BOOK REVIEW: Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies by Laura Thompson

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies by Laura Thompson is a newly-released book that, just as the title tells us, looks at the lives of heiresses. The women are either British or Americans who, for the most part, married into the English aristocracy. The book starts in the late 1600's with Mary Davies and goes through modern times, with Patty Hearst. The theme is that untold wealth is almost guaranteed to make a woman miserable (although rare heiresses are able to escape the burden of wealth, mainly through philanthropy.) It seems the misery stems from two main problems. First, when being defined by wealth, it is impossible for the women to ever feel loved for themselves. And second, boredom. What is there to do besides spend mindlessly when you have more money than you know what to do with?

They marry tragically, over and over again. They have affairs. They drink and take drugs. If they become mothers, they are terrible ones. 

A surprising number of them are kidnaped and forced into marriages. (I thought this was just an overused trope of Regency Romances. I had no idea it was so common!)

The book looks into the societal, legal, and political disadvantages that these women faced, particularly in earlier centuries. Once married, women had no legal identity. Their money was turned over to their husbands. Their children belonged to the husband. Even their own bodies belonged to their husbands. It’s horrifying. But even in the modern era, there are double standards and issues of consent that make it difficult for women born to gobs and gobs of money. (Also, nobody actually feels sorry for them!)

Heiresses is well written and well researched. The individual stories are interesting. But on the whole, the book didn’t engage me as much as I expected. The litany of miserable heiresses became draining and their stories started to run together, and then I felt guilty for starting to see them all generically. It did demonstrate that a good deal of progress has been made for women, but not yet enough.