Ireland Books

Dazzling and intense works. Good overview of his output. Although this is not the Collected Poetry of Heaney it does contain almost all his best poems up to 1996, as well as his Nobel Prize acceptance lecture (a gem) and an excerpt from his play Cure a Troy. Essential poetry volume.

I needed the book for a class... I went in to reading it like it was going to be garbage... But it actually was a little bit interesting...

strong poems, there is a sadness and a resignation of fog that permeates these poems. this is a melancholy man, one for whom the all-pervading glue of inaction and paralysis bounds him to a bleak world, soiled and grey and drab. this is a weary poet, too nauseated with reality's bruised soldiers, slovenly rudeness, the uncouth glutton, the debauched fiend. i enjoy him, immerse myself in his dust-gloom, his inability to soar into elation and falcon-freedom.

author of Lorelei Pursued and Wrestles with God

After currently studying the quality of Seamus Heaney's poems, i am quite sure that this book will not dissapoint you. The quality of Heaney's poems are somewhat outstanding, they are a shock, as you dont normally read poems of this sort, and once you read one, you have to read the others. One of my personal favourites is Mid-Term Break.

Written by Kirk Aged 14

If you have not read Seamus Heaney, then you are not in touch with what the English language is in its heart. Heaney's simple, unstrained word usage, coupled with a deep knowledge of the rich Anglo-Saxon which is our cornerstone, evokes a strength which comes not so much from what we see and know as from something which is rooted deeply in our psyches as Anglo-Europeans (or at least those living in and a part of such cultures). Heaney also brings to light the beauty of the ordinary, primarily by weighting it with the yoke of history and the various passions of his fellow man.

I bought this collection because I enjoyed others of his works (especially The Spirit Level and Seeing Things), which I uncovered at the library, too much to go long without his poetry. And this collection turns out to have all of my favorites from those volumes, as well as the best and most skilled of the poems of his earlier volumes. Do I recommend it? I wouldn't have prominently displayed the fact that I was reading it in numerous public places if I didn't, now would I?

I was hesitant to read this book despite the recommendation of a friend and despite the accolades written here. How foolish. Reading this book was like sinking into a great mattress. I was near hypnotized by the beauty of the text which simply flowed. At times I was so overcome that I had to put the book down, the sadness of it all is wrenching. But never is the book depressing or is it hateful while describing the hate that people so easily engender. This is an extraordinary work.

This book was a gift to me from someone who knows my love of the Irish and of writers from that country. I began it hesitantly, not sure of the country I was entering, until I got perhaps ten pages into the book. The protagonist was describing how his mother sliced bread:

"..She did it in a trice. In the sewing of a wren's mitten."

I never looked back. His writing is brilliant, evocative, heartbreaking.

The Irish have always been known as great storytellers, but now they're all turning into great writers as well, and it seems they're coming out of the woodwork. Sebastian Barry's The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty places the protagonist in the small village of Sligo where he is an innocent among angry partisans. When he chooses to alleviate his problems of employment by taking a job with the Royal Irish Constabulary, the British-led police force, he irrevocably alters his life - as you might imagine! With beautiful language and ethereal descriptive passages, Barry allows readers to follow Eneas' travels and travails - all of us hoping for a happy ending.

So good that after I had read a library copy, I purchased my own so I could read it all over. This novel takes on indirectly (as in his more recent "A Long, Long Way From Home") Barry's own family's experience as Irish divided between serving the British and aiding those who rebelled against the King. The other reviewers here cover much of the plot, but I might add that a touch of magic realism near the explosive climax makes for a nice touch, and the tension between truth-telling and perceived loyalty moves the story of the modern-day Aeneas along his wanderings efficiently and poignantly.

Barry, also a poet and best known--at least before this novel--as a playwright, brings to his fictional characters a narrative style somewhat at odds with what one might expect. He's not Joyce, that is, striving for a correlative voice to match his character's interior musings. Rather, he takes the rich legacy of Joyce and makes it impel his own telling of the interior life of those that Barry finds empathy with, and whose inner as well as outer itineraries this author feels, you sense, he must tell. This impelling of a writer to find release through his creations makes for a very effective novel, indeed.

