Review: The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
“But here she was surrounded by an unfamiliar odour, one she was too young and too American to recognize as a mixture of damp, decay, and disappointment.”
The Basics
Title: The American Heiress
Author: Daisy Goodwin
Published: 2012 (first published 2010)
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin — Macmillan
Pages: 465
Format: Paperback
Genres: Fiction — Historical fiction, Gilded Age fiction, Romance, Historical romance, Gilded Age romance
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Book Synopsis
Newport, 1893. Donned the American princess, Cora Cash is wealthier than many actual royals, but for her mother, that distinction is not enough. Mrs. Cash is intent upon seeing her only child married to a member of the English aristocracy, and to that end, she travels to England with her daughter. Cora is initially lukewarm about the plan, not wanting to be a pawn in her mother’s bid to climb the social ladder. When she meets Ivo, the Duke of Wareham, however, she begins to wonder if she might be able to have her cake and eat it too: placate her mother with a title and also marry for love. Her happiness, however, is short lived, for no sooner does she become the Duchess of Wareham than she finds herself at the receiving end of snobbery, disdain, and manipulation from those born into the aristocracy. As for her husband, he is increasingly aloof, and she cannot quite shake the feeling that he is hiding something from her.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: Enjoyable overall, but the ending is rather underwhelming.
Warning: Potential spoilers ahead
I have mixed feelings about The American Heiress. While I was reading it, I struggled to put it down, and I filled every spare moment with my nose between its pages. I relished wait times, be it for the train or simply dinner, as it meant that I could delve back into the world of Cora Cash. I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it, eager to see how everything would be resolved, and when at last I turned the final page, I felt . . . disappointed. This book, which had enraptured me for the better part of a week, left me feeling letdown and deprived of a proper ending. Even now, I struggle with how to reconcile the joy I felt while reading The American Heiress with the disappointment I experienced upon finishing it.
The ending is both predictable and rushed. A lot of information is revealed in short order, and on the basis of this information, we are meant to believe that throughout the entirety of the novel one of the characters has been sorely misunderstood. Perhaps I am overly cynical, but I am not buying this “reveal.” It feels ham-fisted and contrived, as though the author is forcing the pieces into place in order to achieve the safe, predictable ending. The ending had the potential to be a true turning point for Cora, a chance for her to demonstrate courage and volition, but alas, she remains ever naïve and too easily manipulated by others.
Another fault of this book is the courtship, or rather lack of it, between Cora and Ivo. They become engaged shortly after meeting, with Ivo’s proposal to Cora coming out of left field. Only 20 pages prior to his proposal, he had been appalled by the mere suggestion that he marry her, but I suppose her wealth was sufficient enough for him to overlook his misgivings about the match.
Speaking of Cora, she is a source of frustration throughout the novel. She is too trusting of others, often falling prey to their manipulations. There are moments throughout the book where you almost wish that you could jump into the story and shake her. Even her name is bothersome. Cora Cash is a bit too on the nose, don’t you think?
The good
While I might have mixed feelings about the book as a whole, when it comes to the plot, up to but excluding the ending, my feelings are quite clear. It is a compelling story rife with intrigue, mystery, and rich historical detail that is reminiscent of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age, as well as the novels of Edith Wharton and Daphne du Maurier. It is a transportive read that brings to life the Gilded Age in all its opulence and excessiveness. When you read this book, you are shuttled back in time and experience the late-19th century through the eyes of not only the wealthy but also their servants. It is a mesmerizing story that reminds me why I love historical fiction so much.
The secondary characters are well-crafted and to a large degree steal the spotlight from the protagonist. Charlotte and the Double Duchess, for instance, are particularly well-written. Manipulative and cunning, they make for the perfect antagonists. Their ruses and deceitful ways evoke an emotional response from us, the readers, which consequently makes them hard to forget. Bertha is another memorable character; although, her noteworthiness comes not from deceit but rather relatability. Like many of us reading this novel, she is not a member of the privileged upper class, and she sees their extravagant ways for what they are: wasteful and excessive. She also is not fooled by the affectations of others, nor is her assessment of a person’s character swayed by their wealth. She generally sees people for who they truly are.
With regard to Goodwin’s writing, it is engaging and with the exception of the final chapter, well-paced. Her use of multiple points of view adds to the enjoyability and suspense of the novel; oftentimes, the non-Cora passages will reveal pieces of information not yet known by Cora. This, in turn, entices you to keep reading so that you might see when or if she becomes privy to that knowledge.
Overall
The American Heiress is a good book, but the hurried, predictable ending prevents it from being a great book. It is a dramatic story with an anticlimactic conclusion.
Have you read The American Heiress? If so, let me know what you thought of it in the comments section below!
