The American Heiress

Summary (from the publisher): Newport heiress Cora Cash - beautiful, spirited, and the richest girl in the country - is the closest thing that American society has to a princess in 1893. But her mother wants more, and whisks Cora away to England for the one thing money can't buy in the States: a title.

Be careful what you wish for. Cora makes a dazzling impression on English society - followed by a brilliant match - but finds the chill in the air of magnificent ancestral homes is not solely due to the lack of central heating. Faced with the traps and betrayals of an old-world aristocracy that can trip up even the most charming, accomplished outsider, Cora must grow from a spoiled rich girl into a woman of substance.

Review: Set in the late 1800s, during the heyday of the Gilded Age, The American Heiress tells the story of Cora Cash, quite possibly the wealthiest young lady in America, whose mother has rushed her off to England in search of an impoverished English aristocrat willing to bargain his good name (and title) for Cora's mother. Fortunately for Cora, she makes a brilliant match, and seems genuinely happy with her husband - at first. However, she struggles to be accepted by the chilly aristocrat women in her new country, who find her modernizing ways insulting and socially unacceptable. Cora begins to question her husband's affection for her, and makes social blunders that cost her.

This novel, although not about an actual heiress, follows a trend that did indeed happen around the turn of the century. Many from Winston Churchill to Princess Diana to fictional characters on Downton Abbey are descendants of the trend for wealthy American girls to marry titled English aristocrats who needed their wealth to keep up their estates. I find this such an interesting historical phenomenon, and Goodwin clearly researched about the extravagances and excesses of the time period before imagining Cora and her life. For example, in the party in the opening scene of the novel hosted by Cora's mother, a stream was constructed down the middle of the dining table, holding tiny boulders; "each of these boulders were in fact an uncut gem - diamonds, rubies, emeralds and topazes. Beside each place setting was a miniature silver shovel so that the guests could 'prospect' for these treasures" (21). For her wedding, Cora wears a bridal corset whose "clasps, the large hook, and the buckles on the attached stocking supporters are all made of solid gold studded with diamonds" (142) and her veil "originally belonged to the Princesse de Lamballe who, [...] had lost her head in the French Revolution" (184). Cora seems totally unfazed by the wealth around her throughout, which makes sense for someone raised to expect such luxury.

Although I loved the setting, the time period, and the historical details, I was disappointed with the plot development, which felt more like light fiction than I hoped. I found the love triangle(s) cliché and didn't think the author convincingly showed that any of the characters deeply loved anyone that they claimed. This is likely a symptom of the relatively poor character development for several of the main characters.

Additionally, I was confused by the significance of the side story of Cora's servant, Bertha. Early in the novel, Bertha frequently pockets items for herself; "She took the gloves and stuffed them in her pocket" (146) and seems indifferent to Cora. Yet later, she professes to feel more loyalty for Cora than the she does for the man she loves. In part, I think Bertha is there to juxtapose a normal individual with the entitled wealthy characters; Bertha is the reality check to remind the reader that this extravagance was not the norm for the vast majority of Americans. However, I wish Bertha and her story line had been fleshed out more and had been more convincing.

Stars: 3