The Heiress takes the character of Anne de Bourgh (the intended fiance that Darcy rejects) and tells her story. Greeley makes the intriguing decision to rewrite Anne's sickliness as laudanum addiction, entirely spearheaded by her mother who found her a troublesome baby. For the first third of the book, Anne is mostly doped up and only vaguely aware of what's going on around her. The pacing is very slow, but the writing is excellent. I didn't mind the slow pacing of the opening, but the second half was a little dull and Anne never bloomed into an interesting character to me.

***I received an advanced reader's copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Anne de Bourgh tells her story in this literary novel. I liked the cadence of the language, as Anne describes her feelings and her demons, mainly from decisions made by her mother Lady Catherine. This is a discovery of oneself story and a love story. It was delightful to see her character fleshed out and made to stand on her own, against the other P&P characters.

I really loved this book! As a fan of Jane Austen, I appreciated the nods to Pride and Prejudice, but the heroines story was captivating in how she took the reins of her her life’s trajectory in hand. Phenomenal writing too!

It's been a while since I read this, but I remember it being exactly what I wanted from a sapphic spinoff of Pride & Prejudice. Since the book released, I've included it on all of my "historical sapphic romance" lists. What I love about this is that it's more of a character study than a romance. I would compare it to books by Sarah Waters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I was very excited for this as I love Pride and Prejudice and getting a story solely focused on a minor character sounded great. Unfortunately, this book fell short for me. Pacing was very very slow and the descriptions were unnecessarily too long.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from the author.

I received this book as a Net Galley ARC in January 2021 and just managed to read it for the PemberLittens group on Litsy, hosting it as a chapter-a-day. I think that format and the discussion with the group about it made me enjoy it even more. Anne de Borough is only seen as somewhat a laughable figure (to Elizabeth Bennet) in Pride and Prejudice, here she comes into her own. Laudanum was a cure all during Regency times and it was not fully understood how addicting it was. Anne is set on a lifelong course of it and these "magic drops" kept her weak and in a stupor into her late twenties. This book explores her life and her attraction, first to her governess and then to a new friend. I enjoyed how the author explored Anne's life and the forbidden desires she has for other women. It was written in a sensual and earthy way but not graphic and it was interesting to look at both addiction and lesbianism under the lens of the era. Although the pace of the story is slow--at least two-thirds of the book before it picks up, it seems a deliberate slowness and the writing is beautiful. Anne's observations of the world around her are poetic and slightly poignant.

I enjoyed the author's The Clergyman's Wife but found The Heiress to have a more hopeful tone. I ended up buying a print copy to have as well in my Jane Austen book collection--it's worthy of sitting on the shelves.

Please see my review on my Youtube channel originally posted on July 21st, 2021: https://youtu.be/28fLCGGNsYI
Below is the written transcript/review:

Like so many Austen retellings or adaptations The Heiress aims to bring an obscured female character's story to light. The idea to bring Anne De Bourgh to the forefront of a regency story is fantastic. She's certainly underexplored in Pride and Prejudice. She's engaged to Mr. Darcy from birth, but obviously that doesn't go as planned and as such we can't help but view Anne in comparison to Lizzy Bennet. In many ways they are foils for one another. Lizzy is full of wit and personality, but her class status and marriage prospects are precarious. She is not entitled to land or wealth, and the entail on Longbourn casts a shadow over her whole family. Anne on the otherhand, is sickly, demure, and under the thumb of her demanding parent. Lady Catherine De Bough is a force to be reckoned with. Can you imagine having her as a mother? Personality-wise Anne is barely a character in Pride and Prejudice, but in contrast to Lizzy her future is secure. She is promised to Darcy in marriage from birth and is destined to unite their two immensely wealthy and expansive estates, but even without that destiny Anne is set for life. She is still vastly wealthy and can inherit Rosings Park in her own right. She has no need to marry if she doesn't want to. Anne's chief difficulties in life are her domineering mother and her debilitating and unspecified chronic illness. This places her in a rather unique situation for a regency woman, and the idea to write a book focused on these themes is nothing short of genius.

Today I would like to chat all about the book The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne De Bourgh by Molly Greeley. This book has been on my radar since it first came out in January, but what better time to read it and talk about it than Jane Austen July.

The Heiress tells Anne's story in first person beginning in early childhood and spanning the entirety of her life. Greeley chooses to define Anne's illness as opioid addiction. As a fussy and cholicy baby Anne is prescribed Laudenum to quiet her. She grows up sheltered, confined, and protected in Rosings Park taking the daily dose of laudenum that keeps her slender and stupefied. After her father passes away, a seed of an idea planted by her governess takes root in her brain... What if there is more to her reality than a life of fragility? What if the very medicine she has been told she can't live without is the cause of her sickness and suffering? Desperate to discover the truth for herself Anne discards her laudenum and flees to London to her cousin Colonel John Fitzwilliam. After dealing with the harrowing symptoms of opioid withdrawal Anne is ready to forge her own identity, tackle London society and subsequent romantic entanglements, face her domineering and manipulative mother, and take her place as Heiress of Rosings Park.

