Uptown Girls to Downton Abbey

In the late 19th Century, cash-strapped British aristocrats shifted from hunting foxes and pheasants to wealthy American socialites. During the Gilded Age, these heiresses traded their family’s money for titles and status but often received a chilly reception. Fans of Downton Abbey and other period dramas will delight as Anglophile and former U.K. resident Claire Evans recounts tales of the famous American heiresses who saved many aristocratic British households, including close relatives of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana. She’ll also give travel tips if you’d like to create a Gilded Age tour for yourself.