...and sure, Mark Twain would likely love the hero of this wonderful book. Eneas is truly an innocent - he never shies from hard work, he loves his family dearly, and (his gift and his damnation) he has no neither mind nor care at all, at all for the politicks. He's not really a simpleton, merely a simple man. Born in 1900, he comes of age with the Irish struggle for independence so vividly painted by events such as the Easter uprising of 1916. When his mates - especially his best boyhood friend, Jonno Lynch - are enlisting in the fight to throw off the British oppression, Eneas, finding it difficult to locate gainful employment, enlists first in the British Merchant Navy (which in itself might have been forgiven by those who deemed themselves his judges later), then in the Royal Irish Constabulary. The RIC being mainly a police force, Eneas couldn't see the harm in lending a hand in that quarter - but as the fight for independence grew more fierce and factional, the RIC was tied too closely in the eyes of some to the hated Tans, who were responsible for some right bloody work. Eneas, finding himself on a blacklist kept by those calling themselves patriots, is given a choice - get close to and kill the much-hated and feared Reprisal Man of the Tans, or suffer the consequences of a death sentence. Our hero cannot bring himself to kill a man, so he refuses - and when he sees that those who have threatened him with extinction mean just what they say, sees no other choice than to flee his beloved Sligo and his native Ireland altogether.

Thus his adventures and travels begin. He signs on with a merchant vessel and winds up in Galveston, Texas. He enlists with the British Army for World War II in order to save France (a country for whom he bears a great love, of unknown origins) from Hitler. After being shell-shocked on the beach at Dunkirk and lodging with a French farmer for a growing and harvesting season, he makes his way back to England, pays a quick visit to Ireland, then winds up in Nigeria, digging a canal for a British company. He finds the best friend of his life in the person of Harcourt, a Nigerian national he first meets on a boat heading to Ireland, then again in Nigeria. Harcourt's friendship becomes one of the true treasures of Eneas' life - and a lifelong friendship it is.

Barry's language and prose capture his characters, the setting and their story perfectly. The reader can't help but feel a great empathy for Eneas, and for others in the book as well. Through the story of one man - and a very believable story it is indeed - Barry lays bare the pain through which Ireland has passed in its journey to find itself. There's a lot of sadness to be found here - but there's a lot of joy as well, so.

Read this book - and read Barry's novel ANNIE DUNNE as well (even better, I think, but that's me...).

Exit Unicorns was recommended by an online group, and I thought I'd give it a try. WOW! I couldn't believe this was Ms. Brandner's first novel! She has a real gift for weaving history through the story in a way that puts the reader right in the middle of it all.

A gripping tale of love, joy, and heartbreak that will leave you wanting more of the characters. Luckily, the sequel, Mermaid in a Bowl of Tears, has just been released and it is, if possible, even better than this one. Buy them both - once you've finished Exit Unicorns, you won't want to wait to keep on with the story!

Can't believe I didn't do this sooner. I read it 2 years ago and have been chomping at the bit for the sequal (Mermaid in a Bowl of Tears) which just came out. Exit Unicorns is one of those stories that you "live" for the duration of your read. It's such a loss when it's over and I missed the characters as though they were absent friends of mine. It's a healthy dose of history cleverely woven throughout an enthralling story that will capture your heart and thoughts for a long time! NOTE that anyone who has read it so far has given it 5 stars!

I knew very little about Ireland and the troubles, the history which set it all in place and the impact on the Irish people. Like Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, Exit Unicorns presented with me characters realistic enough to take up residence in my heart, and inspired me to learn more about the world my new friends `Casey, Pamela, Jamie and Pat' live in, which is relevant to the events in this part of the world today. Each re-read provides `aha' moments relating to both the political maneuverings and personal relationships in the story. Mermaid in Bowl of tears cannot come soon enough.

