Review: My Last Duchess by Daisy Goodwin (@daisygoodwinuk)

My Last Duchess, also published as The American Heiress (in the states I think?),  is a historical romance set in the late 1800s and if you read this blog at all regularly you’ll know that it isn’t exactly my usual read. It was the book group read for May’s meeting and of course I like to make the effort to get through a book group choice. However, an effort wasn’t really required for this because I actually rather enjoyed reading it!

My Last Duchess is the story of Cora Cash, a wealthy American heiress whose domineering mother takes her to England with the hopes of marryying her off to a titled Englishman. Cora is suddenly immersed in a world where the rules are very different to everything she has known, caught in a tangle of strict protocols and procedures. She hopes for love, but can she find that in the cold halls of the English manors?

I don’t want to say too much on what happens because I think part of the joy of this type of novel is guessing what will happen. Will Cora meet the man of her dreams? Is *this* man the one? Will they live happily ever after? Who has secrets? Why is he looking at her like that? I was a bit (ok, very) annoyed when, nearly a hundred pages in I looked at the goodreads page to add it to my reading list and the precis gave away something quite major that hadn’t yet happened. I know it is difficult to write a blurb without giving things away, especially in a book that is more about descriptions than action, but I still think that people need to take a little more care.

Anyway, with that minor rant over, back to the book. I enjoyed reading it, and that’s down to a few things.

It was very well written and the details of the period were great. It had clearly had a lot of work put in to get things right and that made it all feel quite authentic. When a book feels authentic it is much easier to get immersed in the story and setting, and I found it incredibly easy to lose myself in the dusty English manor houses and indulgent American mansions.

The descriptions of the clothes were just divine. Cora has the most incredible wardrobe and the detail in which they were described was breathtaking. I particularly liked the reference to one dress which was so covered in tiny pearls that it sounded like ‘hundreds of tiny fairies walking behind her’ (this is paraphrased as I’ve had to return the book to the library and don’t currently have access to look it up). That kind of description really made me smile and gave me some serious wardrobe envy! I’d love to try on even one or two of the dresses described in this book, all of them were magnificent.

I also enjoyed the characters. Not all of them were nice, but they were all engaging and came complete with back stories to explain their actions and current situations. There was enough tension between them and intrigue in their past to keep the story engaging and some of the snootier characters were very entertaining. I’m glad I didn’t have to go to any of the parties hosted by Cora’s mother or the Double Duchess!

I really enjoyed this diversion into a totally different kind of world. I’d describe it as an easy, though not short, read and would happily read another of Daisy Goodwin’s books. Maybe not a five star book, but definitely an entertaining and eye-opening foray into the lives of the wealthy English and Americans in the late 1800s.

Happy reading,

Vinx

PS. If anyone can tell me why Daisy Goodwin looks so familiar that would be great – I just can’t put my finger on where I’ve seen her before…