It’s a beautiful story—especially in terms of description and plot. One could almost get lost in the words. I hope that this author will continue writing such books. Highly recommend.

The Heiress gives a voice to Anne de Bourgh, the silent cousin of Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy, passed up in his preference for Elizabeth Bennet's "pair of fine eyes." No prior knowledge of Pride and Prejudice is required to enjoy this novel, and I was utterly pleased because of it. Greeley did the work to get the reader to know Anne, as Anne came to know herself.

As an infant, Anne is diagnosed laudanum to quiet her piercing cries. For the next 29 years of her life she is addicted to the drug, living hidden away from anything which her mother deems too exciting to maintain what little health she has. When she realizes that her laudanum addiction will likely be the death of her, Anne decides to dump her vial and travel to London, leaving the only home she's ever known behind her. There she learns of books, dancing, family, and most importantly, herself.

Greeley gives life to a character that readers of Pride and Prejudice are encouraged to give no more than a single thought about. Her language, particularly during the time of Anne's addiction, is captivating. While the plot is rushed at times and slow at others, I am delighted that I was given this opportunity to meet the surprisingly strong and unwaveringly kind Anne de Bourgh.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers William Morrow and Custom House for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story 0f an heiress, Anne de Bough, who was given laudanum as a baby to soothe her colicky nature. She became addicted to her "drops", and the plot deals with her trying to overcome her addiction as young lady, and take her place as the rightful heiress to her estate. I was expecting something more along the lines of Downton Abbey, but this is very true to the Edwardian times, both in the description of the clothes and mannerisms. Laudanum was a "cure all" freely administered, and many in upper crust society were dependent on the drug - I believe even Queen Victoria was dependent on this drug. While living so much of her life in a drug-induced stupor, when Anne does finally break free of the drug, there is a revelation in her that reminds me of someone being plopped down in a completely foreign world; and for her, that was true, as she had to learn how the "real world" operated. Without giving away the entire plot, there is a description of the back of the book where she is near her death, and she is describing heaven as venturing down a river - that language was just beautiful. I would really give this book a 3.5 stars - not a 4, but better than a 3. I think it's just not what I had expected, and that's why it didn't resonate as strongly with me.

I want to first thank NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been in a reading slump for a bit now, but this book felt like it has pulled me out of it. I really enjoyed reading this. It's been years since I read [book:Pride and Prejudice|84979], but Lady Catherine de Bourgh felt like how I remember her being in Austen's book. It was very interesting to follow Anne from her childhood onward. While I don't know much about medicine from this time period nor do I have a lot of knowledge about life and expectations on upperclass women in this period in England, it all felt accurate, or at least likely, to me.

Greeley takes a lot of time to let Anne explore and experience things and spends time in her thoughts, which is something I enjoyed about the book. There is nothing fast paced about the book, but I did have a hard time putting the book down because I felt quite invested in how Anne's life would evolve and change as different characters and circumstances came before her.

There were several plot twists that I greatly enjoyed and I loved the subtle hints and foreshadowing that Greeley also implemented throughout the novel. I will definitely want to read more from this author. With the way the book is written, a person does not need to have read "Pride and Prejudice" to be able to enjoy this novel.

Content Warnings: drug addiction, controlling parent, a few mild descriptions of sex

Anne de Bourgh, a minor character in Pride and Prejudice, gets her own book narrated in her voice and a surprising story emerges. Lady Catherine's daughter, destined from infancy to we'd Mr Darcy, is small and sickly and ultimately bypassed by Darcy when he fell in love with Elizabeth Bennett. Darcy and Elizabeth appear as minor characters but this is not a rehash of Pride and Prejudice from a different perspective. Anne is prescribed laudanum as an infant to calm her crying and she quickly becomes addicted and spends her first 28 years in an opium haze, an observer of life but never a participant, coddled by her mother who believes the drug is keeping her alive. On some level she understands the negative effects of her addiction and she finally escapes to get cousins house in London, overcomes her addiction, and becomes a participant in life.

Entering society for the first time at 29 is challenging, but she makes a friend who helps her find her way. Eliza becomes much more than a friend but their relationship can't be accepted by society and she decides too return home. She finally understands that since her father's death she is mistress of Rosings and slowly gains the knowledge and the confidence to manage the estate.

