
The American Heiress
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Katherine Kellgren
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By:
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Daisy Goodwin
About this listen
"Anyone suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal symptoms (who isn't?) will find an instant tonic in Daisy Goodwin's The American Heiress. The story of Cora Cash, an American heiress in the 1890s who bags an English duke, this is a deliciously evocative first novel that lingers in the mind." (Allison Pearson, New York Times best-selling author of I Don't Know How She Does It and I Think I Love You)
This program includes a bonus chapter of Victoria, the latest novel from author Daisy Goodwin, the creator and writer of the new PBS/Masterpiece drama of the same name.
Be careful what you wish for.
Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the 20th century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts', suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.
Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Cora's story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James.
"For daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century, it was the ultimate deal: marriage to a cash-strapped British Aristocrat in return for a title and social status. But money didn't always buy them happiness." (Daisy Goodwin in The Daily Mail)
One of Library Journal's Best Historical Fiction Books of 2011
Please note: An alternate (British) title for this novel is My Last Duchess.
©2010 Daisy Goodwin Productions (P)2011 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
Life can go in many different directions based on a few simple events. When Cora Cash, a rich American girl seeking a title at the turn of the Century, fell off her horse in a wooded area of the English countryside, fate would have it that an unmarried handsome duke should find her in her hour of distress. The American Heiress, a debut novel from Daisy Goodwin, tells Cora's story of marrying into British royalty and all the politics, scandals, and societal expectations that follow. Katherine Kellgren narrates, giving voice to Cora and a myriad of supporting characters from varying backgrounds, from Americans to Europeans and aristocrats to servants.
As if acclimating herself to a foreign country wasn't difficult enough, upon marrying Ivo, the Duke of Wareham, Cora quickly learns that becoming a duchess has come with a whole new set of stringent rules and expectations from her peers. Kellgren embodies Cora's naiveté and headstrong personality in her narration, expressing frustration in her voice in a gradual crescendo as Cora struggles to find her place among the oppressive British aristocracy. It seems that everyone from the duke's mother, a woman with a sharp tongue and a proclivity for traditions (many that Cora is not familiar with), to the Lord and Lady Beauchamp, the richest and most fashionable couple in the county, has an opinion on how Cora should behave in the upper class, noble arena. Cora dances around these societal expectations with uneasy footing, which only becomes more complicated as she begins to uncover certain nefarious details of her new husband's past.
Goodwin decorates The American Heiress with ornate period details that transport the listener to the English countryside at the turn of the century. Kellgren embraces the significance of time and place in this story, flourishing in the intricate descriptions of Cora's lavish surroundings. There's so much to enjoy about a story that allows you to lose yourself in a foreign setting, to travel with a character to the unknown. Following Cora to England is an alluring introduction to the intriguing world of classic British royalty. Suzanne Day
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- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Damian Baxter is hugely wealthy and dying. He lives alone in a big house in Surrey, England, looked after by a chauffeur, butler, cook and housemaid. He has but one concern--his fortune in excess of 500 million and who should inherit it on his death.
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Read Snobs instead
- By cristina on 02-14-13
By: Julian Fellowes
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The Husband Hunters
- American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Towards the end of the 19th century and for the first few years of the 20th, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege, and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, 50 years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known "Dollar Princess", married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage....
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Bondfide Valuable History Lesson
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 09-21-18
By: Anne de Courcy
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An American Beauty
- By: Shana Abe
- Narrated by: Gail Shalan
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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1867, Richmond, Virginia: Though she wears the same low-cut purple gown that is the uniform of all the girls who work at Worsham's gambling parlor, Arabella stands apart. It's not merely her statuesque beauty and practiced charm. Even at seventeen, Arabella possesses an unyielding grit, and a resolve to escape her background of struggle and poverty. Collis Huntington, railroad baron and self-made multimillionaire, is drawn to Arabella from their first meeting. Collis is married and 30 years her senior, yet they are well-matched in temperament, and flirtation rapidly escalates into an affair.
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Loved everything about it
- By Leigh H. on 07-10-23
By: Shana Abe
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The Social Graces
- By: Renée Rosen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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1876. In the glittering world of Manhattan's upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry, and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence - what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor - the Mrs. Astor.
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Disappointing Effort
- By HistoryNerd on 05-11-21
By: Renée Rosen
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Heiresses
- The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies
- By: Laura Thompson
- Narrated by: Laura Thompson
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Heiresses: Surely they are among the luckiest women on earth. Are they not to be envied, with their private jets and Chanel wardrobes and endless funds? Yet all too often those gilded lives have been beset with trauma and despair. Before the 20th century a wife’s inheritance was the property of her husband, making her vulnerable to kidnap, forced marriages, even confinement in an asylum. And in modern times, heiresses fell victim to fortune-hunters who squandered their millions.