For the first time in 30 years of reading I finished a book, walked to my computer and spent hours reading more about a time, a place and a people. That is the beauty of this book. Ms. Brandner tugs on your heart and soul as she tells this story with characters you'll feel you know personally, a history that should never be forgotten and some of the most beautiful writing you'll ever experience. Regardless of your politics or heritage, this book will fulfill all the reasons that you enjoy reading.

The contrast of these wonderful characters propels the one story forward from many interesting directions - book-smart and street-smart, rich and poor, old and young, Irish and American. Regardless, the dreams of freedom and equality remain the same. This is a story of passion and loyalty to one another, to ones heritage and to a country. Mix in a bit of warmth and humor, Celtic legends, exquisite poetry and you've got one hell of a book.

I'm so relieved to hear that the sequel is in the works as this is a story that I cannot get enough of. Please give it a try as you'll be glad you did.

Weaving together the lives of an unlikely triumvirate, Brandner masterfully brings the troubles of Northern Ireland to a human level. In this poignant debut novel, the reader gains insight into a history of bloodshed, loyalty, and an elusive peace. The characters are well-defined and layered, revealing themselves gradually as they are forced to weigh their obligations -- to country, to family, to self. This is a story of passion, and the willingness to suffer for it.

I look forward to the next installment in this series.

I am still digesting "Ulysses." I read it while walking around Dublin a few years ago. It was marvelous to trace the steps of Leopold and Molly, and to see what they "saw," but the novel remains a distant pleasure to the reader. I must admit it is not the most accessible book ever written, but it gets four stars for its intent ... and that it is better than "Finnegan's Wake." Be warned: This book is not for the casual reader. But this annotated edition makes it all worthwhile. You'll get genuine, comprehensible guidance. If you must read "Ulysses," this edition might be most helpful.

This book was a shock to me. It's not just a book of annotations, it's also a history of Ireland, literature, language, and nearly everything else Joyce decided to allude to in his masterpiece. I never would have guessed that just reading the annotations (without the source text) would make good reading, but that is certainly the case here. You do not by any means need this book to enjoy Ulysses, but it does give remarkable insight into the mind behind it

Gifford's book offers fascinating glosses and contextual annotations for Ulysses, but was not quite what I was looking for to help me with my first attempt at the book. The annotations are mostly disjoint explanations of specific allusions and references.

There are other guides to Ulysses that are better suited for the novice Joyce reader, helping the reader to keep track of the plot, the progress of the Odyssey and Hamlet corelations and explaining the shifts in style through the book. This kind of hand-holding may be unnecessary for more sophisticated readers, but for my first read, it was essential!

Just a heads up that this is NOT an annotated edition of Ulysses (as I mistakenly thought in purchasing)(duh). It is 600-some pages of notes only and does not include the text of the novel.

When I first tucked James Joyce's ULYSSES under my arm, Don Gifford's ULYSSES ANNOTATED was tucked under the other. (My biceps became very well developed because of this.) It took me an entire summer to read the books side by side but how worthwhile it was. Gifford's essential line by line, almost word by word, guidance made ULYSSES less overwhelming than if I had tried to tackle it alone. Once I got through ULYSSES the second time (the following spring) I was able to go to the more overarching analyses of Joyce's masterpiece. Stuart Gilbert's ULYSSES and Richard Ellmann's ULYSSES ON THE LIFFEY were particularly helpful.

