Prairie Fever: British Aristocrats in the American West 1830–1890 by Peter Pagnamenta

A British writer homes in on the migration of aristocratic Britons to the wide-open spaces of mid-19th-century America.

(Norton, $28)

Forget those images of rugged settlers filing across the Great Plains in tattered wagons, said Scott Martelle in The Washington Post. The wanderers Peter Pagnamenta focuses on in his “deeply researched and finely delivered” book were cut from far fancier cloth. Serving up a “counterintuitive slice of American history,” the British writer homes in on the oft-overlooked migration of aristocratic Britons to the wide-open spaces of mid-19th-century America. Influenced by such popular tales as James Fenimore Cooper’s The Prairie, scores of otherwise idle second- and third-born sons flocked to Iowa, Kansas, and various points farther west. Seeking adventure and sometimes land, they encountered tornadoes and plenty of animosity.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us