HEIRESSES The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies

Author Laura Thompson gives an engaging and well-packed narration of this expansive history of British and American heiresses from the seventeenth century to the present day. Thompson is a gifted storyteller who places appropriate emphasis on words or phrases to accentuate their importance. Some heiresses are familiar--Consuelo Vanderbilt and Barbara Hutton, for example--while others are less well known. Thompson details the women's everyday lives, noting the threats to their safety. In the seventeenth and eighteen centuries heiresses were often kidnapped and forced to marry against their will. The volume also incorporates stories of heiresses who promoted good works, including activist Nancy Cunard and philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. Thompson provides intriguing social commentary by weaving in mentions of novels with wealthy female characters. M.J. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]