The American Heiress: A Novel
Author: Daisy Goodwin
Location: Newport, Rhode Island & London, England
Publisher: Headline Review
Published: June 2011
"Her debut is the carefully orchestrated prelude to a campaign in which her mother will whisk her away to Europe, where [she] wants to acquire the one thing that money can't buy for her daughter in the States: a title."
In her debut, Daisy Goodwin, the author has brought us a story, although similar to our cultural expectations, it comes with an intriguing twist you won't want to put down.
In Cora's time in the United States and in England the societal norms have differed as the Americans have taken their own form of how society behaves from the traditional version many of their ancestors came from. She has been debuted into society and nothing has been left to chance. Nothing will come as a surprise. Or will it?
A title. This is what Cora Cash wants. At least that is what she thinks she wants. Her mother on the other hand needs this. There would be no better way to ensure her place her, sorry, the families place in society. Beyond the money, beyond the lavish parties, beyond the societal plotting there is one thing that can not be taken. That title.
All though at times Ms. Goodwin has shown us how little imagination she has by naming her heiress Cora Cash inevitably taking on details from Consuelo Vanderbilt who married Charles Spencer-Churchill which turned her into the ninth duchess of Marlborough. Imagining what it must have been like for an American to adapt should not be too much of a stretch from what it was. Cora, as we learn, has been taught how to be adaptive by her scheming mother.
To be fair to Mrs. Cash she is not the only American mother in this game. Her biggest obstacle will be the dear Mr. Teddy Van Der Leyden. The heart of the story lies with Teddy and the anxiety we feel to find Teddy again in Cora's life once we see what England has in store for her.
The titles born to the majority of the characters in The American Heiress may confuse our mere American minds, however, it is the same people whose will question your very aptitude for character. The ways in which deceit and apprehensive behavior finds a new meaning is outstanding. The biggest test, will be seeing if you can muster it all the way to end of this truly guilty pleasure novel. Mrs. Goodwin certainly knows how to test the patience of her audience.
When you end up picking up your own copy of The American Heiress you might find something surprising waiting for you. The 465 pages it will take to find out what the title she has "earned" will mean to her. Not only that, you will find out just how peculiar the world has changed since the time of our heiress. This story may not be the most in depth one of the shelf but you can decide for yourself if Mrs. Goodwin needed every last one of them.