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tough listen and tough to keep track
- By Amazon Customer on 03-29-23
By: Laura Thompson
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The Romanov Empress
- A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Narrated by the mother of Russia’s last tsar, this vivid, historically authentic novel brings to life the courageous story of Maria Feodorovna, one of Imperial Russia’s most compelling women, who witnessed the splendor and tragic downfall of the Romanovs as she fought to save her dynasty in its final years.
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Pure Excellence!
- By Bunny on 09-09-18
By: C. W. Gortner
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The Second Mrs. Astor
- By: Shana Abe
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Madeleine Talmage Force is just 17 when she attracts the attention of John Jacob "Jack" Astor. Jack's mother was the Mrs. Astor, American royalty and New York's most formidable socialite. Despite their 29-year age difference and the scandal of Jack's recent divorce, Madeleine falls headlong into love. On their honeymoon in Egypt, the newlyweds finally find a measure of peace away from photographers and journalists. Madeleine feels truly alive for the first time - and is happily pregnant. The couple plans to return home in the spring of 1912, aboard an opulent new ocean liner.
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I did not want this to end ...
- By Georgia on 10-11-21
By: Shana Abe
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A Well-Behaved Woman
- A Novel of the Vanderbilts
- By: Therese Anne Fowler
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Alva Smith, her Southern family destitute after the Civil War, married into one of America’s great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Alva defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement. In A Well-Behaved Woman, Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman.
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Don’t get me wrong...
- By carmen on 03-09-19
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The Tiffany Girls
- A Novel
- By: Shelley Noble
- Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Louis Comfort Tiffany, famous for his stained-glass windows, is planning a unique installation at the Paris World’s Fair, the largest in history. At their fifth-floor studio on Fourth Avenue, the artists of the Women’s Division of the Tiffany Glass Company are already working longer shifts to finish the pieces that Tiffany hopes will prove that he is the world’s finest artist in glass. Known as the “Tiffany Girls,” these women are responsible for much of the design and construction of Tiffany’s extraordinary glassworks, but none receive credit.
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So good
- By John on 07-02-23
By: Shelley Noble
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On Mystic Lake
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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On the day her daughter leaves for college, Anne Colwater's husband of 20 years announces he wants a divorce. Her roles of wife and mother suddenly gone, Annie retreats to her childhood home of Mystic, Washington, to heal. There she finds her old friend Nick, suddenly widowed and unable to cope with his emotionally scarred young daughter, Izzie.
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Never been so disappointed
- By Anonymous User on 12-28-10
By: Kristin Hannah
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Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl
- By: Renée Rosen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s 1938, and a young woman selling face cream out of a New York City beauty parlor is determined to prove she can have it all. Her name is Estée Lauder, and she’s about to take the world by storm, in this dazzling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer.
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Lots of fun
- By Robin on 05-01-23
By: Renée Rosen
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Go as a River
- A Novel
- By: Shelley Read
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses. Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known.
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Great character development
- By ALB on 11-22-23
By: Shelley Read
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Isola
- A Novel
- By: Allegra Goodman
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Allegra Goodman
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. That journey takes a unexpected turn when Marguerite, accused of betrayal, is brutally punished and abandoned on a small island.
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Keep going
- By Mary on 04-26-25
By: Allegra Goodman
What listeners say about The American Heiress
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- Kathy
- 02-08-12
Interesting period piece
I read many of the reviews of this novel before I decided to purchase it. Many of them gave a mixed opinion. I'd say that is a good description. The American Heiress definitely represented the wealthy, semi-selfish American heiress who had a rough time adjusting to the titled English society. Her husband is at the opposite end of the spectrum being a semi-self-centered penniless English lord. The author contrasted the two cultures well. She developed the characters well enough so that I wanted things to work out but at the end, I was just glad to see it end. The narrator did a clear job of differentiating the various characters which added to the story. This was a good book and justly deserved a good rating but I didn't quite love it.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Suzanne Harvie
- 10-08-11
Fluff
When you feel the need for something light...... true, I did find myself thinking, Am I really listening to this, but it was just what I needed at the time. Let it roll over you....... and then move on to more serious listening.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Tracers
- 05-02-14
Entertaining Story - Difficult to Listen to
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes, I would recommend the book, but I would not recommend the audio book. It was an interesting story set in England in the late 1800's. The light romance was refreshing. The reader's voice, however, was a cheese grater. Sorry, Katherine...
What did you like best about this story?
The characters were good and the description of the scenery was well illustrated in words.
Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren – was your favorite?
The most entertaining character was Cora , of course. Her growing maturity was believable.
Could you see The American Heiress being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
That is so funny that you would ask this question. I thought about that almost the entire time I was listening. Heres what I came up with:Cora - Emma WatsonMrs. Cash - Celia ImrieIvo - Hugh JackmanTeddy Van Der Leyden - Ron LivingstonBertha - Lupita Nyong’oCharlotte Beauchamp - Rachel WeiszOtto - Alan Cumming
Any additional comments?
