A review by shanbonan
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

3.0

I listened to this book on CD and, while it made my commute pass more quickly, my overall impression is ho-hum. None of the characters, save Cora Cash's maid, Bertha Jackson, were very likable. And the story was too-often bogged down in details that were unnecessary. I believe that Daisy Goodwin is a wonderful writer - her descriptive language is remarkable - but this book needed some serious editing. There's an incident at the beginning of the book, for example, in which Cora's mother is disfigured by fire during a ball held at her home in Newport, Rhode Island. I kept waiting to see the reason for adding the accident, how it might develop the character. Yet she never changed. Beginning to end she was stuck-up and interested only in her own reputation and in how her daughter's life reflected on her. In other words, it was a pointless incident and could have been deleted without affecting the story in any way.

I would be interested in reading Goodwin's future efforts, as I think she shows promise as a writer. But they wouldn't be at the top of my list.