The Gilded Diary of Mrs Maude Coffey

The Coffeys of New York are unimaginably wealthy, but their beginnings were modest. In fact, the family managed to break into the ranks of Mrs. Astor’s Four Hundred only through the efforts of their matriarch, Mrs. Maude Coffey. Widowed for five years, the pragmatic Maude disdains the restrictions of society, but will do anything to ensure the success of her children.

When her youngest daughter is caught in a scandal, Maude is forced to take a step she finds repugnant – to marry the girl into the English aristocracy, a strategy she knows will restore her daughter’s standing in New York society.

The quest for a titled husband leads Mrs. Coffey on a whirlwind journey, from the Gilded Age mansions of Newport to the stately homes of England. Along the way, she is forced to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about love and marriage, as romance finds all the wrong people – including the level-headed Mrs. Coffey herself.