Did Gilded Heiresses Miss Their Thanksgiving Traditions?

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In the grand rooms of English country houses, beneath portraits of dukes and chandeliers that glittered in the light, an unmistakable accent cut through the hum of conversation: the American cadence of the Dollar Princesses.

By the late nineteenth century, America’s wealthiest daughters were crossing the Atlantic in droves to marry into Britain’s aristocracy. They brought staggering fortunes, new energy, and a distinctive approach to hospitality. But for many of these women, their transatlantic marriages came at the cost of leaving behind familiar rituals.

And none loomed larger in the American imagination than Thanksgiving, a holiday that, by the 1870s, had become synonymous with abundance, gratitude, and home.

While there are no tomes detailing how heiresses donned aprons to roast turkeys in ducal kitchens or bake pumpkin pies beneath the battlements of Blenheim, the spirit of Thanksgiving endures—giving us the perfect opportunity to trace the story of the holiday as it unfolded during the Gilded Age.