The Husband Hunters

Downton Abbey was and still is an international craze: the story of a titled British family and their lives in the 1910s to 1920s. One thing that may have surprised a lot of viewers, however, is the fact that Cora Crawley, the mother of the family, is American. What was an American doing in the English aristocracy in the 1920s? Why was she there at all? Cora Crawley’s story is actually not unusual at all: between 1870 and 1910, four hundred and fifty-four American girls married titled Europeans. Here to talk more about these women and why we still care about them is Anne De Courcy, author of The Husband Hunters. The Husband Hunters is a biography of some of the American women who ended up marrying into the British aristocracy: the ladies who traded their money for titles. Anne De Courcy is a best-selling author, journalist, and book reviewer. You can learn more about Anne at www.annedecourcy.com.