The Heiress: The Revelation of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley

The Heiress: The Revelation  of Anne de Bourgh

Publication Date: January 5, 2021

The Heiress: The Revelation of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley is a touching story about how the good intentions of a worried mother can become the very thing that holds her child back from growing and surviving. Our main character, Anne, has been tragically introduced to laudanum at a young age (infancy) by the good intentions of a family doctor that thought he was treating an overly fussy child. What has truly happened to Anne is that moment by moment year by year she is consumed by an ever increasing addiction to laudanum. Unfortunately for Anne, her mother is completely sold on the fact that her daughter will never be able to function as a regular adult in society and cannot live without her "drops", which are administered several time a day at a constant increase in dosage.  Anne is completely and utterly dependent upon her drops and her family for care. 

The story itself is loosely based on characters from the Pride and Prejudice novel written by Emily Bronte and mirrors her writing style. Anne is to be an heiress of a large estate but her addiction to laudanum makes her completely unable to pay attention to a conversation much less handle a large estate. Her parents decide at an early age that she must be married of to a competent gentleman that will help secure and not squander their family fortune, so they look inside the family to a cousin. At the young age of four,  Anne is promised to be married to her first cousin Fitzwilliam, ensuring a competent heir to diligently watch out for the estate and Anne. 

In Anne's laudanum induced haze she could care less about her future. Her days consist of sleeping, hallucinating and generally lazing about the family estate, Rosings. Her mother is convinced that she must be kept calm at all times because over stimulation could send Anne into a complete nervous breakdown. Sadly, this means Anne has no opportunities outside of the home.  Fortunately, Anne's father is keen on trying to push Anne out of her comfort zones in order to try to stimulate her in hopes of reversing her sickness. To Anne's mother's disapproval he hires a governess for Anne that plants the seed that awakens the person Anne should be and completely changes her life for the better. 

I greatly enjoyed The Heiress. I felt terrible for Anne in her desperation to be out from under the claws of laudanum addiction and cheered for her accomplishments throughout the story. I felt that Molly Greeley's description of the feeling associated with addiction and withdrawal were spot on. A reader can feel the physical and mental pain and need Anne had for her "drops". I was also very happy with the ending. I felt Molly gave Anne what she rightfully deserved, her life began with so much turmoil and as she gets older she finally knows what it is to be at peace in your on body and mind. This was an amazingly touching, well written story. 

Thanks so very much to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy for an honest review. This was an amazingly touching well written story. 

For Purchase: The Heiress: The Revelation of Anne de Bourgh