Heiresses, by Laura Thompson

Money can't buy happiness, cliche that it is, seems to all too often stand true for most of these lives. The author has definitely done meticulous research, interweaving stories and fortunes and titles and family ties smoothly. I do have to admit to thinking I should have been keeping a score card to keep it all ordered in my mind, however. Some familiarity with royal titles, history (mostly focus is on 18-19th centuries), and intertwining relationships might help, too. Mine was fuzzy, long lost in ol' college class notes, but the frequency certain names pops up helps. It only shows how much of the past is intertwined and how forces of history impact lives.

I alternately felt sadness for those involved, anger at how things were in the times, and heartened at the success stories of these women caught up in extraordinary times and surviving when so much was pitted against them. Interestingly enough, some of the successes involved same sex relationships or marriage with a like minded husband. No matter what the relationship, however, good, bad, or indifferent, their stories are absorbing ones.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC and this fascinating look at a part of history that is unfamiliar to most.