The insipid minor character from the original book develops into a strong woman in charge of her destiny. An enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I am a huge Jane Austen fan, plus I enjoyed the author's previous book so I was very excited to read this and it did not disappoint. Though the beginning was a little slow, I couldn't put this down. Such an interesting take on Anne de Bourgh, touching on issues of drug addiction, homosexuality, and Austen's favorite, the plight of women. I didn't think the epilogue was necessary but I guess it wrapped it all up for us nicely. A great read.

I thought this book was really interesting! I’ve always wondered about this family, and this story answered a lot of my questions! I found the characters interesting and insightful, and I think the author did a great job building on the Jane Austen world. I would recommend this to anyone who loves Austen!

Anne gets healthy and talks back to her mother? YES! It is about time that a Jane Austen retelling had a LGBT twist.

The storytelling and characters were very richly drawn. I enjoyed the main characters journey and how she came into her own. I think the first part of the story dragged a bit for me but overall I enjoyed it.

I have not read any of the works of Jane Austen. I thought reading a retelling of one of her books would be a good way to introduce myself to the world of Ms. Austen. I started out with "The Heiress" with great anticipation and found the pace slow. I found myself skimming through most of the book.

I received a temporary digital advanced copy of The Heiress by Molly Greeley from NetGalley, William Morrow, and the author in exchange for an honest review.

Anne de Bourgh’s doctor prescribes laudanum to cure her of her infant cries and continues to do so in an effort to curb her of her life-long illness. In turn, Anne grows up isolated from family relations, friends, and neighbors and that it just fine with her as she becomes sleepy and enjoys drifting to her own thoughts. Despite her complacency with her life, she does sometimes question her situation and the differences between her and her cousins, the Darcy's. After her father's death and the arrival of a letter, Anne decides that it is time to leave her home and flee to London in an effort to find her true self without laudanum. Through trial, error, and the guidance of good friends, Anne finds an entire world to explore and begins a lifelong journey of healing.

The Heiress was a fascinating historical novel of based on the character in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; the novel explores self-determination, grit, addiction, women's rights, LGBTQIA relationships, Munchausen by Proxy, and identity. I found I was extremely frustrated from a twenty-first century lens because Anne and so many in her circle were ignorant to the effects of laudanum and to her situation for so long. It was also enjoyable to read Anne's story and her perspective of the Darcy situation.

Molly Greeley has penned another lovely Pride and Prejudice retelling, this one centering on Anne de Bourgh and the rise from her opium addiction (having been prescribed the drug as a child) to high society life in London. It continues with the same beautiful prose that I fell in love with in The Clergyman's Wife. And again, with everyone's focus on Elizabeth and Darcy, it's nice to see some of Austen's lesser known characters shine.

The Heiress is a slow and steady novel. I don't mean that negatively at all; on the contrary, it's just the type of novel I look for when I need a change of pace to a calm, gentle novel (I read a lot of thrillers/suspense). This hits so many boxes for recommendations: if you love Jane Austen, if you love beautiful writing, if you're looking for atmospheric Rengency, or a little LGBT+ Austen, you should check this one out.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for granting me this copy for review.

This book is well written and has good character development I just couldn’t personally get into the story and found it a little bit of a struggle to keep reading. Either way it just left a little lacking for me personally. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As most know by now, this is an expanded universe story about the side character in Pride and Prejudice Anne de Bourgh. This is a slightly meandering story about how Anne is able to shake herself free of addiction and learn the ways of the outside world in London. She falls in love, learns to stand up for herself, and essentially becomes the true mistress of her family's holdings in Kent.

The story is told entirely from Anne's perspective, which is a little difficult, because she does spend most of her time in the book in a drug induced haze. It's not a challenging read by any means and I do have to tip my hat to the author for having a character basically narrating her life as she barely remembers it. Now, I know it is probably intentional, but the book's first section is very slow, up until Anne finally is able to shake free of the laudanum addiction that was forced on her as a child. Once the drug is gone, it feels like everything snaps into place and moves at a much easier pace.

There is a bit of a romance here between Anne and Miss Amherst, two women who are kind of spectacles in their own rights. Anne is the beautiful doll that sees the world in a different way, and Miss Amherst is loud, a little brash, and hyper intelligent. Miss Amherst is not wealthy enough for suiters to see past her flaws, and Anne is so wealthy that men (and women seeking coat tails to ride on) fall over themselves just to be seen with her. I like that these two misfits found each other, and I do wish we actually spent a little more time with them together, but alas we did not.

