Heiresses: Material girls in a world where money has no meaning
Laura Thompson’s account of the eventful, often tragic lives of notable heiresses is a fascinating and uproarious read
HISTORY
Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies
By Laura Thompson
Head of Zeus, €29.99
In 1938, Noel Coward wrote a song that captured the public perception of an heiress then and now. “In lives of leisure/The craze for pleasure/Steadily grows,” he sang in Poor Little Rich Girl. “Cocktails and laughter/But what comes after?/Nobody knows!”
Laura Thompson’s hugely entertaining new book traces the lives of heiresses – largely British, American and French – from ...