The Real-life ‘Downton’ Millionairesses Who Changed Britain

The Daily Beast ^ | December 31, 2014 | Tim Teeman

[C19fan]

It is the most animated this “Downton Abbey” fan has ever seen Lady Grantham. Elizabeth McGovern, who plays the period soap opera’s slack-jawed, sleepy-eyed matriarch, Cora—who always seems listlessly zonked, whatever disaster has just befallen her husband or unlucky-in-love daughters—gallops with gusto through the stories of the real-life American heiresses who married British aristocrats in the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary series, “Million Dollar American Princess”.

The three-part series, which begins on Sunday night just before the first episode of season five of Downton, focuses on the stories of a clutch of the 200 or so American heiresses who married British lords at around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

[C19fan]

As the article mentions, the British aristocracy whose wealth was in land saw their economic position decline rapidly starting in the last quarter of the 19th century. Cheap grain and frozen meat was flooding Britain from the Americas and Australia. Now there were smarter aristocrats who made good investments in the new industries that came about with the Industrial Revolution but many did not and needed cash. So we have rich American single ladies whose family wanted social status and British aristocrats with status but no money. You can say a match made in "heaven". The more famous such marriages was the one that produced Winston Churchill and the horrible marriage between Winston's uncle (?) the Duke of Marlborough and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Masterpiece Theater awhile ago had a mini-series about American women crossing the pond looking for English aristocratic husbands, the Buccaneers.

[Mercat]

I may be the only woman on the planet who really can’t stand Downton Abbey. I watch it a bit to see the clothes but as soon as the horrible soap opera kicks in I change the channel. This holiday season someone started talking about it to me assuming I love it. She could see my attention waiver and so asked whether I watched it. I sort of said to her what I said here. The relationship I’m afraid is chilled forever.

[Politicalkiddo]

I used to like it. It got annoying really quickly, however. I do love the clothes.

[Louis Foxwell]

No giggling schoolgirl for you, eh?

[Louis Foxwell]

Or you. It is a special delight to know of a young lady with wisdom and character who peruses these boards.

[Celtic Conservative]

You’ve just described the reason i’ll watch 10-15 minutes of “Boardwalk Empire”. For the period costume (prohibition).

CC

[PrincessB]

Join the club. I watched the first season and it was OK. I think originally it was supposed to be a stand alone miniseries but it was so successful, they kept adding seasons. I caught an episode of season two and it already felt like they were ratcheting the drama in expense of the overall story line. I saw The Buccaneers, which was based on an Edith Wharton novel and enjoyed that one.

[wally_bert]

My Director is from the UK and he disliked DA.

I like it and somewhat follow.

[x_plus_one]

The Pallisers from BBC in 1974 is based on the novels of Anthony Trollop. Its so much better than Downto(w)n Abby.

[KosmicKitty]

You’re not alone. I have never seen an episode. I really don’t want to see an episode

We gave up cable a few years ago and haven’t looked back. We purchase the few shows that we actually like to watch (Duck Dynasty, South Park). Have Hulu, Roku, Netflix, and now Amazon to provide us with more things then we could watch. Right now, we’re watching Mozart in the Jungle. I didn’t think I would like it, but it’s actually pretty good.

[TexasBarak]

This last weekend, I watched a documentary on NetFlix called “Secrets of Highclere House” (if I’m remembering the name and spelling correctly), about the country “house” that is used as the setting for the series- it was actually quite interesting, especially when they pointed out that it is the ancestral home of Lord Carnavon, who bankrolled the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. Came upon it by accident- I’ve never watched the series, but Netlix knows that I like documentaries...

[Catmom]

Downton Abbey is a pale rehash of Upstairs Downstairs created by a bunch of ignorant Millennial know-nothings.

[Slyfox]

Considering everything else that is on TV now - truly insipid reality crap, crime shows that wouldn’t know a dramatic climax if they bumped into it on the street, cooking shows designed to give persistent and nauseating indigestion - Downton Abbey is actually an entertaining relief.

[Savage Beast]

Hey! I like Downton Abbey and the original Upstairs Downstairs!

I also get a kick out of the cash-for-class stories. They have an 18th/19th-century veneer, but it's an old old story--and a new new one--in fact, a timeless one.

As Jim Williams said of the Savannah aristocracy in John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: "I know. They say I'm nouveau riche. But it's the riche that counts."

[sheana]

Not the only one. Have never watched even one episode and probably never will. I don’t do soaps.

[matginzac]

Mercat...I’m with you!
I, too, am not a big fan though I think Maggie Smith makes it somewhat tolerable...
My “specialty” is British History so to enjoy something like this show, I have to overlook a lot of inaccuracies...this one has a few too many.
“Upstairs, Downstairs” it ain’t......

[Mercat]

My favorite is the Duchess of Duke Street.

[matginzac]

I saw that along time ago so don’t remember much about it other than I liked it.
Will have to binge watch it again soon...
Have you seen “Call The Midwife”? Not a “period” series though it’s set I the 50s and maybe a bit controversial in some episodes but I loved it.

[Mercat]

I surfed into the Midwife a few times but wasn’t interested. I’ll try it again. Right now I’m “binge” watching Elementary.

[matginzac]

Yep, it might be an acquired taste...
Others that are faves of mine: any Austen and the “Poldark” series...it may be on Netflix.