Title Informal Ambassadors : American Women, Transatlantic Marriages, and Anglo-American Relations, 1865-1945

Published London : Kent State University Press, 2014

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Description 1 online resource (280 pages) Series New Studies in U.S. Foreign Relations New studies in U.S. foreign relations. Contents Cover -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Chronology -- Introduction: An Extraordinary Galaxy of American Women -- Chapter One: Courting Transatlantic Marriages -- Chapter Two: Amazon Attaché: Jennie Jerome Churchill -- Chapter Three: Drawing-Room Diplomat: Mary Endicott Chamberlain Carnegie -- Chapter Four: Devoted Mediator: Mary Leiter Curzon -- Chapter Five: Elegant Envoy: Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough Balsan -- Chapter Six: Candid Consul: Nancy Langhorne Shaw Astor -- Chapter Seven: The American Invasion Conclusion: Ambassadors by Any NameAppendixes -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index 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 Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject Politicians' spouses -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century Politicians' spouses -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century Women -- Political activity -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century HISTORY -- Social History. POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Government -- International. POLITICAL SCIENCE -- International Relations -- General. Diplomatic relations Politicians' spouses Women -- Political activity SUBJECT United States -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- United States Subject Great Britain United States Genre/Form Biographies History Form Electronic book ISBN 9781612778372 1612778372

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