Like so many Austen retellings or adaptations The Heiress aims to bring an obscured female character's story to light. The idea to bring Anne De Bourgh to the forefront of a regency story is fantastic. She's certainly underexplored in Pride and Prejudice. She's engaged to Mr. Darcy from birth, but obviously that doesn't go as planned and as such we can't help but view Anne in comparison to Lizzy Bennet. In many ways they are foils for one another. Lizzy is full of wit and personality, but her class status and marriage prospects are precarious. She is not entitled to land or wealth, and the entail on Longbourn casts a shadow over her whole family. Anne on the otherhand, is sickly, demure, and under the thumb of her demanding parent. Lady Catherine De Bough is a force to be reckoned with. Can you imagine having her as a mother? Personality-wise Anne is barely a character in Pride and Prejudice, a point which is made abundantly clear in the Heiress through the young Mr. Darcy's perception of her. but despite Anne's lack of charisma or ability to carry on a stimulating conversation Anne's future is secure. She is promised to Darcy in marriage from birth and is destined to unite their two immensely wealthy and expansive estates, but even without that destiny Anne is set for life. She is still vastly wealthy and can inherit Rosings Park in her own right. She has no need to marry if she doesn't want to. Anne's chief difficulties in life are her domineering mother and her debilitating and unspecified chronic illness. This places her in a rather unique situation for a regency woman, and the idea to write a book focused on these themes is nothing short of genius.

I personally always thought that Anne's condition was something genetic or autoimmune. Maybe sickle cell or anemia. And I always thought that a large part of her overly reserved personality and social awkwardness was not just about her chronic illness, but was in large part due to her mother's overbearing nature. I think there's even been speculation about munchausen by proxy in some Austen circles. Regardless, I think it's fascinating to propose laudenum dependence as Anne's ailment. Laudenum is an opioid that was very easy to come by in the time period and often given to babies, particularly upper class babies, to quiet them in their infancy.
Opioid use and addiction must have been a prevalent aspect of society and is explored in later works of literature most famously and obviously in Sherlock Holmes. Personally, I can't wait to reread Pride and Prejudice to assess the compatibility with Anne's mysterious illness and opioid addiction.

The two highlights of this book for me were Greeley's depictions of Anne's opioid induced stupors and her portrayal of Lady Catherine De Bourgh. It's amazing the way Greeley's writing suddenly drifts off from reality to the poetic interiority of Anne De Bourgh's drugged mind. One of my favorite opioid induced sections is when Dr. Grant increases her dose of Laudenum and Anne describes these terrifying nighttime visitors and goes onto explain how Rosings Park communicates with her and breathes with her. pg 80


Like I said, the portrayal of Lady Catherine De Bourgh is also phenomenal. She is such a domineering, manipulative and controlling woman and is perfectly recognizable from Pride and Prejudice in the first half of The Heiress. Then in the second half of The Heiress, Greeley depicts Lady Catherine's reaction to Anne running off to London and Anne's recovery and newfound self sufficiency. It's a perfect and fascinating way for Lady Catherine to react in such circumstances, and Anne's later interactions with her mother are only strengthened by the faithful representations of Lady Catherine early on in the book. The Heiress depicts Lady Catherine's control issues with Anne as you might expect, but it also delves into Lady Catherine's idea of motherhood and a rationale for why she acts as she does with respect to Anne. Personally, I struggle with the sincerity of Lady Catherine's rationale, but that's what's so brilliant about this portrayal of Lady Catherine. It encourages the reader to think about her character further and consider why Lady Catherine is the way she is. Could possibly contain a warmer more maternal side beneath her commanding and manipulative exterior, and if not, what does drive her personality?

I also love the attention that the book brings to Lady Catherine's thoughts on music and female accomplishments. This is a topic that Claudia from Spinsters Library loves to think about has even addressed on her channel I believe. But she also shared an essay on the topic with me recently which is all about how Lady Catherine is intensely hypocritical when it comes to the idea of female accomplishment and class. Lady Catherine has this idea that women of upper classes are inherently knowledgeable about music and possess innate musical talent even if they've never so much as touched an instrument, and yet ladies of birth and fortune do not need musical accomplishments to secure a husband. Molly Greeley definitely brings our attention to this aspect of marriage in Pride and Prejudice, and these thoughts relate to later conversations of marriage, accomplishments, and Anne's future in interesting ways.

Overall, the Heiress was an intriguing and fun read, and I loved its insights into opioid addiction, marriage and inheritance in the time period, but there is something about the overall execution of this book that just didn't entirely work for me. It's just not a perfectly polished and cohesive narrative. I think that Greeley could have explored the themes more deeply and used the fourth section slash last chapter to tie the book together more seamlessly. Right now my standards for Austen retellings and adaptations are ridiculously high following the publication of Miss Austen and The Other Bennet Sister. As far as I can tell other people didn't have the same concerns that I do about the overall impact and execution of this book. Some people seem to mention that the pacing was a little off, but It has a lot of 5 star ratings. Don't get me wrong there are 5 star moments in here, moments of brilliance and incredible insight, but I as a whole, I can envision a more perfect version of this book and as long as I have that vision in my mind's eye, I can't help but wish for even more than The Heiress provided.