If you create another performance reading I would use more than one reader. The American dialects were jumbled with the British accents and some of the well-to-do English voices came out sounding cockney most likely due to the tremendous requirement of changing characters so often.
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- Simone
- 03-14-18
Fun!
Enjoyable story, it fills the “entertaining saga” void nicely.
I miss Katherine Kellgren, she was a stellar narrator. RIP.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Carole Rae
- 06-02-18
REVIEW BY CAROLE RAE
Yayy my second audiobook of the year. I am so proud of myself because I already accomplished my goal of listening to two audiobooks.
Ooooh Cora. She was a spoiled brat, to begin with because she is the richest girl in Newport. She soon learns that money doesn't mean lick sometimes especially in a tradition-obsessed society. I did like her a lot though. She was young and naive. She has a good heart but she is indeed a rich kid and likes her stuff.
Ivo saves her after an accident and brings her to his Duke home. Things happen and with a little nudging from Cora's dear mama, Ivo proposes and they get married (no spoiler there). However, things are not as they seem and Cora soon realizes that things are a lot more complex and the man she marries has some secrets that everyone seems to know but her.
I liked Teddy, but he was an idiot. I really did have my hopes for him even though I liked Ivo too. Ivo is a complicated man and has secrets. How do you possibly choose?? I think I would end up picking Ivo...he is a Duke ;). Even as the reader you kinda know what it is while poor Cora does not. We learn the secret, but there is more to the tale and I was utterly shocked! It makes sense now that I know.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed all the characters even the "baddies". Oooo those English society folk. They are so cruel sometimes. It was interesting to see a foreigner to enter into the society and stumble her way through it. I do have to tsk Ivo because I feel he should've prepared her more.
I think what made me really enjoy this was the narration. The narrator certainly had a beautiful voice and I was enthralled by it. She brought the story to life and you could barely tell it was her when she would switch voices to different characters. A+ there!
I had two issues with the book was the over-explanation of clothing and hair. Ugh. It drove me a little batty. It did calm down a little bit as the drama kicked up near the end, but I don't need to know THAT much detail about a necklace and a dress. My other issue was the ending. It was left open-ended in a way. What happens to certain characters? Do Cora and her beau get her happily ever after? I think I would've liked a little epilogue.
In the end, I really did enjoy this story. I want to read more by the author and I want to listen to more by the narrator. A couple of issues, but they were easy to look over because I adored the characters and story. I'll give this a 4.
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- sarah fletcher
- 12-20-16
Americans are now rescuing the English .
This story links some what with the popular series of Downton Abbey through the name of Cora for this heiress as was Cora, an American heiress, who rescued the Earl of Grathan. If you like these types of stories, this is worth the listen.
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- J. Feinberg
- 04-13-18
Great listen
A great listen for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I enjoyed the story very much, and the narration was great (and I can be a bit picky about narrators).
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- Clever Nickname
- 04-28-12
Scandalously Good
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Daisy Goodwin’s debut (?!) An American Heiress. It had shades of Edith Wharton and even more so Dominick Dunne. It tells mostly of Cora Cash, the richest American heiress of her generation who all her life has been coached in one art—marrying well. It ends up better than she could of hoped when she chances upon a Duke and quickly becomes Duchess of Wereham. But her reception in England is mixed as she is forced to navigate the unfamiliar rules and contend with a moody husband. We also get glimpses of her title grabbing mother, her good hearted but opportunistic maid, and the American boy she left behind which really completes the circle of the late 1800’s society life. Sure it’s a little formulaic, and it’s gossipy, and the characters come off abrasive in the beginning (not helped by an aggressive over narration by Katharine Kelgren), but the story does develop and before you realize it you are completely sucked into Cora’s cause. I’ve read that the character may have been inspired by Consuelo Vanderbilt. Could you ask for a more perfect commute companion?
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7 people found this helpful
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- AXiD
- 12-12-12
Sorry I wasted a credit
This is a story with a lot of unlikable characters and the ones like Teddy, Bertha and Cora who aren't unlikable are merely middling (I didn't come to care about them as much as I should have). Her eventual husband is a d-bag and the end seemed rushed. I don't want to spoil everything, but I was disappointed with Bertha's decision at the end. She was one of the more fleshed-out characters.
As far as the performance, I wanted to tear my eyeballs out listening to Kellegren doing the upper class British accents. The Americans were okay, but her English aristocrat was annoying as nails scraping a chalkboard.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jessica Jewett
- 05-11-15
Entertaining!
I enjoyed this novel more than others in recent months. The storytelling was fluid and I found the language pleasing to hear.
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1 person found this helpful