One reviewer wrote that Doc is the reincarnation of Johan Tetzel, well I must beg to differ. After many months of strenuous research, I have concluded that Paul Van Wie is truly the reincarnation of the Holy Savior Jesus Christ. Every single student that has graced his classroom has called him a "Saint" and claims to feel a holy aura beaming from his powerfully built Calvin Klein model-type body. One can see that it was Doc who acted as a "savior" to every single one of his AP Euro students in the few months before the AP test from eternal damnation (ie. their parents). He did by performing the greatest sacrifice of them all... devoting many hours of his life giving countless review sessions that he could otherwise spend at the Club shakin' it until the break of dawn. Another correlation that I have discovered between Doc and Jesus is that if Doc was "transubstantiated" into a type of bread and drink like Jesus does on holy mass, Doc would transsubstantiate into Nacho Cheese Doritos and Diet Snapple, a fine choice for a "last supper" I might add. Some also consider his book "The Holy Bible" of European coinage, which in many respects is true. Doc also preaches the holy doctrine of "respect thy Neighbor," which explains his odd and sometimes scary attraction towards Canada. And the last little tidbit of my research that proves Doc's "Jesus-ness" is his ability to speak in many different "Tongues," and even, yeah you guessed it, Dutch.

There is no one more informed on this topic than Paul Van Wie. He truly is a treasure. Anyone who has a remote interest in History and/or Politics must pick this book up. A must read!

Paul van Wie, Ph.D., is a man so transcendentally knowledgeable that it stupefies the human mind. This book reflects that fact. However, one would do well to notice that the book, for all its other virtues, does not even broach the subject of former First Lady Rachel Jackson's little-known side-career as (you guessed it!) a Nazi spy.

5 stars nevertheless.

When you walk down the halls with a jingle in your pants, all you can think about is Doc Van Wie. That lovely clank of coins makes you think about the history of coins. This is far more sophisticated than those little stamp collections my little boy scout. Often, coins represent a nation and its ideals with really cool drawings and cool sounding Latin Words. That is why Paul Van Wie, teacher of AP EURO, has decided to write a truly amazing book on coins. There is one more thing I do have to say. Why does the subtitle of a book dictate what the book shall be about? My god, its even happening in this reader review!

As My two good friends Cimabue and Giotto would agree this is one of the greatest books ever on European coinage. Louis XIV would be pleased with this awesome display of knowledge by the Doctor. Even Industrial people such as Thomas Sadler enjoy this book. Here are some sample reviews from many of the great figures of history.

"Two Thumbs Up!"- Mahandis Ghandi
"A Masterpiece"- Bernini
"Just like back in da trecento"- Cimabue
"My fingers hurt"- Thomas Sadler
"Le Wow!"- Mazarin
"Zis is a good book"- Otto V(o,a)n Bismarck
"Es un libro fabuloso"- Juana of Spain
"Now That's a spicy meataball- and a good book"- Fra Angelico

As you can see the reviews are pouring in, so stop right now and buy this book! You will not be sorry.

"Utopia Closes" reveals to us an all-too-realistic future where brand names are the only nouns that matter and journalism is a notch below pornography on the ladder of decency. Follow Baby Trousers, in his quest to become a composer in an ugly landscape--whether it is read in Ireland or in the United States, "Utopia Closes" describes a familiar sensation--that of the political apparatus closing around us.

As funny as Flann, as detailed as Dedalus and as wild as, umm, Wilde.
Here's hoping we get a chance to read the whole thing and find out if it's as barmy as Beckett.

Biting, satirical view of the land of the Green Tiger, could it be as bad as this or worse? Read on . . . [[ASIN:B00121WDG0 Utopia Closes - Official ABNA Entrant

A witty and engaging read that ended too soon--loved the ironic crafting of the characters, especially the Marshal.

Fin Keegan rewrites recent Irish history in the terms of a Stalinist fable, creating a hilarious and ambitious vision of his native land as green bear rather than green tiger.

I couldn't believe the depths Ellmann takes the reader in his biography of Oscar Wilde. Everything; every aspect of Wilde's life is thoroughly explored. The best single word review of this book would be just that; thorough.

On the other hand, the text is very dry at times, and you may find yourself frusterated. It always seems that, too often, biographies fall victim of the "dry writer."

Just as to know James Joyce, discover his daughter, the spark of his own genius.

Lady Wilde was a writer and Irish revolutionary who raised her son to infiltrate the highest ranks of the empire and expose their foibles, faults, cruelties and hidden shames, which he so fully did through his theatre work and other writings. He was investigating the widespread homosexuality of the British aristocracy when he was arested for his prying and blamed for that which he himself investigated and reported. He was silenced through breaking imprisonment (read his post-prison poetry, and the uneven yet revelatory De Profundis written from prison) which debilitated, discouraged and killed him a few short years after his release.

