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A review by sausome
The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley
4.0
This newest installment of the "Pride and Prejudice" universe was a surprisingly pleasant read. Focused on a quite minor character in Austen's original novel, Anne de Bourgh, this novel gives the story of her life, from birth to death. An avid lover of "Pride and Prejudice," I was a bit worried that I might not be able connect to a story that included one of the more antagonistic characters of the novel, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but I'm so glad I got over that! In Austen's work, Anne's illness is only vaguely alluded to and she is simply described as "sickly," which makes for a perfect foundation to explore the possible universe that is her life.
In short, this work is an excellent tale about a "sickly" girl who reclaims her life, finds her power, and defies those who would stand in her way. It is a story filled with the ills of early medicinal laudanum, the ideas that women are educated to simply become the property of men, and the idea that women may find love with other women. Perhaps even more complex than the Bennets, Lady Catherine de Bourgh has made sure her daughter Anne will be the heiress to the Rosings Estate, meaning it won't be entailed away from her without a male heir. This means Anne must also understand the ways of running her own estate, and that she is the value of any marriage, rather than the other way around. Should she marry, the property belongs to her husband, meaning she has more to lose from marriage, in a way, unless one focuses on potential heirs to keep the De Bourgh line going. In any case, it is an interesting exploration of the necessity of dual strength and weakness in women at this time in history. Women must have sons to pass along property, but early medicine saw death from childbirth so often, even among the wealthy. A mother must trust in doctors and their advice, especially when fathers so often left a daughter's rearing to the mother, so can her love be enough? I worried Anne would be too weak to find her legs, but she turns out so powerful and strong that I felt wholly reassured and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Since Anne is such a minor character, the book avoids any possible pitfalls of trying to retell any major story lines or risk changing any character. We see Darcy and Elizabeth, but very infrequently, and the author is exceedingly careful to make sure their characters are kept true to Austen's original descriptions. Her treatment of Lady Catherine was also a fascinating exploration in how to keep her stubborn, immovable, cold demeanor that we see in Austen's work, but allow for a little crack here and there to illuminate Anne's possible life. A very well done work of fiction, and I definitely would recommend to anyone who loves "Pride and Prejudice" enough to reenter its world and see what might have become of Anne de Bourgh.
In short, this work is an excellent tale about a "sickly" girl who reclaims her life, finds her power, and defies those who would stand in her way. It is a story filled with the ills of early medicinal laudanum, the ideas that women are educated to simply become the property of men, and the idea that women may find love with other women. Perhaps even more complex than the Bennets, Lady Catherine de Bourgh has made sure her daughter Anne will be the heiress to the Rosings Estate, meaning it won't be entailed away from her without a male heir. This means Anne must also understand the ways of running her own estate, and that she is the value of any marriage, rather than the other way around. Should she marry, the property belongs to her husband, meaning she has more to lose from marriage, in a way, unless one focuses on potential heirs to keep the De Bourgh line going. In any case, it is an interesting exploration of the necessity of dual strength and weakness in women at this time in history. Women must have sons to pass along property, but early medicine saw death from childbirth so often, even among the wealthy. A mother must trust in doctors and their advice, especially when fathers so often left a daughter's rearing to the mother, so can her love be enough? I worried Anne would be too weak to find her legs, but she turns out so powerful and strong that I felt wholly reassured and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Since Anne is such a minor character, the book avoids any possible pitfalls of trying to retell any major story lines or risk changing any character. We see Darcy and Elizabeth, but very infrequently, and the author is exceedingly careful to make sure their characters are kept true to Austen's original descriptions. Her treatment of Lady Catherine was also a fascinating exploration in how to keep her stubborn, immovable, cold demeanor that we see in Austen's work, but allow for a little crack here and there to illuminate Anne's possible life. A very well done work of fiction, and I definitely would recommend to anyone who loves "Pride and Prejudice" enough to reenter its world and see what might have become of Anne de Bourgh.