Synopses & Reviews
"Anyone suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal symptoms (who isn't?) will find an instant tonic in Daisy Goodwins The American Heiress. The story of Cora Cash, an American heiress in the 1890s who bags an English duke, this is a deliciously evocative first novel that lingers in the mind." --Allison Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of I Dont Know How She Does It and I Think I Love YouBe careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.
Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Coras story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James.
"For daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century, it was the ultimate deal: marriage to a cash-strapped British Aristocrat in return for a title and social status. But money didnt always buy them happiness." --Daisy Goodwin in The Daily Mail One of Library Journal's Best Historical Fiction Books of 2011
Review
Praise for the Audiobook Edition of The American Heiress
“Dripping with acerbic affectation and perfect British and Newport upper-crust accents, Katherine Kellgren deliciously portrays wealthy, beautiful, naïve Cora Cash…This story is filled with a full cast of unlikeable characters…Kellgren delivers each perfectly and convincingly conveys the worst that lack of character has to offer on both sides of the pond.” - AudioFile Magazine
“Ketherine Kellgren, a truly accomplished voice actress, affects a la-di-da intercontinental accent for the narration of this puree of Edith Wharton, ‘Downtown Abbey and pulp romance.” - The Washington Post
“This audiobooks is full of historical detail about the lives of the rich and famous at the turn of the last century, from fashion and food to living spaces and manners. I think I listened to the descriptions of Coras Parisian-made trousseau about five or six times so that I could picture each sumptuous, amazing gown clearly in my mind.” - Star-Telegram
“When I first started buying audiobooks, I always went for ‘bang for the buck and with 13 hours of listening time to the pleasant voice of Katherine Kellgren, you definitely get your moneys worth on this one.” - 5 Minutes for Books
“This audio presentation, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, who moves with effortless authenticity from the haughty Mayfair drawl of the Prince of Wales to the self-important, Southern tinged cadences of a rich American society matron, is bound to top the list of super-summer-beach listens.” - BookPage
“Goodwins attention to period detail and her inclusion of perspectives from many different characters carries the book through 14 hours of listening. Katherine Kellgren assigns distinct voices to every character" - Publishers Weekly
“I think this was a perfect audiobook for this time of year. Each time I listened, especially when driving in my car in this 98 degree heat, it would carry me away to this other world that Daisy Goodwin created.” - Bookin with Bingo
“The characters are varied and lively and brought to life skillfully by narrator Katherine Kellgren. Those who read Daphne de Maurier and other authors in the genre will enjoy this title. Recommended.” - Library Journal
“From the first plummy tones of Katherine Kellgrens voice, you know youre in for a guilty pleasure…This is ‘Upstairs/Downstairs, ‘The Age of Innocence and ‘Downton Abbey rolled into one.” - The Winston-Salem Journal
----------------------------------------
Praise for Print Edition of The American Heiress:
"The detailing is beautiful, the great phalanx of historical characters amusing, and the relief of reading a novel that puts enjoyment first so rare and gratifying that I am ready for a sequel." --Amanda Foreman, author of GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, winner of the Whitbread Prize for Biography
"A shrewd, spirited historical romance with flavors of Edith Wharton, Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, Upstairs, Downstairs and a dash of People magazine that charts a bumpy marriage of New World money and Old World tradition.... Goodwins debut, a knowing, judicious blend of Gilded Age extravagance, below-stairs perspective,...and sophisticated social tableaux, offers reader satisfaction....Superior entertainment." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Top-notch writing brings to life the world of wealth on both sides of the Atlantic. This debuts strong character development and sense of place will please fans of historical romance, including book club members." --Library Journal (starred review) "This lush look at Edwardian excess and scandal on both sides of the Atlantic...is a propulsive story of love, manners, culture clash, and store-bought class from a time long past that proves altogether fresh."--Publishers Weekly "Deliciously classy. A story that gallops along, full of exquisite period detail." --Kate Mosse, author of LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE
