The Heiress
by Molly Greeley
Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, LGBTQIA+
Release Date: January 5, 2021
Pages: 368
Get from: Library | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆
As a fussy baby, Anne de Bourgh’s doctor prescribed laudanum to quiet her, and now the young woman must take the opium-heavy tincture every day. Growing up sheltered and confined, removed from sunshine and fresh air, the pale and overly slender Anne grew up with few companions except her cousins, including Fitzwilliam Darcy. Throughout their childhoods, it was understood that Darcy and Anne would marry and combine their vast estates of Pemberley and Rosings. But Darcy does not love Anne or want her.
After her father dies unexpectedly, leaving her his vast fortune, Anne has a moment of clarity: what if her life of fragility and illness isn’t truly real? What if she could free herself from the medicine that clouds her sharp mind and leaves her body weak and lethargic? Might there be a better life without the medicine she has been told she cannot live without?
In a frenzy of desperation, Anne discards her laudanum and flees to the London home of her cousin, Colonel John Fitzwilliam, who helps her through her painful recovery. Yet once she returns to health, new challenges await. Shy and utterly inexperienced, the wealthy heiress must forge a new identity for herself, learning to navigate a “season” in society and the complexities of love and passion. The once wan, passive Anne gives way to a braver woman with a keen edge—leading to a powerful reckoning with the domineering mother determined to control Anne’s fortune . . . and her life.
An extraordinary tale of one woman’s liberation, The Heiress reveals both the darkness and light in Austen’s world, with wit, sensuality, and a deeply compassionate understanding of the human heart.
Review
NOTE: This review is based on an eBook I purchased from Amazon.
There are minor **SPOILERS** in this review.
The Heiress is broken up into three distinct parts: Anne’s time addicted to laudanum (childhood to 29), her months in London where she breaks her addiction and learns how to live, and her return to Rosings as a new woman and continuing life.
I struggled to get through part one. The story felt like it slogged along. But once I got past it and into part two, I realized it was purposeful. We readers drift slowly through Anne’s life on laudanum as she, herself, does. Once she frees herself from its grip, Anne — and the reader — experiences life at a quicker pace.
Ms. Greeley did an excellent job of portraying Anne’s slowly growing understanding of her feelings and the world around her. I appreciate that she didn’t immediately know how everything should work, nor did she magically turn into a perfect debutante. Instead, she was awkward and unsure from a lifetime of theoretical knowledge without practice. The world was both amazing and frightening, beautiful and overwhelming as she got to experience things she’d been told she couldn’t for her entire life.
I wish Anne had met her governess again once in London, as that could have been a touching reunion. I also would have preferred to have a better understanding of why Miss Hall left so suddenly. Was she really only upset that Anne was kept in a weakened state? Was Anne’s situation finally too much to bear after having watched her brother go through addiction and recovery? Or was she also a lesbian or bisexual and had fallen in love? I realize that life doesn’t always tie up loose ends, and The Heiress is a good look at life’s “messy” bits, so it makes sense that we don’t have a good answer there.
I also wish that Lady Catherine had been happier to see Anne doing so well after her time in London, rather than pushing for everything to go back to how it was. She didn’t seem malicious in her treatment of Anne, so I find it hard to believe that she wasn’t thrilled to see her daughter so happy and healthy.
I really enjoyed the second and third parts of The Heiress. This is so much more I could say, especially about Anne’s time in London and her relationships with people there, but I’m trying to avoid much in the way of spoilers. Suffice to say that Anne gets a satisfying and believable happily ever after with her love.
Notable Quotes
Chapter 23: …each time I turned a page in a book and felt the words printed upon it leaving dimples upon my mind, some subtle as a sparrow’s claw prints, others deep as a horse’s tracks…
Chapter 29: “My mother has always said that women have the burden of endurance,” she said at last. “We endure all the things that men cannot, for the good of society.”
About the Author
Though Molly Greeley earned a degree in English from Michigan State University, she spent a number of years working in cafes, law offices, and for insurance newspapers before finding the courage to write her first novel. Her work has been called “Intricate, masterly, and delightfully imaginative” (Library Journal), “Exquisite” (Austenesque Reviews), and “Nuanced” with a “hint of D.H. Lawrence” (BBC Culture). Her books have been Indie Next picks and have received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal.
Molly lives in northern Michigan with her husband and three children, and can often be found with her laptop at local coffee shops.
Author links: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | BookBub | Amazon Author Page
Have you read The Heiress? If so, what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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