
American Heiresses of the Gilded Age
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Narrated by:
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Melissa Ziobro
Welcome to the era of true marriages of convenience. Discover the reality of trading someone’s hand in marriage, such as an American heiress, in exchange for money, power, or political clout through compelling history lectures. Showcased in novels such as Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence and in present day pop culture through works like Downtown Abbey, the Gilded Age was an era of contradictions. From the end of the Civil War to the start of World War I, life on both sides of the Atlantic was grimy and glamorous, prosperous and impoverished, traditional and revolutionary.
The US economy rose at the highest rate in its history in the 1870s and 1880s, enriching hundreds of families that were able to take advantage of the boom in industrialization and urbanization. Despite their wealth, many of these new-money clans still lacked the social standing they craved. For quite a few families, gaining entry into high society meant sending their daughters across the ocean to capture the hearts—and the lands and titles—of eligible European aristocrats.
Who were the young women (and men) who espoused these sensational alliances between the Old World and the newly wealthy? What motivated them? Did they find happiness along with their entrance into the highest echelons of society? In American Heiresses of the Gilded Age, Professor Melissa Ziobro of Monmouth University introduces listeners to some of the young women whose love lives shaped social norms, transatlantic relations, and even the US economy on a shockingly large scale. What do these "marriages of convenience" say about America at the turn of the century, and what kind of legacy did they leave behind?
Throughout these 10 lectures, listeners will get a fascinating review of the ways Americans both embraced and rebelled against the social hierarchies that rigidly defined life in the Gilded Age. These stories center on social maneuvering and alliances among the fabulously wealthy and are also highly personal experiences of broken hearts, strange bedfellows, and - occasionally - a happily-ever-after.
©2019 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.Listeners also enjoyed...










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Our favorite moments from American Heiresses of the Gilded Age

About the Professor
Melissa Ziobro is the Specialist Professor of Public History at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Her work at the university includes administration of the Monmouth Memories Oral History Program. Professor currently serves as the President of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region and as the editor for New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, a joint venture of the New Jersey Historical Commission, Rutgers University Libraries, and Monmouth University. She works regularly with public history organizations such as the Monmouth County Historical Commission, the InfoAge Science History Learning Center and Museum, and the Ocean County Historical Society. Her collaborations with the Monmouth County Historical Association include guest-curating the exhibit Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers and co-curating the exhibit Springsteen: His Hometown. Recognized as an engaging public speaker, Professor Ziobro has delivered her highly regarded talk on American heiresses, or "dollar princesses," to a wide range of audiences, both academic and popular.
Featured Article: The Gilded Age in History and Fiction
While fans of Julian Fellowes’s Gilded Age may be gagging on the luxurious costumes and sumptuous sets, part of the fun is sorting out fact from fiction in the HBO period drama. With a mix of invented characters and actual historical figures—such as society queen Caroline Astor and African American newspaper editor and civil rights leader T. Thomas Fortune—enthusiasts have plenty of resources available so they can learn the truth about the extravagant era when wealthy railroad magnates and other arrivistes were upending late 19th-century New York City society and culture.
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Terrible narration
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very well researched
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Informative but annoying to listen to
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Great story. Poor narration.
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If you are interested in this topic, however, this is a really good introduction to the time period and the topic. It introduces primary sources well and often and the scholarship is quite good.
A Good Summary
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The performance was grating. Delivered in a valley girl accent (?) with condescending overtones at times.
Interesting and Varied
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There were about 9 of these marriages focused on in great detail - marriages of such family names as Vanderbilt and Churchill. Many more notable weddings were mentioned in passing, like how Lady Diana Spencer (HRH Princess Diana) had a great-grandmother who was herself American, brought into the Spencer family during the cash-for-class arrangement era of British noblemen of titles and American women of wealth.
Excellent listen!
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great book, loved the info. all very interesting.
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I would suggest the narrator get voice lession
good material, narrator needs work.
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Horrible presentation! I could not tolerate her.
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