TO know Wilde, know his mother: Speranza, Lady Wilde, whose wonderful works of Irish history and legends are now available on amazon.com only in Spanish translation. Several good biographies are also available at unattainable price.

Know alos his son. Wilde was a loving family man who wrote wonderful bedtime stories for his own beloved children. What broke him in prison was losing them, as he writes in De Profundis.

Ellman's is a fine biography. Find out far more about Wilde than the popular and shallow slander urgently promoted by the Empire

Imagine the challenges facing a Wilde biographer: the contradictions of an outrageous, larger-than-life subject whose brittle public persona masked his inner torments; Wilde's enormous drive, which led to success and acclaim, but also set in motion his ultimate fall from grace. Worse: so much already written, including Wilde's own glittering one-liners - what could anyone presume to add to the already crowded record?

Professor Ellmann, who worked for almost twenty years on this book, doesn't fail to deliver. In what will clearly be the definitive biography, he lays out details of Wilde's life, illuminates the work, and cuts through the brilliant and brittle public persona to show us Wilde's soul. All of this is accomplished with wit, intelligence and compassion -- this book confirmed Ellmann's status as the English professor I always wished I'd had. Professor Ellmann doesn't make a single misstep in this astonishing biography.

His final assessment of Wilde:

"He belongs to our world more than to Victoria's. Now, beyond the reach of scandal, his best writings validated by time, he comes before us still, a towering figure, laughing and weeping, with parables and paradoxes, so generous, so amusing, and so right."

If I may be forgiven a paraphrase of Ellmann's own words, this biography is also "generous, amusing, and so right."

I had just finished this book ten minutes ago and I am completely in love with the man. His life was one of both tragedy and creativity. I felt so sad for him in the last part of his life. He was an amazing soul and this bio accented it. A must read!

I remember reading this book when I was 16 and being blown away by the erudition. Even to this day it's probably the most erudite biography I've ever read. The scholarly weight and depth of this book is tremendous. It is amazingly comprehensive. This is the kind of book that takes 20 years to write and must be a labor of love for the writer--the writer must really love his subject, in this case, Wilde. And one has every indication from the book that Richard Ellman did. His portrait of Wilde is no less sympathetic as it is complete. This must be the definitive biography which all other Wilde bios should be measured against. A superlative achievement.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

I knew you would do it! Great Work Man, I'm proud of you. You still owe me for that MLB Season Package you ordered on my remote control. Good Work MAN!

I was truly impressed with the book and the fact that it was Mr. Nunes' debut as a novelist. I found the book so intriguing that I too, could not put it down until it was finished. The story captivated me for a lot of reasons. When I finished it, I found myself wanting more. I felt as if I knew these people myself and that they would be the kind of people that we all can relate to in one way or another. It makes me want to take a trip to Ireland and visit the very places that were mentioned with such great detail. Kudos to Mr. Nunes on a well thought out and well written book that I find, excels many books written by well known authors. I think that Mr. Nunes has a lot to offer any avid book reader. I hope to see more of his work in the future. Perhaps a sequel to Loughshinny?

This book makes you feel like you are right there w/ the characters engaging in everything they do. It takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride and leaves you in suspense w/ it's bizarre twists. I had a hard time putting the book down. The vivid descriptions were great. It is evident that he put a lot of time and effort into researching for this book. Job well done! Can't wait for the next book.

What an excellent read. Characters are wonderful, plot is well thought out, and this book is a page turner! Patrick Quinn is a character you can relate to. For anyone interested in Irish literature or just a good read for a summer day, this book is for you!

