I read Molly Greeley's previous Pride & Prejudice continuation novel, The Clergyman's Wife, which covers the aftermath of Charlotte Lucas' decision to marry Mr. Collins. I found that book to be exceptionally well-written for an Austen continuation, but ultimately it lacked a clear message.

I am pleased to say that Ms. Greeley's sophomore biography of Anne de Bourgh is a much more thorough examination, offering a full account from birth to death, of another over-looked Austen character. The writing is beautifully evocative and the spirit of Austen's original characters are well-captured and re-imagined. The representation is also well done, if wrapped up a little too neatly. I would very much recommend this book to any Austen fans who are game enough for continuation stories.

This story of Anne de Bourgh who grew up sheltered and being given a dose of laudanium each day. When her father dies and she inherits a fortune she breaks away from her addiction and begins a journey to a new and very different and much braver life.

This novel center on Anne de Bourgh, Lady Catherine's daughter. Anne is thought to be a sickly child and her mother deals with her out of fear, protection and love, even though it does not feel like it. I loved the dark undertone and thought the writing was rich and full of depth. I loved the characters and themes explored. It was not only a coming of age story for Anne but also one of courage, forgiveness, love and staying true to yourself and not an ideal expected of you.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This newest installment of the "Pride and Prejudice" universe was a surprisingly pleasant read. Focused on a quite minor character in Austen's original novel, Anne de Bourgh, this novel gives the story of her life, from birth to death. An avid lover of "Pride and Prejudice," I was a bit worried that I might not be able connect to a story that included one of the more antagonistic characters of the novel, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but I'm so glad I got over that! In Austen's work, Anne's illness is only vaguely alluded to and she is simply described as "sickly," which makes for a perfect foundation to explore the possible universe that is her life.

In short, this work is an excellent tale about a "sickly" girl who reclaims her life, finds her power, and defies those who would stand in her way. It is a story filled with the ills of early medicinal laudanum, the ideas that women are educated to simply become the property of men, and the idea that women may find love with other women. Perhaps even more complex than the Bennets, Lady Catherine de Bourgh has made sure her daughter Anne will be the heiress to the Rosings Estate, meaning it won't be entailed away from her without a male heir. This means Anne must also understand the ways of running her own estate, and that she is the value of any marriage, rather than the other way around. Should she marry, the property belongs to her husband, meaning she has more to lose from marriage, in a way, unless one focuses on potential heirs to keep the De Bourgh line going. In any case, it is an interesting exploration of the necessity of dual strength and weakness in women at this time in history. Women must have sons to pass along property, but early medicine saw death from childbirth so often, even among the wealthy. A mother must trust in doctors and their advice, especially when fathers so often left a daughter's rearing to the mother, so can her love be enough? I worried Anne would be too weak to find her legs, but she turns out so powerful and strong that I felt wholly reassured and thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Since Anne is such a minor character, the book avoids any possible pitfalls of trying to retell any major story lines or risk changing any character. We see Darcy and Elizabeth, but very infrequently, and the author is exceedingly careful to make sure their characters are kept true to Austen's original descriptions. Her treatment of Lady Catherine was also a fascinating exploration in how to keep her stubborn, immovable, cold demeanor that we see in Austen's work, but allow for a little crack here and there to illuminate Anne's possible life. A very well done work of fiction, and I definitely would recommend to anyone who loves "Pride and Prejudice" enough to reenter its world and see what might have become of Anne de Bourgh.

I am head over heels in love with this book! Greeley writes the story of Anne de Bourgh, the heiress to Rosings from Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." Greely skillfully creates a compelling heroine out of a dull tertiary character from Austen's masterpiece. We learn about the worries of LGBTQ women; laudanum addiction; and the plight of having a man inherit your vast wealth. Perfect for any Austen fan- or really, any fan of historical fiction!- this book is just so lovely. Thanks to netgalley. and William Morrow for the ARC!

