The American Heiress: A Novel

If you like Downton Abby, you'll probably enjoy this book. The English duke is broke and needs to marry money. There are rivals and secrets to keep the plot interesting, and good character development even though Cora is sometimes unbelievably naive.

This is an engaging and fun read ... An escape novel. It is the type of reading I choose for enjoying the pleasure of reading. It is a a period piece but I don't read this and other stories for the historical content but to relax with an interesting story.

Daisy Goodwin wrote a very engaging first book, I hope that some day she has a second book published , maybe a sequel that would be very nice. I really liked the book, the time period, and the characters, and I would highly reccomend it, and the writing was very good also.

The Heiress was naive and undrstandably out of her dept hoever she rallied nicely; but the hero not well developed. What prompted the proposal? his motives were never clear. Overall an enjoyable read with nice historian detail. I just wish the Duke showed more of his personality but perhaps that was what kept me reading.

I'm recommend this book and will read more by this Author.

Pride and prejudice meets Twilight mixed with some Jane Eyre. But ask the bad parts of all of those. I'm pretty sure she became an outlander fan about halfway through too. It seems like she tried to pick all the iconic scenes and rewrite them. And it's worse than that sounds. Just skip this one

A "truth is stranger than fiction" novel based to some extent on the lives of the Vanderbilts. Good character development and an accurate sense of place and timing, spanning late 19th-century New York and England. Enjoyed reading.

Book was O.K., but unless you're extremely interested in American heiresses traveling to England in search of titled husbands in the early part of this century, it can get a bit boring. Not much of a plot. Lots of detail about clothes, mansions and furnishings...definitely not Downton Abbey.

I Loved, loved The American Heiress, but was just a little disappointed at the end. I thought it ended too fast for the length of the book. However, it was wonderfully written and I am looking forward to reading others written by Daisy Goodwin.

Boring! No romance, passion, and the ending was quick and left you with the question what happens next. She just forgives and mores on with a man who is never around, abandons her during her pregnancy and flaunts his mistress in his more. Too much descriptive narrative. This was definitely a one sided relationship and the girl seemed weak and wishy washy.

I was aggravated with Cora, the female protagonist, throughout most of this book. Yes, she's a beautiful, fabulously rich and thoroughly spoiled heiress during the height America's Gilded Age, but she's also spirited and interesting. Even under the thumb of her social climbing mama, she has a mind of her own and initially goes to some lengths to exercise it, all of which made me want to know more about her.

So, why then was I so aggravated? It seems that she loses her spirit and suppresses much of her personality after she marries Ivo, a handsome, brooding and impoverished English Duke. In my view, she becomes less than what she was as she fends subtle, but pointed barbs, as well as slights and outright criticism from everyone, including her husband. Even the household servants ran roughshod over her. I really wanted her to relocate her backbone long before she did and give back some of what she received.

My other issues with this book lay with a couple of secondary characters: Bertha, Cora's black lady's maid and Teddy Van Der Layden, an American and Cora's childhood friend and first love. Bertha's romance with Ivo's valet mostly served the purpose of "off stage" commentary on the events of Cora's life, but often came off as half-hearted observations of race and class in late 19th century England. Teddy Van Der Layden's character was meant to be the sounding board for Cora's handwringing frustrations with her husband's erratic mood swings as well as the stuffy English customs and practices that she struggled to master. His character was so shallowly written that he came off as superfluous and definitely unequal to the task of being an equal partner to Cora. He was not the least bit believable and not terribly interesting.

Minor gripes aside, it was a well written book with just the right amount of dead-on, descriptive detail about the excesses of the Gilded Age. The complications of Ivo's previous lover, his dark, brooding personality, the shallow meanness of Cora's mother and step-mother, and the ending, much in the style of Daphne Du Maurier, make for an overall satisfying read that left me with more respect for Cora than I had throughout much of the book. I recommend it.

Amazing what lengths a Mother will go to give their only child the best of everything, especially when money is no objection. In this day & age it is hard to imagine, but fun to read about. Great characters & descriptive about time and place.

The American Heiress was an easy read, albeit no Henry James, it was an interesting insight to the practice of Wealthy American ladies going to Europe to attract, securing a "title" to go with their wealth. The Downton Abbey series on PBS has certainly sparked an interest in this practice, however subtly addressed in the series. It was entertaining, but light.

I love the writing style, character development and setting the author painted. The story was gripping and hard to put down. The only thing I didn't like was how Teddy didn't really get closure, other than that I love it!

