Dollars for the Duke

Dollars for the Duke was published in June 1981 and is #140 in the Bantam series for Barbara Cartland.

It is the story of the Duke of Otterburn, who is broke after inheriting and the only solution to keep his estate is to marry a rich American heiress! A match is made with Magnolia Vandevilt, the richest girl in America. When he catches her running away on their wedding night, the Duke strikes a pact for them to get to know each other as friends with the hope that they can fall in love.

We see our couple on this cover climbing a hillside near a lake with mountains in the distance. Hopefully this was a lark, since I can't see them climbing much in those clothes! Our heroine is young in her pink gown while the hero in handsome in gray.

This is a good story that's based on fact: many New York mothers did marry their daughters to European aristocracy in the late 19th and early 20th century. The most notable was Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married the Duke of Marlborough in the 1890's.