irinak's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to St. Martin Press and Netgalley for giving me a free eARC of the book.
This is a pretty thorough look at various heiresses of different eras - I'll admit I was expecting the book to focus on American heiresses specifically, but I was pleasantly surprised to see heiresses from the 17th, 18th and 19th century being included as well. The author knows her topic pretty well and manages to immerse the reader into the period despite all the name dropping and the fact the author would jump from one period to another more often than not. I can't help but wonder if more chapters shorter length focusing on each individual heiress would have helped the overall flow, but this was really enjoyable nonetheless and I'm interested in checking out other books by Laura Thompson.
This is a pretty thorough look at various heiresses of different eras - I'll admit I was expecting the book to focus on American heiresses specifically, but I was pleasantly surprised to see heiresses from the 17th, 18th and 19th century being included as well. The author knows her topic pretty well and manages to immerse the reader into the period despite all the name dropping and the fact the author would jump from one period to another more often than not. I can't help but wonder if more chapters shorter length focusing on each individual heiress would have helped the overall flow, but this was really enjoyable nonetheless and I'm interested in checking out other books by Laura Thompson.
keri5707's review against another edition
3.0
This book was interesting, but I needed a dictionary and Wikipedia sometimes. It was written almost as if you should already know all the prominent socialites of the Gilded Age.
emariekendrick's review against another edition
not what i thought it was going to be
crownoflaurel's review against another edition
dark
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Found the writing to sometimes wind in within itself — it would backtrack on timelines, switch subjects quickly (a few times where I questioned which woman exactly was meant as the subject of a particular “she”). But overall, an interesting history of the concept of heiresses, added some context I was previously unaware of.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Classism, Stalking, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
paris's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Heiresses focusses on the dramatic, salacious, often traumatic lives of British and American heiresses through history, from the 17th century to the 1950s. Several heiresses, including American Jennie Jerome (Winston Churchill's mother), the Mitford sisters (politically fractious 1930s It Girls), and Barbara Hutton (Woolworths heiress who had seven husbands) are used as examples to show money doesn't necessarily lead to happiness. In fact, it often left these excessively wealthy women in gilded cages, trapped by their money and status. Thompson creates a fabulously immersive world to show the internal lives of these 'million dollar babies', and creates a space for readers to question if wealth really is worth it