"I was seduced by this book, rather as Cora was seduced by her duke: with great skill and confidence. Intriguing, atmospheric, and extremely stylish, I was still thinking about it long after I had reached the end." --Penny Vincenzi, author of THE BEST OF TIMES "Sparkling and thoroughly engaging…a delight. Filled with vitality and peopled by a vigorous supporting cast of characters…the story of a poor little rich girl learning the hard way… makes for a highly enjoyable and intelligent read." --London Sunday Times
Review
"Ms. Goodwin...writes deliciously." --Janet Maslin,
The New York Times "A propulsive story of love, manners, culture clash, and store-bought class from a time long past that proves altogether fresh." --
Publishers Weekly "Top-notch writing....will please fans of historical romance, including book club members.” -
Library Journal (starred review)
"[An] exceptionally thoughtful and stunning historical novel that will leave you reeling and astonished...and give you the urge to re-read it the instant the last page is turned." --BookReporter.com
"Smart, emotional, entertaining writing....a delicious tale that captivates." --RT Book Reviews
“Deliciously classy. A story that gallops along, full of exquisite period detail." --Kate Mosse, New York Times bestselling author of Labyrinth "Sparkling and thoroughly engaging...a highly enjoyable and intelligent read." --The Sunday Times (U.K.) "I was seduced by this book, rather as Cora was seduced by her duke: with great skill and confidence. Intriguing, atmospheric, and extremely stylish." --Penny Vincenzi, author of The Best of Times
“A wonderful, guilty pleasure of a read. The detailing is beautiful...and the relief of reading a novel that puts enjoyment first so rare and gratifying that I am ready for a sequel.” —Amanda Foreman, New York Times bestselling author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and A World on FireD
Review
Advance Praise for The American Heiress:
"The detailing is beautiful, the great phalanx of historical characters amusing, and the relief of reading a novel that puts enjoyment first so rare and gratifying that I am ready for a sequel." --Amanda Foreman, author of GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, winner of the Whitbread Prize for Biography
"A shrewd, spirited historical romance with flavors of Edith Wharton, Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, Upstairs, Downstairs and a dash of People magazine that charts a bumpy marriage of New World money and Old World tradition.... Goodwins debut, a knowing, judicious blend of Gilded Age extravagance, below-stairs perspective,...and sophisticated social tableaux, offers reader satisfaction....Superior entertainment." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Top-notch writing brings to life the world of wealth on both sides of the Atlantic. This debuts strong character development and sense of place will please fans of historical romance, including book club members." --Library Journal (starred review) "This lush look at Edwardian excess and scandal on both sides of the Atlantic...is a propulsive story of love, manners, culture clash, and store-bought class from a time long past that proves altogether fresh."--Publishers Weekly "Deliciously classy. A story that gallops along, full of exquisite period detail." --Kate Mosse, author of LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE
"I was seduced by this book, rather as Cora was seduced by her duke: with great skill and confidence. Intriguing, atmospheric, and extremely stylish, I was still thinking about it long after I had reached the end." --Penny Vincenzi, author of THE BEST OF TIMES "Sparkling and thoroughly engaging…a delight. Filled with vitality and peopled by a vigorous supporting cast of characters…the story of a poor little rich girl learning the hard way… makes for a highly enjoyable and intelligent read." --London Sunday Times
Review
“What a gorgeous, brilliant, heart-smacking book! I am in awe of its stunning scale.”
–Laird Hunt, author of Neverhome
Review
"Clark reminds us that one of the pleasures of reading historical fiction is meeting characters whose thoughts are their own but also mirror the wrongdoings and legacies of their time...Vivid, layered, and provocative period drama about the trade-offs of backing tradition versus letting go."
–Kirkus
"We That Are Left is still haunting me. It offers an utterly convincing sense of period; a story that tugs at you; characters who are surprising, tender, hurt; emotions crushed, misunderstood, exploding; on every page the unresolved intensity of real life."
–William Nicholson, author of Lovers of Amherst
“What a gorgeous, brilliant, heart-smacking book! I am in awe of its stunning scale.”
–Laird Hunt, author of Neverhome
Synopsis
This glorious debut novel by a latter-day Edith Wharton is a deliciously literate and compelling story of a beautiful, naive young American heiress at the turn of the twentieth century who is ill-prepared for aristocratic decadence when she marries an English duke.
Synopsis
The captivating story of two sisters born into privilege, forced to make their way in a world turned upside down by war, and the man who, against all expectation, transforms them both.
