Sisters of Fortune

By Jehanne Wake

Subjects: Great britain, history, 19th century, Great britain, social life and customs, Biography, Americans, great britain, Women, biography, Manners and customs, Inheritance and succession, New York Times reviewed, Social life and customs, Americans, Sisters, Heiresses, History

Description: Marianne, Louisa, Emily and Bess Caton were descended from the first settlers in Maryland, and brought up in Baltimore by their grandfather Charles Carroll, one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Like a real-life Jane Austen story, Sisters of Fortune follows the fabulous Caton sisters, the first American heiresses to take Europe by storm, as they travel from their Maryland home, across the Atlantic, and into the hearts of the British aristocracy. Based on intimate and previously unpublished letters written by the sisters, this is a portrait of four lively and fashionable women, much of it told in their own voices as they gossip about prominent people of their time, advise family members on political and financial strategy, soothe each others sorrows, and rejoice in each others triumphs. Descended from one of the nations founding fathers and raised to be educated, independent, and opinionated young women, Marianne, Bess, Louisa, and Emily Caton traveled to England in 1816 and won coveted places at the highest levels of Regency society by virtue of their charm, intelligence, and great beauty. An unusual true story of money, love, and life at the top, Sisters of Fortune is a romantic family history and an inside look at the adventures of Americas original blue-blooded girls. - Publisher.