Although a bit slow at the beginning, this book was interesting, gave some great background about the lives of Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke, and jumped around the world with the story telling. Told in two timelines, present and past, by one man, Ollie, who knew each woman very well and was asked about them by a young woman, Emma, who was hoping to do a movie about their jewelry and where it is now.

Through a many layered meandering story, I was pleasantly surprised that although the heiresses were rich beyond my wildest dreams, they also had a personal side that was sometimes quite needy. For decades, they had each other, then Doris had to go without her closest female friend. She did have Ollie.

Enigmatic Ollie to Emma, who became a man of means for others rather than himself.

A wonderful tale about these two strong women who bucked the tide of fitting in or being 'normal'and went forward living life to the fullest on their own terms.

Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton are born in 1912, a week or so apart, both heirs to an incredible fortune. Their upbringing is with an eye to their gender, and their fortune and no one really understands how restricting both can be, and… warping. Partners in crime and best friends for life in a changing world: women are getting jobs, education, philanthropy is changing, the (role of the) press is changing too.

This book tries to tell their story, relating their friendship, painting a picture of the life of the über-rich in a certain era, and does so by ways of a film maker wanting to document jewellery, and her contacting Doris’ (and at some point Barbara’s) close friend, a closeted gay, now old and not rich, and losing relevance in this changed world.

Two storylines, as is common, if not the norm, for this kind of historical fiction. Usually these lines come together by a surprise/ hidden/ neglected child, that’s not the case here.
In fact, I found the past and present at odds, random even and -unfortunately- the overall storylines without arc, and so I ended up not caring for either present or past.
1,5 stars rounded up

I received an eARC from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.

I was so excited to read this book once I received an ARC of it through NetGalley. This book focuses on the colorful lives of two heiresses, Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke, who have a long and complicated history with each other. The two of them were born within a week of each other in 1912; Barbara is the heir to the Woolworth fortune while Doris is also one of the richest women in the world at the time. The lives of both of these women are so interesting and I found the author’s writing to be engaging. I felt like I really knew these women based on what I was reading. Another character in the novel named Emma Radetsky is a filmmaker who is creating a documentary on influential women and their famous jewelry collections, and ends up researching Barbara and Doris. Emma discovers some details about the complex nature of these women’s relationship with each other that is very surprising and is not well known by others through the course of creating her documentary. I really enjoyed this story as I love novels about powerful women, so I think a lot of people will enjoy this book as well. The cover is so beautiful and eye catching. I am looking forward to reading more of this author’s book.

I did not finish this book. While I enjoyed reading about their relationship when they were young, as they grew older, I discovered I no longer cared.

Various U.S. and World Locations - 1912 to Present Day

Born a week apart in 1912 in Manhattan, Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton were known to the public as "The Gold Dust Twins". Both inherited multi-millions of dollars at young ages. Hutton was the heiress to the Woolworth money, and Duke was a tobacco heiress. They were friends, and even ended up marrying the same playboy! While Duke was a savvy businesswoman, Hutton was known for her partying and lavish lifestyle.

Emily Radetsky, a filmmaker, is hoping to produce a documentary about famous women and the jewelry that they accumulated. She is well aware of the stories surrounding Betty Hutton and Doris Duke, and is helped in her research by an old friend of her father's, Oliver Wendell Shaw, who was especially close to Doris Duke. It is through Ollie that Emily learns of the games the women played on the press and the public. And she learns of the jewels the women bought without thinking of the cost. Emily learned of the life-long friendship between the women, and how one would help the other when life got tough.

THE LAST AMERICAN HEIRESSES moves from one era to another as it follows the sometimes chaotic society events that the two friends lived through. Doris Duke, fun loving, but also a serious, thoughtful woman, versus Barbara Hutton, unpredictable, sometimes careless, they nevertheless were loyal to one another. An interesting and detail oriented book, THE LAST AMERICAN HEIRESSES is a must read for anyone curious about the lifestyles of the rich.

Such an interesting fictional story about Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton throughout their lives. It’s clearly sanitized, from what little I know about Doris Duke (there’s only a scant mention of Bernard the butler who, by most accounts, defrauded her throughout the end of her life (there IS a fabulous line though where he is described as “stranger than Jesus in a sundress”) and next to no mention of the girl she adopted then renounced), so I assume the same is true of Barbara Hutton. Also, the book reads as if the two had a lifelong friendship, and perhaps they did; I’m certain they connected, but I have some caution after reading SCANDALOUS WOMEN all about a friendship between Jackie Collins and, oh, what is her name, author of VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, I’ll have to come back an edit it, when the two never even met each other.

The story is centered in the present day by Emma Radetsky, a filmmaker who is researching then making a film about wealthy women and their jewelry collections (which is, sadly, a movie I would like to see, but one maybe people shouldn’t be funding when there are stories to be told about the war in Ukraine? I don’t know. I digress.). She has the great good fortune to meet the absolutely delightful Oliver Wendell Shaw, one of Doris’s great friends in life and also a friend of Barbara’s and he has lots to share with her. The author does a fine job making Shaw a character unto himself, not just a hanger-on to Duke.

The book is a very sympathetic look at both women, especially Duke, which is not that surprising considering the tone the author took in his recent book about the friendship of Truman Capote and Lee Radziwell. I have to admit I’m a sucker for these sorts of books and this author does it well…sign me up in advance for his next one. Listen, you’re going to know if this is your thing or not, and if it is, you’ll enjoy this…for whatever truth may or may not be here.