The Husband Hunters

By Anne de Courcy

Orion Publishing, 320 pages £20

This book is by the same author as The Fishing Fleet and the question is: “Why would young American women come to Britain to marry?” Between 1870 and 1914, 454 American girls married titled Europeans. The author points out the wish on one hand of the mothers of the American girls to improve their position in American society. On the other hand, the European (and in particular British) aristocracy were suffering the effects of the Depression in the 1870s and desperately needed funds to get their estates in order.

The book provides the background and then gives details of a number of heiresses, their backgrounds and their subsequent marriages to British aristocrats and the effect this had on British society – for example, Maud Burke put English opera on the map and Nancy Astor became England’s first female MP. The book also highlights cases where the marriages were entirely unsuccessful due to poor weather, lack of home comforts and living in the countryside.

This is an entertaining read even if your ancestors were not aristocratic, providing insights into the upper classes on both sides of the Atlantic.

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