Synopsis
The captivating story of two sisters born into privilege, forced to make their way in a world turned upside down by war, and the man who, against all expectation, transforms them both It is 1910. Jessica and Phyllis Melville have grown up at Ellinghurst, their family estate. A headstrong beauty, Jessica longs for London — the glitter and glamor of debutante life — while bookish Phyllis dreams in vain of attending the university. Neither girl questions that it is Theo, their adored brother, whom their mother loves best. Theo eclipses everyone around him, including diffident Oskar Grunewald — a prodigy in the rapidly evolving fields of math and physics — who with his mother is a frequent visitor to Ellinghurst. Fascinated by the house but alternately tormented and ignored by the Melville children, Oskar seeks refuge in Ellinghurst’s enormous library. Over the next decade, as the Great War devastates and reshapes their world, the sisters come of age in a country unrecognizable from the idylls of their youth. As they struggle to forge new paths in a world that no longer plays by the old rules, Oskar’s life becomes entwined with theirs once again, in ways that will change all of their futures forever.
Synopsis
Two sisters, born into privilege, are forced to make their way in a world turned upside down by war. One man transforms them both. 1910. Jessica and Phyllis Melville have grown up at Ellinghurst, a family estate fraught with secrets. A headstrong beauty, Jessica longs for London — the glitter and glamour of debutante life — while bookish Phyllis dreams in vain of attending university. Into their midst walks Oskar Grunewald, a frequent visitor fascinated by the house but alternately tormented and ignored by the Melville children. Oskar seeks refuge in Ellinghurst’s enormous library. Meanwhile Theo, the adored Melville brother, eclipses everyone around him.
The Great War arrives to devastate and reshape their world. In a country unrecognizable from the idylls of their youth, the Melville sisters struggle to forge new paths without the guidance of the old rules. But Oskar’s life has become entwined with theirs once again, in ways—both immediate and unimaginable-- that will change all of their futures.
With elegance and insight, in prose characteristically “stirring and seductive” (The Economist) Clare Clark brings us a new story of a kind of old family whose reckoning with change will haunt and resonate for many generations.
About the Author
DAISY GOODWIN is the author of the
New York Times bestselling novels
The Fortune Hunter and
The American Heiress. She is a Harkness scholar who attended Columbia Universitys film school after earning a degree in history at Cambridge University and was formerly a leading television producer in the U.K. Her poetry anthologies, including
101 Poems That Could Save Your Life, have introduced many new readers to the pleasures of poetry, and she was Chair of the judging panel of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. She and her husband, an ABC TV executive, have two daughters and live in London.
Reading Group Guide
1. What is your initial impression of Cora Cash? How does she develop as a person in the course
of the novel?
2. In America, Cora is clearly at the top of society, while Bertha is very near the bottom. In what ways do their circumstances change when they move to England?
3. What role do the mothers in the story—Mrs. Cash, Mrs. Van Der Leyden, and the Double Duchess—play in the central characters lives?
4. Cora is always aware that “no one was unaffected by the money.” How does the money affect Cora herself ? What are the pleasures and perils of great wealth?
5. What is your opinion of Teddy and the Duke? What about Charlotte?
6. What do you think about Coras decision at the end of the book? Would you have made the same choice? (The author has said she was of two minds up until the last chapter.)
7. What are the differences between the Old World and the New in the novel? Do both worlds seem remote in the twenty-first century, or do you see parallels to contemporary society?
8. Why do modern readers enjoy reading novels about the past? Take a moment to discuss your experiences as a reader of historical fiction, in general, and of The American Heiress in particular.
9. When she was chair of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010, Daisy Goodwin wrote a controversial essay lamenting the “unrelenting grimness” of so many of the novels and pointing out that “generally great fiction contains light and shade”—not only misery but joy and humor. What do you think about Daisys argument that “it is time for publishers to stop treating literary fiction as the novelistic equivalent of cod-liver oil: if its nasty it must be good for you”?
10. Kirkus Reviews called The American Heiress a “shrewd, spirited historical romance with flavors of Edith Wharton, Daphne du Maurier, and Jane Austen.” Other critics have also seen echoes of Henry James. If you have read any of these earlier novelists, what parallels and differences do you see in Daisys work?