Generally amusing, but the format is annoying - the text jumps around a lot and the illustrations are poorly reproduced. Also the authors misuse the word 'gentry', which is odd given their subject.

pretty good. especially if you want to get "behind the scenes" (so to speak) of this phenomenon which also is a main theme of the critically acclaimed tv show, Downton Abbey. I myself am a fan and that's how I got into the subject.

Ok, this is a book full of really interesting information, but I can only assume that it is extremely odd in format -- either a chapter or a heading after every few paragraphs. And by assume, I mean that I had the misfortune to listen to the audio book version of it -- if you think the text was choppy in print, imagine a crisp, rarely expressive voice reading it with all seriousness. Its confusing, and just when she gets a rhythm going, she has to swap to another anecdote. When she started reading a table listing the names of American fathers and their titled daughters, I had to walk away. Who thought this would be a plausible audio book? Anyway. The content seems good, the reader is very clear, the delivery of all of it was a terrible idea.

I would have liked a better book design . . . too choppy. Just saying . . .

This book was recommended by Julian Fellowes on a podcast. It was part of what inspired him to create Downton Abbey. I read the book with the purpose of better understanding American Buckaneers. It provides a contrast between high society in America and England up to and around the turn of the century. The lives described on both continents were reality to a very small number but I always find it fascinating to learn about people across the social spectrum. This book is clearly focused on those at the top.

It was an interesting read, but the format ruined it all for me. The author kept cutting back to anecdotes, facts and little inserts of stuff that interrupted what I was reading. It also kept jumping back and forward between heiresses, making me a bit disoriented, maybe longer, ordered sections would have been better.

The subject matter was interesting but the constant interruptions in writing style and formatting of the book made for a book that was hard to read.

A little tedious in places but a great resource--a lot of interesting info on customs and mindsets.