The Heiress is a story of love and growth told in the voice of Annie who is the heir
to her family’s fortune. As a newborn she was inconsolable and cried to the point that the family felt that medicating her with Laudalum was beneficial. She stayed on this medication until she was almost a grown woman but as she matured she began to wonder and quit taking the medication and went to London where she met Eliza! Annie was given the opportunity to find herself and read and dance and start living and she did and she started making decisions for herself. This is a wonderful story of how something in your life can be changed if you try. A story about love that is strong and worth trying for. I felt the end was a little rushed but I did enjoy the it! I believe Annie came out as a very strong woman considering what lady Catherine and her life I had given her!!
#TheHeiress#NetGalley

I know many readers do not approve of authors “borrowing” characters from other author’s books but I am not one of those. I love it when a peripheral character is finally given an existence that the original author had not seen fit to offer up since they were but on the edges of the original story.

This is Anne de Bourgh of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice conjured up with a life of her own at last. She is no longer just an accessory to Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy’s story. She is whole person and she has been given a history and a future, somewhat controversial for her times as you will learn but it is her life.

Born to the overwhelming Catherine de Bourgh, who I’m sure you remember, is a huge burden for Anne to bear and from her childhood into her twenties she remains all but lost to the world until she finally finds the strength to demand a life, a real life and not just an existence.

I love descriptive language and strong character development and the author has given me both and has managed the triumvirate of a good solid storyline which is filled with an unexpected, though hinted at early on, turn of events.

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers, William Morrow, NetGalley, The Book Club Girls and the author Molly Greeley for the E-Proof of this book.

Anne de Bourgh (a minor character in Pride and Prejudice) is born into this world as a sickly delicate child but as the heir to Rosings Park in Kent she is to be smothered and cared for as a precious princess. Her special drops (laudanum) are given to her from birth to ease the ‘pain’ she is supposed to have. This addiction continues throughout her young life till one day she breaks free from her mother, Lady Catherine De Bourgh’s domineering and controlling care to escape to London. It is in London she overcomes her addiction and falls in love. Anne will not marry though she will remain single and return to Rosings Park to take control and become the rightful owner of the vast estate.
A beautifully written story of a young women who takes control of the destiny of her life.

Anne de Bourgh is a minor character from Pride and Prejudice. As a child, Anne was not in good health and was regularly given laudanum to treat the illness she was believed to have. This caused her to be very subdued and weak. When she finally realized she was addicted to the medicine and that it was actually causing her problems, rather than curing them, she traveled to a relative’s house to detox. This allowed her to lead a full life, full of wishes and desires.

Maybe I shouldn't have read this concurrently with 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 & 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦. ⁣
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This book, while maybe an interesting story in its own right, inevitably will be compared to the story that gave birth to its main character, Anne de Bourgh. ⁣
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To be quite honest, I did not like the way the author tried to make Anne's character socially relevant for today's reader. (I won't tell you how - that would be a spoiler.)⁣
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I don't think Jane Austen would have written Anne's character this way - but I could be wrong. ⁣
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So, this book hit me totally the wrong way. I felt as if the author took too much license with the story and the times. ⁣
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I can appreciate, however, good writing and a story that kept me engaged despite my bad feelings about Anne's character. ⁣
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Three stars⁣ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Gothic and Enchanting this book is a triumph of intrigue that makes a promise and delivers on it from the very first page. Anne de Bourgh moves as a secondary throughout her own life, plagued by the effects of a laudanum addiction that was thrust upon her. The trajectory of addition, love and the many scars disease can leave are front and center in this haunting read by Author Molly Greeley.

if you are not a fan of the stylings of Jane Austen you may not enjoy this book, a testament to how to closely this was written in mind with time period. Authenticity is a great source of pride in this book, allowing the period appropriate themes to intertwine with modern challenges;


ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was very well written and tackled numerous issues that are as prevalent today as they were at the time of the story.

This is a haunting book based on a minor character for Pride and Prejudice. Anne DeBourgh is sickly and has been controlled by her mother Catherine for years. This is a gothic style novel with such an interesting take on Anne. It’s interesting to see Anne’s journey after the age of 30. She was taking laudanum since she was young and breaks through at 30. The prose is both lyrical and haunting. To see her journey is empowering. It’s a new take on a women trying to be independent in that time period. It was a lovely book.

Now, I must admit I never specifically had any particular interest in Anne DeBourgh, the sickly daughter of the exalted Lady Catherine. This book changed that for me in the very best of ways. She learns to stand on her own feet, to overcome addiction and the step beyond her mother’s fearsome shadow to become a person worth knowing.

