The American Heiress

Novel by Daisy Goodwin

I've been eating an unfortunate amount of ice cream this week, since my sister came over for dinner and left a gallon in the freezer. Bad, very bad. But eating ice cream while reading has made me start to think of books like the three sizes at Cold Stone Creamery: Like It, Love It, and Gotta Have It. That's really how I feel about most books--I have some kind of affection for almost all of them (maybe the few I truly don't like would be called Lactose Intolerant). On this scale my latest read is definitely in the Love It category. I gobbled it up, loved it, but wouldn't put it on my list of All Time Faves.

The American Heiress is set in the 1890's, mostly in England, as a young American woman fulfills her society mother's fondest desire and marries a British aristocrat. Cora Cash (a very F. Scott Fitzgerald kind of name) is the richest young woman in America and her duke, Ivo Maltravers (another fitting name, mysterious and dark) needs her money to revive his estate. In addition to the convenient exchange of money for title, the two also seem to be in love, but struggle in their marriage due to cultural differences and the baggage of previous relationships.

On the cover of the book, it's touted as a good read for those who can't wait for Downton Abbey to start again in January. If you watch the show, I think you can see why. The mother in DA is also an American named Cora whom a British lord marries for money. The simmering social scene, with duchesses sniping behind each other's backs and servants gossiping downstairs, is just as entertaining in Heiress as in DA. The culture of the time and extravagance of the aristocrats is equally fascinating; at one dinner party they eat swallow tongues in aspic. (Thankfully I was not eating when I read that). The mysterious nature of the plot, though, reminded me of another book: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The main character is not an heiress, but a poor American who marries a rich Englishman, then finds herself mocked by the servants, confused by her moody husband, and in the middle of a mystery about his previous wife. It's very Gothic, and it in turn reminded me of Jane Eyre (which WOULD be a Gotta Have It book). I think the lesson for me in all this is that I am a total Anglophile and need to go watch an episode of Downton Abbey. Right now.

By the way, I don't know if I'll use the ice cream ratings all the time. They seem to express my feelings well, but might not fit in the cooler months. Maybe then it should be Tall, Grande or Venti (pumpkin spice or eggnog lattes, that is).