Reviews

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh was an interesting retelling to dive into. My love for Pride and Prejudice will continue to grow no matter what because of my love of Elizabeth and Darcy. So to go into more details about Anne's own life, well I was dying to figure out what was wrong with her and what was going to happen as well.

I loved absolutely everything about Anne. At first, I was a bit skeptical because of how "sick" she was. Mostly because it seemed like the medicine that her mother, maid, nurse, and doctor were all for was definitely hurting her more than helping. It also seemed rather odd that no one in her family would step up and say something. Eventually her cousin helped out but by then it kind of seemed lame.

Anne was a strong and likable character. She definitely grew throughout the book and fell in love. Of course she had to deal with a broken heart or two along the way but once she knew what she wanted - she went for it whole heartedly.

This book was completely delightful and I loved devouring each and every page. I will admit though that the ending was bittersweet for me.

lezreadalot's review against another edition

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4.0

“This is a great season for first experiences, Ms. de Bourgh.”

This is pretty high up there on my list of Pride and Prejudice retellings/inspired works, though to be fair I haven't read a whole heaping tonne of them. It's been described as slow by a lot of people, especially in the first half, and I guess that's not inaccurate? But I didn't find it so at all. I was wholly engrossed the entire time, even when the story took meandering turns, and got dreamy and metaphorical. It's not the easiest thing, to take a minor background character and give her heart and purpose and personality, make her very sympathetic while still remaining true to and fair to all the original main characters.

This is the story of the wealthy heiress, Anne de Bourgh, and it explains her sickliness from the original novel as a dependence upon laudanum that was introduced to her at childhood. We follow her through the drugged-up haze of her childhood and into her late twenties and early thirties, when she manages to come into her own. This would not be the book it is if it weren't for the writing; super lush and expressive and raw. There's something very meaty about the prose, heavy and consequential, even in the slower areas. I always felt very close to and connected to Anne, very sympathetic with her. A lot of the book deals with her realisation of her sexuality, and I just adored how it was written about. Again, there was something very physical and raw but very beautiful about the way she described her attraction to women. Seeing prose like that in historical fiction just feels so wonderful, because it turns queerness and queer desire into this lovely thing. Anne is sensible to the fact that her desires aren't commonplace, but she soon comes to a place where she refuses to compromise, refuses to take any less than what she deserves just because her tastes don't align with society. And I loved that. There are some super meaningful relationships here besides the romantic one (which I adored). I especially loved the push and pull with her mother, and all her bids for independence.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Ell Potter and it was wonderful! It's probably the reason why I didn't find the beginning as slow-moving as others did. Her narration drew me in very easily, and I adored her voice. This was such a beautifully written piece of fiction, and the best thing about it is that you can enjoy it thoroughly even if you've never read Pride and Prejudice. I definitely recommend it highly.

My heart was entangled in lines of ink and strands of bright hair. I could not seem to free it.

myrrichard's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

andrea_author's review against another edition

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3.0

This book imagines Anne de Bourgh from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE as suffering from a life-long addiction to laudanum. With a focus on beautiful language, the pace is leisurely. The book might appeal to readers of literary fiction.

I received an ARC from the publisher. This is my honest and voluntary review.

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