The Buccaneers

The Buccaneers is a historical novel by Edith Wharton. An unfinished version of the novel was published posthumously in 1938 and then completed from Wharton’s notes in 1993 by Marion Mainwaring. The plot involves wealthy young American women who cross the Atlantic in the 1870s to marry into the British aristocracy. Nicknamed “buccaneers” for storming the gates of England’s rigid society with their new-world wealth and vitality, these women find themselves navigating the clash between Old World tradition and New World ambition.

This guide is written using the 1994 Penguin edition of The Buccaneers, which employs Marion Mainwaring’s completed version of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of gender discrimination, racism, and pregnancy loss.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with five young American women whose families seek entry into the British aristocracy: Nan St. George, her elder sister Virginia, Conchita Closson, Lizzy Elmsworth, and Mabel Elmsworth. When Conchita marries a British aristocrat named Lord Richard Marable, these American girls and their parents plan to head to Britain so that the girls can secure advantageous marriages of their own. Under the practical guidance of the Anglo-Italian governess Laura Testvalley, they move to London, and their mothers coordinate introductions and invitations that place the daughters in proximity to titled suitors.

Eventually, Virginia becomes engaged to Lord Seadown and later enters the Marable family. Lizzy marries the ambitious Hector Robinson, a member of Parliament. Mabel, who is younger, later marries the industrial magnate Caleb Whittaker and moves into a position of wealth and prominence. Nan is courted by the Duke of Tintagel (known as Ushant by his family), and this match promises her both rank and responsibility within one of the oldest ducal houses in England.

However, Nan’s marriage is highly troubled. She miscarries early, and because the Duke callously sees the miscarriage as a dereliction of Nan’s wifely duty to provide him with an heir, a gulf grows between the two. This dynamic is influenced by the rigid standards of Ushant’s mother, the former Duchess. Nan learns about the expectations of her new title but remains uncertain of how to inhabit them. To make matters worse, her husband tries to keep her cloistered away from the world so that that she will produce him an heir. Nan forms a respectful friendship with Guy Thwarte of Honourslove when he returns from an engineering career abroad. Although the two never engage in illicit liaisons, they take part in a private conversation during a Christmas party, and Nan is missed by the other guests. The incident will later be distorted by false rumors of Nan’s infidelity.

The narrative follows several interlaced social itineraries. The governess, Miss Testvalley, continues to advise her former pupils while taking on new charges: the young Glenloe cousins, Kitty and Cora. The cousins travel to London to serve as bridesmaids and are lodged at Folyat House with Nan and Miss Testvalley.

Sir Helmsley Thwarte, Guy’s father, escorts Miss Testvalley and Nan to meet Dante Gabriel Rossetti at Cheyne Walk. During the visit, Sir Helmsley, who has long been attracted to Miss Testvalley, proposes marriage. She does not refuse him outright, but she withholds a final acceptance.

At Champions, home of the Glenloes, Lady Glenloe hints of her hope that Guy may choose one of her daughters. While out riding, Nan encounters Guy at a gate in the park. They exchange a few words under the eye of a groom, but both recognize that an intimacy that has inadvertently developed between them. Guy, who has recently considered a parliamentary candidacy for Lowdon, decides that he cannot remain in this social and political arrangement while he is in love with Nan. Deciding to withdraw his candidacy, he resumes contact with his former engineering colleagues and asks about work abroad, removing himself from the situation rather than risking the possibility that his presence and interest in Nan will cause a scandal for her.

Meanwhile, Lizzy and Hector Robinson survey the social situation and calculate ways to raise their status and those of their favored people. Mabel, who is now a wealthy widow with an infant daughter, arrives from New York. Guy is invited to the latest social event but declines on the ground of business. During the outdoor reception, Lady Churt, a prominent hostess, publicly repeats a claim that Nan extracted £800 from the Duke to pay Guy, alleging a tryst in Nan’s bedroom on Christmas Eve. (In reality, Nan had requested £400 from Ushant, which she then secretly gave to Conchita at her desperate request for funds.) The Prince of Wales is present, and Lady Churt’s accusation causes immediate shock. Virginia and Conchita defend Nan, and Lizzy signals her support by taking Nan’s hand. The party disperses in disarray.

The next morning, Nan confronts Ushant about their impossible and unhappy marriage. He merely orders her to return to the estate and resume her duties as Duchess. She tells him that she has done nothing dishonorable but admits that she is unhappily matched, that she loves another man who does not know it, and that she intends to leave her marriage. Ushant insists on obedience and calls to have her physically imprisoned in the house. With help from a young footman, Nan retreats through service corridors and escapes into the mews. She walks through central London to Curzon Street and seeks out Miss March, the matchmaker who has long cultivated aristocratic connections. Nan then temporarily takes refuge at the home of Miss Testvalley’s Italian family. She writes to Miss Testvalley for counsel and waits for news. Meanwhile, Ushant seeks legal options to end his marriage quickly and quietly. He meets with Mr. Cyril Dinsmore, who reviews Ushant’s grounds for divorce and warns about fallout from the press.

Back at Champions, Miss Testvalley receives news that Guy’s father, Sir Helmsley, who recently proposed to her, has taken a bad fall and is on crutches. Even so, Miss Testvalley keeps her distance, perceiving that her current post will soon end. Meanwhile, Lizzy and Hector continue their social scheming in the wake of the scandal around Nan and Ushant. Lizzy reasons that if Nan and Guy do not reconcile with their spouses, Ushant will be obliged to remarry in order to obtain an heir. Lizzy proposes that Mabel is well-placed to meet Ushant and present herself as both wealthy and dependable.

Guy seeks Nan through ordinary channels but cannot find her. Conchita tells him of Lady Churt’s outburst and Nan’s subsequent announcement that she has left Ushant. Guy consults a solicitor about likely legal steps in the ducal divorce, and the solicitor warns that private detectives may follow Nan and that any meeting with her must be discreet. Later, Hector Robinson tells Guy that Nan is with Miss Testvalley’s family. Guy goes to the address, and he and Nan immediately acknowledge their feelings for one another. Guy proposes that they leave England and marry as soon as her divorce permits. Nan insists that he cannot sacrifice his family estate of Honourslove and refuses to jeopardize his public life, but he insists that he has already decided to give up the candidacy and accept the engineering work. They agree to meet again to make plans after Guy speaks to his father.

Before leaving, Nan meets Conchita at St Paul’s and tells her that she will travel to Greece with Guy. Miss Testvalley ends her own engagement to Sir Helmsley so that she can help Nan and Guy leave the country together. On the platform, Nan embraces her former governess and boards the boat-train to Folkestone. Miss Testvalley watches the train leave for the Channel, then exits the station and returns to London to face uncertain employment and the likely collapse of her own hopes.