Loghshinny is a brilliant first novel by promising newcomer Michael Nunes. It reminds me of Michael Chabon's first novel, "Mysteries of Pittsburgh" in so much as the story is a small personal one about the main character, Patrick Quinn, edging his way into manhood. He struggles to stay true to himself and his heritage as he ventures away from home, tries to make his way in the corporate world, finds love, loses love, and struggles to find it again. In the end it's through great pain and suffering that he is able to blossom into adulthood (as it is with all of us), and it's the greatest of losses that Patrick finally realizes what being a man is all about. Expect great things in Loughshinny, and great things to come from Mr. Nunes.

In my book, "Astronomical Symbols on Ancient and Medieval Coins", I devote an entire chapter to the eighth Crusade. The political events of the time, the celestial omens that were seen in the heavens and depicted on coinage of Louis IX and that of his brother Charles of Anjou, combined with the influence of Charles of Anjou on Louis IX, all came together as the basis for the decision by Louis IX to land at the Bay of Tunis for his final crusade.

As part of my research, I read numerous books on the history of the period, and I found that Runciman's book, "The Sicilian Vespers," was especially useful. There were many items of interest in his book that added to my understanding of the history of that time.

Marshall Faintich

Sir Runciman once again delivers informative historical narrative that is thorough and equally entertaining. The political intrigue of the 13th century, involving virtually all of the Mediterranean powers, provide just the detail needed to grasp the causes and affects of the Vespers revolution. Sir Runciman deftly weaves the varied characters and their roles together into the story that pulls the reader in and keeps their attention. There are a confusing array of political players in the drama but Sir Runciman's story-telling style helps avoid confusion and makes the intricate connections required to better understand the period. Very well done and a wonderful addition to any library.

Herein, outstanding British historian Runciman explains in considerable and fascinating detail the story of the Sicilian Vespers, and its profound impact on the history of Christendom. What comes across most dramatically to this reader in Runciman's wonderful account is the love of intrigue and political striving of the 13th century Papacy. Here, we see the several Popes of the period acting as petty Italian Princes in their attemtps to further their own secular power. And the upshot of these attempts came to be a profound weakening of the unity of Western Christendom that ultimately fructified into the Reformation of the 16th century.

Another amazing aspect of the story Runciman herein records is the stunning skill and subtlety of Byzantine diplomacy. At the time, the Byzantine, or Later Roman, Empire was yet reeling from the devastation of the hideous Fourth Crusade. And, yet with little remaining military power at their hands, the Byzantines managed to avert what would have been another disasterous Western "crusade" from destroying Constantinople. Here we see also a natural alliance forming between Aragon, later Spain, and the Orthodox East. One could make a good case that this was also the natural alliance that so frustrated Napoleon's design, when he was harried by guerrila warfare in Spain, and by Holy Russia's Biblically courageous defense of Mother Russia.

We strongly recommend Sir Steven Runciman's excellent work to all who would understand this very important, but little discussed, background to modern European history. God bless.

What an excellent history. It's a careful, economical but thorough recounting of events among a huge array of far-flung characters. It's not difficult to read, but rereading helps fix the cast in the mind. (The index is excellent, but a list of characters would have been helpful, although that sort of user-friendliness would definitely have been at odds with the book's Cambridge gestalt.) Sir Steven is very sparing of analysis and conjecture, so that when he does essay a mild synthesizing comment, it is all the more powerful and organic, having grown from the "objective" account and selections of incident. His final thesis -- that the medieval papacy foundered during this period due to its cautious, conscious decision to eschew centralized surrogate command (through the Hohestaufen empire) in favor of decentralized partitioning (the original balkanization) that fed and inculcated a nationalism that was ultimately much more debilitating to papal power -- is both startling and inevitable. Besides the masterful overarching view of European history, the book also is fascinating and illuminating about Sicily in particular, and its polyglot zealotry.

Runciman's writing is absolutely amazing in this volume which treats of Europe in the mid-to-late thirteenth century. I devoured this book in a matter of days, fascinated as I am with Sicilian history and culture. Runciman gives a fantastic view of the Kingdom of Sicily after the fall of "The Kingdom in the Sun", or the Norman Kingdom based in Palermo. From the benevolent king William the Good to the villanous Charles of Anjou, Runciman presents all of those occurances which led up to the Sicilian Vespers, or the systematic destruction of French power over the Sicilians on Easter Monday, 1282. A must-read for all those interested in the history of Europe in this era.