I first read Pride and Prejudice in eight grade, as a somewhat pretentious preteen. I fell in love. Some little while later I fell in love again, this time with Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (in that deeply affirming way that only a 14 year-old truly can) Now, as mildly embarrassing as that is in retrospect, I really do owe Twilight for a lot of good things in my life. One of those things was that it was my gateway into reading fanfiction (yes, I jumped in at one of the cringiest possible points in all of fandom, but there it is.) Anyways, that rather long digression does actually lead to a point. I fell in love a third time, this time with fan works. Now eventually my ill-conceived infatuation with Twilight eventually faded, but the other two loves did not. I haunted Pride and Prejudice fanfiction sites like my life depended on it. A Happy Assembly, The Meryton Reading Room, and DWG kept me company through done of the toughest parts of my early teenage years. When the Hyacinth Gardens site breathed its last, I felt like I’d lost a friend. It’s been quite a few years since that particular hyper fixation has passed away, but I will forever and always have a place in my heart for a well told Pride and Prejudice variation.

After reading some fabulous Jane Austen retellings lately, I needed to pick this one up about poor and misunderstood Anne De Bourgh, the fabulously wealthy but constantly sickly daughter of Catherine De Bourgh, Elizabeth Bennet's nemesis in Pride and Prejudice. Greeley has done a beautiful job describing the effects of laudanum addiction in Regency England's upper elites. This is not a weak and sickly Anne--this is Anne de Bourgh how she should have been. I loved reading Anne's awakening and journey toward wholeness and independence as a wealthy woman in her own right, with no need of a husband. Her beautiful descriptions and I'd love to read more Austen era side characters who get their day in the sun, yes please!

3.5 stars. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of Austen, but I enjoyed this novel about a minor character from Pride and Prejudice. The book managed to touch on "modern" concepts like opiate addiction, Munchausen's by Proxy and homophobia.

"As a fussy baby, Anne de Bourgh’s doctor prescribed laudanum to quiet her, and now the young woman must take the opium-heavy tincture every day. Growing up sheltered and confined, removed from sunshine and fresh air, the pale and overly slender Anne grew up with few companions except her cousins, including Fitzwilliam Darcy. Throughout their childhoods, it was understood that Darcy and Anne would marry and combine their vast estates of Pemberley and Rosings. But Darcy does not love Anne or want her.

After her father dies unexpectedly, leaving her his vast fortune, Anne has a moment of clarity: what if her life of fragility and illness isn’t truly real? What if she could free herself from the medicine that clouds her sharp mind and leaves her body weak and lethargic? Might there be a better life without the medicine she has been told she cannot live without?"

Anne's character development was a joy to behold. The final chapter was gorgeous, both in content and prose.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Heiress is the story of Anne de Bourgh, a minor character from Pride and Prejudice. Anne is sickly as an infant and is dosed with laudenum from infancy until she is 29 at the instructions of her domineering mother Catherine De Bourgh, When she is 29 she realizes she is addicted andfights to conquer this addiction . For a large part of the book she is a spectral character removed from life because of her medicated state. When she frees herself of the effects of laudinum she becomes a more interesting character, but I did not find her to be very sympathetic or likable.

The Heiress is just a lovely, lovely book that focuses on a very minor character from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Lest you be concerned that Greeley does Austen a disservice let me banish that notion right off the bat. The first advantage this story has is no sense of obligation to retell the a story of a character already done well enough in Austen's original. She also tells such a rich, brilliantly imagined story about Anne, a woman with advantages unknown to most women of her time, if only she can get past the iron will of her mother and the grasp laudanum has on her mind. Once she does Greeley manages the transition perfectly, allowing Anne's confidence to slowly and naturally build to be admired and respected. The character development is also on point, allowing the reader to love or hate at will but always with a subtle reminder that there may be more than initially meets the eye. Fantastically well done.

Unfortunately, I was just not drawn into this book. I've been into books that keep me turning the pages, and this was just not it. I gave up at about 20%. Life is too short to read books that put us to sleep.

The writing was dry and too descriptive to create any sort of interesting plot.