I was never a fan of Jane Austen, so for me, the focus was on the accidental cruelty of a child being forced into addiction because of a distraught mother who fell prey to a snake oil salesman. Seeing Anne grow up so forcibly docile, and turned into a living doll just made me so sad. So, watching her gradual coming into the world as an awake person was really great. Some of the other aspects were a little off putting like her mother throughout the book. Her mother claimed to care for Anne, but it felt more like she cared more about keeping her with her and in a stuper than an actual daughter.

Fans of Austen will most likely have a good time reading about this side character a little more. I think fans of gothic style literature will enjoy the darker themes and time period. Though I never seek out books like this, I still found a lot I enjoyed even if I did feel a little lost at times.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Anne de Bourgh ( a minor character from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) grew up in a haze of laudanum after being deemed ill by her parents and doctor after being fussy a baby. She remained on the family’s estate, rarely going outside or interacting with others outside of her family. When her father dies and her intended, Mr. Darcy, turns her down, she starts toying with the idea of stopping the laudanum and seeing if her life could be different without it. Shortly after, Anne travels to London to stay with her cousin, immediately tosses her medicine and slowly begins a new life.
This book started off very slowly and I almost put it aside. It did pick up in the middle when Anne’s life became more interesting but the last third seemed drawn out. I didn’t really feel invested in any of the characters and, although, Anne does get her “happily ever after”, I found myself skimming the last few chapters. The book itself was well written, just not for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Book Club Girls for an early digital copy.

The Heiress is a novel of Anne de Bourgh, a lesser character in Pride & Prejudice and Mr. Darcey's cousin. The cousin he was would have married if that interloper, Elizabeth Bennett hadn't scooped him up. ;)
Anyway, I love how the author coaxed an actual personality out of Anne de Bourgh. It seemed she had none (at least according to Austen) and it was a good idea to to allow a story to flow from her. Anne did not need to marry in order to inherit her estate, Rosings Park, nor did she have to be a male heir, as the estate wasn't entailed. However, her indomitable mother ,Lady Catherine de Bourgh, would like to keep Anne under her thumb & authority. What comes next is Anne's full story and how she gets out from under Lady Catherine and how she beats her laudanum habit. (It seems Lady Catherine had quite a way of keeping Anne in line.) Anyway, the story was enjoyable as most regency stories are if a little predictable. There were loads of clues throughout the novel of who Anne was becoming. No spoilers! Read the novel to find out!

*Special thanks to NetGalley for the an e-galley copy of this title.

Lesbian Pride & Prejudice spinoff? Say no more. The Heiress follows the daughter of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Anne, who is described in P&P as "sickly" but little else is attributed to her. Molly Greeley fleshes out and transforms her story into a captivating story of defining the direction of your own future. Anne lives her life in a half-conscious haze from laudanum, given several times daily due to an illness she has supposedly had from childhood. Nearly everyone around her treats Anne as though she is made of china, Lady Catherine making the bulk of her decisions for her and ensuring her that Rosings Park will be left to her and Fitzwilliam Darcy once they marry, the main love interest of P&P. Instead, Fitzwilliam marries Elizabeth Bennet and Anne finds herself feeling far more for her governess than the cousin she was set to marry. Though the story starts out a bit slow as we follow Anne into adulthood, Greeley's style of writing reflects Anne's often-muddled mind, thick with laudanum. When she breaks free of it, the story quickly picks up into a breathless courtship that rivals the love story of Pride & Prejudice. A perfect story for those who love historical fiction, Jane Austen, lesbians, and some damn good writing.

Anne de Bourgh was promised to her cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, almost from birth. Anne is a sickly child or that's what her mother would like you to believe. What Anne is is addicted to laudanum for the first 29 years of her life until she finally fought back. I appreciated Anne's strength and bravery to go against her mother and escape to her cousin, John's home in London. Unfortunately, I didn't really connect with the other parts of the story, hence the 3-star review.

"Cannot a well-played song transport a listener the same way a reader can be transported by a well-penned story?"

Thanks to Book Club Girl for the advanced copy; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The author expands a character from Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice in this interesting but sometimes slow moving novel. Addicted to laudanum from a young age Anne floats from dose to dose helped along by her controlling mother who is intent upon keeping her an invalid. Anne eventually fights the addiction and is able to take her place as the mistress of her family's estate.

The Heiress imagines the story of a minor character from Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, Anne de Bourgh. While the concept of the book intrigued me, the book itself did not. The storyline moved rather slowly and the first 30% of the book described Anne’s opium addiction in detail from when she was an infant to adulthood. Various parts of the story kept my attention, but I ended up skimming a good deal of it. The last chapter was strange and didn’t seem to fit with the book itself.