO the hummingbird man encountered only the occasional carriage as he pushed his cart along the narrow strip of road between the mansions of Newport and the Atlantic Ocean. The ladies of Newport had left their cards early that afternoon, some to prepare for the last and most important ball of the season, others so they could at least appear to do so. The usual clatter and bustle of Bellevue Avenue had faded away as the Four Hundred rested in anticipation of the evening ahead, leaving behind only the steady beat of the waves breaking on the rocks below. The light was beginning to go, but the heat of the day still shimmered from the white limestone façades of the great houses that clustered along the cliffs like a collection of wedding cakes, each one vying with its neighbour to be the most gorgeous confection. But the hummingbird man, who wore a dusty tailcoat and a battered grey bowler in some shabby approximation of evening dress, did not stop to admire the verandah at the Breakers, or the turrets of Beaulieu, or the Rhinelander fountains that could be glimpsed through the yew hedges and gilded gates. He continued along the road, whistling and clicking to his charges in their black shrouded cages, so that they should hear a familiar noise on their last journey. His destination was the French chateau just before the point, the largest and most elaborate creation on a street of superlatives, Sans Souci, the summer cottage of the Cash family. The Union flag was flying from one tower, the Cash family emblem from the other.
The Duchesss Tattoo Page 2