These complex characters kept me guessing. I wasn't sure how it would end until....it did. I enjoyed the view of Americans from the English perspective. And while I embrace directness, I do always appreciate the lessons we can learn about discretion and civility.

Enjoyed the easy going style and appreciated learning about the era. The female characters are well-crafted and quite round.The males are shallow and flat, even Ivo, the Duke. Some plot events are hard to understand in character development sense and are not explained at the end in terms of character motivation.

The American Heiress is an historical romance story at best with a little mystery thrown in. Predictable. A fast read about a foolish, headstrong, young woman who allows her Mother's need for a title in the family to cloud what is really what she wants and should have for herself.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin, was a very good read and I found that the historical background was excellent. Being a fan of Downton Abbey, this was just as enjoyable. I have recommended it to my daughter who is also a fan of Downtown Abbey.

Excellent first novel. I don't usually like period fiction and had never read anything of this particular time/ social issue, but I could not put this book down. VERY well done! I cannot wait for her to write another!

i really enjoyed the american heiress. their were times when i felt cora was a spoiled child and then there were times when i really respected her charactor and even felt sorry for her. one thing i did find rather admirable about her position was that even though she was at that time one of the wealthiest woman in america, she was more giving with her money then i thought her charactor would be. to me bertha was the true hero of the story. although at times she hated her position but it was her lovality and insite, that although at times igorned by her mistress, she was the one who brought many of the sad and unseen truths to provision. i really enjoyed the story and will share it with my friends

A fabulous love story without all the obscene sexual text. The author transports you back to the era of when the American heiress was sought after by the aristocracy to finance their debts. Great read!

A very well rounded journey through early 20th Century. It is always a true joy to see another country through the writers eyes. The characters were solid and their story believable. Life is tough no matter what part of the castle you live in!

Is a comparison between Daisy Goodwin’s debut The American Heiress and Downton Abbey? For those of us who have seen all the seasons of Downton Abbey and are waiting for the movie. Can Daisy’s book tide us over while we wait?

Synopsis:

Mrs. Cash has great plans for her daughter Cora, and they do not involve the neighbor from the mansion down the street. Cora knows about these plans that her mother has for her and wants nothing to do with them. She tries to run away with her friend the neighbor but an accident occurs when they are discovered. Cora’s mother’s face is injured. So they go onto London England to meet a wealthy prospect with a title. Mrs. Cash thinks life will be perfect if Cora can land one. One day while riding Cora has an accident and meets the titled man of her dreams. Will their story be one of happily ever after or not? Does money really make people happy?

My Thoughts:

This story is nothing like Downton Abbey. I was very disappointed with it. I have loved Daisy’s more recent book Victoria. I do not understand the choices that Cora made. Ivo was a completely unsympathetic character. I wanted to say to him at the end of the book you deserve to lose everything. The book had a great start with interesting characters such as Cora, Mrs. Cash, and her maid. The pacing of the book lagged after she married. Then ending was underwhelming to me.

This book is great for a summer vacation, when you don't want anything too challenging. I thought that the characters were stereotypes and the plot fairly predictable. This tasty morsel won't stay with you for long. If you want something really good on this same subject, I would recommend Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers.

I really enjoyed the attention to detail, but felt there was something lacking. The book left a few things unanswered. I didn't get the "I don't want to put this book down feeling.". I enjoyed the side characters a bit more than the main story. I felt myself rooting for Bertha and her having the life she desired than following the storyline between Cora and Ivo. I still thought it was a fun read though.

kind of long...........characters flat..............just so so reading...........not something I'd recommend........pretty forgettable..........doesn't leave you wanting more from the author.....I"m not dashing out to buy any more of her books like I do with some authors

I liked the story, it reminded me of "Downton Abby". I would have liked the story to continue for another chapter or two to show how the American Heiress really grows into her role as head of the household, maybe there will be a second book.

"The Americqn Heiress" is fun, but highly predictable, skimming the surface of rurn-of-the-century life and mores. I suspect most readers will be expecting a fictionalized interpreation of Cornelia Vanderbilt's marriage to the Duke of Marlborough; they won't get that here. This is pure romance, with neither an exploratiom of how an incfredibly wealthy American girl would learn to run a great house and estate, nor a thouhtful approach to life before the wars changed societt irrevocabley. Too bad -- it left me wanting someone else to write such a book.

I need to stop buying the cheap books!
Not another Edith Wharton, but some good descriptions of English lifestyle and Rich Americans looking for titles. Might be a fun read for readers who are suffering from Downton Abbey withdraw.