Informal ambassadors : American women, transatlantic marriages, and Anglo-American relations, 1865-1945 / Dana Cooper.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cooper, Dana, 1977- author.

Series:

New studies in U.S. foreign relations.

New Studies in U.S. Foreign Relations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politicians' spouses--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Politicians' spouses.

Politicians' spouses--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Women--Political activity--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Women.

United States--Foreign relations--Great Britain.

United States.

Great Britain--Foreign relations--United States.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (280 p.)

Place of Publication:

Kent, Ohio : The Kent State University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From 1865 to 1945, a number of prominent marriages united American heiresses and members of the British aristocracy. In Informal Ambassadors, author Dana Cooper examines the lives and marriages of the American-born, British-wed Lady Jennie Jerome Churchill, Mary Endicott Chamberlain, Vicereine Mary Leiter Curzon, Duchess Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, and Lady Nancy Astor. This cohort of women surprised their families - both British and American - by exhibiting an extraordinary degree of agency in a period that placed women solidly outside the boundaries of politics and diplomacy. Without the formal title of diplomat or membership in Parliament, these women nonetheless exerted significant influence in the male-dominated arena of foreign affairs and international politics. As the wives of leading members of the British aristocracy, they had uncompromised and unlimited access to the eyes and ears of individuals at the highest level in Great Britain - the very decision makers who formulated and implemented foreign policy with their home country. Collectively and individually, these informal ambassadors worked to improve relations at the turn of the twentieth century, and by no coincidence, the United States and Great Britain began to view one another less as adversaries and more as allies. Combining diplomatic history with gender and women's history, Informal Ambassadors demonstrates not only that could women act as transnational envoys at a time when they could not apply for State Department employment but that they influenced Anglo-American relations to a degree never before considered by historians.

Contents:

Introduction: an extraordinary galaxy of American women

Courting transatlantic marriages

Amazon attache: Jennie Jerome Churchill

Drawing room diplomat: Mary Endicott Chamberlain Carnegie

Devoted mediator: Mary Leiter Curzon

Elegant envoy: Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough Balsan

Candid consul: Nancy Langhorne Shaw Astor

The American invasion

Conclusion: ambassadors by any name.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781612778372

1612778372

9781612778365

1612778364

OCLC:

888316217