I read this book the first time when I checked it out of the public library. I loved it so much that I had to have my own copy. It is a fascinating account of how the nouvo riche in the U.S. basically bought acceptance to high society for their daughters. You can just pick it up and read sections - it's not necessary to start at the beginning and work through. Not a summer goes by that I don't pick it up!

Every time I read this book it becomes more and more interesting. Meticulously researched, with great little anecdotes and etiquette tips.
This book is a lot of fun! I especially liked the many photographs of the designer gowns (most by Worth, if you please!) that are liberally scattered throughout.
If you're ananglophile you'll want to get this one!

Those few of us who have wondered why in the world a comfortable, cosseted American girl would want to marry an Englishman and live in a cold climate in an even colder stone castle will find answers here, even if the answers aren't satisfactory to the modern ear.

Think of it: wealthy American society girls, products of generations of men and women who gave lives and fortunes to escape a Royalist society, thought it a worthy investment of their lives, loves and wealth to buy an English title in the form of a husband. It's understandable that men who have no money and are saddled with huge estates and titles with no way to support themselves "in the manner to which they have become accustomed" would search out these women. It's another matter to understand the women, especially if they were bright and energetic (like the fabled Jenny Jerome).

Of course the first women to get involved in this weird method of social climbing didn't realize what was involved. (Though why American society decided that an English title was important in the United States, especially if it could be bought with money, still escapes me.) The problems included loveless husbands who paid little attention to their wives and carried on affairs; cold and drafty castles into which Papa sank tons of money to no avail as far as comfort was concerned; families who refused to accept them in spite (or because) of the fact that they provided the money to keep the lifestyle intact; servants who often were sulky and rebellious ("but we've ALWAYS done it that way"); children they handed over to nannies. The first brides must have kept the hardships and loneliness from the succeeding generation, for the rage for English titles prevailed from the mid-19th century almost through the mid-20th century.

TO MARRY AN ENGLISH LORD is a fascinating and complete look at these women and the lives they led. Illustrations showing the homes and households of the times and how they operated, fashions, maps, photographs of the women and their friends, families and husbands all combine to present the core of that particular section of society in that particular age.

The book is meticulously researched and includes a bibliography, a register of American heiresses, a suggested walking tour of the women's London and a very handy index. It's built around the stories of these women and the men who wooed and won them. Who they were, what they did and what the consequences were -- all adds up to an intriguing and fascinating read.

As the other reviewers have noted, this is a great romp through a part of American history you don't learn about in school. I read it through once and then re-read it just to savor all the little bits and pieces the authors have so generously loaded it with. If you ever wondered about all those Vanderbilts and all those Whitneys, here is your chance (from an American point of view!)to find out just how and why these ladies ended up in the postions they did- all for the love of Edward VII. I wish there were more reader-friendly books like this that make history so entertaining.

Who says that history is boring and stuffy? This well-researched book is chock full of anecdotes, pictures, and facts to make the period and the subject come to life.

This book discusses the phenomenon of the "dollar princesses": American hieresses who married into titles abroad, particularly England. Amongst them were Winston Churchill's mother; a woman who was the second-highest ranking woman in the British empire (after only the queen); and maybe the most famous of all: Consuelo Vanderbuilt, who begrudgingly became the Duchess of Marlborough in a marriage aranged by her social-climbing mother.

Written informally, with lots of pictures, this might be a great book to buy a teenager who is just transitioning into "grown-up" non-fiction, but finds most of it dry and uninteresting. It is also a must-read for anyone who plans on traveling to country-houses in England, as it gives a more accurate view of what it was like to actually have to live in one of those monstrosities! Anyone who is interested in the history of class in America, or of the British Aristocracy, would also be interested.