Still, if you love Jane Austen or are a fan of Pride and Prejudice, or like spinoffs of Austen like The Other Bennet Sister I would highly recommend that you read this one. It doesn't have to be a perfect book to be a ton of fun or to shed some new insights into Pride and Prejudice, and this book truly was a very engaging and entertaining read.

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My main issue with "The Heiress" is that, while it has an interesting premise for Austen fans, it's ultimately rather dull and slow. I wanted to enjoy it, but just kept wondering when the pace was going to pick up. I don't think you need to read "Pride and Prejudice" in order to read this book, but I might suggest you do... simply because it's a better book.

All that being said, Anne's character development is satisfying as is the ending... mostly.

“I was forever waiting without knowing quite what I was waiting for.”

Austerities and fans of historical fiction will absolutely devour The Heiress, a spin off of Pride and Prejudice based on the life of Anne deBourgh. The writing and story are immersive and have a dreamlike quality. It did start a little bit slowly but worked overall with the story. The Heiress tells the story of Anne from the time she is an infant and forced to take laudanum up to her young adult life as she manages to stop taking it and spends a liberating season in London living her truest life. I was delighted by the surprise queer love story and highly recommend this one!

When Anne de Bourgh was an infant , she cried incessantly. The doctor at the time prescribed laudanum to keep her calm. Anne spent her childhood and much of her young adult life asleep from the dosing of laudanum. Most of the community thought Anne was ill and took pity on her. Her family continued to shelter her and keep her away from everything thought to harm her. Anne always knew her father's estate would belong to her when she was older. It had been decided upon when she was an infant she would marry her cousin and he would help run her estate. When her father dies, nothing is making sense to Anne anymore. She escapes to her cousin's estate in London away from her mother. There have been a few people in Anne's life that have verbalized their concern for her and Anne decides it is time to find out if their inklings were correct. Anne stops taking her laudanum. After the sudden halt of the medication, Anne finds herself in a new world. She transforms before her cousin's eyes. As Anne gains her physical strength back, she also gains her confidence as a young woman. London does wonders for her as she takes her destiny in her own hands. She takes what is rightfully hers since her father has now passed despite the grumblings of her mother. Anne decides the path laid out before her was not the path she wanted to take for herself and she carves out a new one.
The Heiress by Molly Greeley was a book that draws you in. The first half of the book was great. I loved the historical story laid before us and couldn't get through it fast enough. I did get lost a little in the middle of the story and almost gave up. But Eliza entered the story and the I was back flipping the pages as quick as I could! I will be recommending The Heiress to my historical fictional reading friends and would love to read additional works by Greeley. Special thanks to NetGalley, Molly Greeley, and William Morrow and Custom House Publishing for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I do apologize for my late review. 4 stars for me.
#TheHeiress #NetGalley

Well done, well written, with strong characters and a substantial entertaining plot. Interesting and intriguing .

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
It seemed to start slow for me and it was a much heavier novel than I was expecting. It is the story of Anne De Bourgh, taking place in the 1800’s, and covers her life from birth to death. It starts with her sickly childhood and shows her growth and how she took control of her own life. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! I was so engrossed by the characters right off the bat. Her writing is out of this world, if you've been in a reading slump this is a great place to start, it absolutely blew me away!

I was looking forward to a story about Anne de Bourgh, a background character in Pride and Prejudice. However, while the concept was interesting this book was slow to me and it was hard to get into for at least half of it. After Anne is gets out from under control from her mother, it picks up but also feels like a rom com with no real stakes.

I really enjoyed this take on Anne de Bourgh. If you've read Pride and Prejudice or have seen one of the movie adaptations then you'd know that her mother Catherine claims that Anne and her cousin Fitzwilliam Darcy have been promised to each other since their infancy. In the book we never learn much of anything about Anne with the exception of her bad health.

In this book Anne tells her own story and seems to know her own mind. She's not the feeble girl that we get to know who sits quietly as everyone else talks and her overbearing mother demands. This book is a great addition to the many P&P reimaginings.

I liked it. Not a lot of information in Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice“ about Anne de Bourgh—“The Heiress” was a perfect opportunity to flesh out an Austen adjacent story. Great concepts, lovely prose, but it was a little bloated with details and tended to drag — but it did pick up speed by 60%. Thank you for letting me read Anne de Bourgh’s story via NetGalley. Easy to recommend this thoughtful fanfiction!

such a unique retelling. I have never even considered the perspective of Anne for she is such a minor character. Dark, gothic, slow, and intricate. it's a long book for all these reasons but also it is a wonder analyzing family dynamics. The sapphic romance was soft and well done, with a realistic progression that was not insta love esque.

An extraordinary tale of one woman’s liberation, The Heiress reveals both the darkness and light in Austen’s world, with wit, sensuality, and a deeply compassionate understanding of the human heart.