{"product_id":"heiresses-the-lives-of-the-million-dollar-babies-9781250316349","title":"Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Laura Thompson returns with \u003ci\u003eHeiresses\u003c\/i\u003e, a fascinating look at the lives of heiresses throughout history and the often tragic truth beneath the gilded surface.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHeiresses: surely they are among the luckiest women on earth. Are they not to be envied, with their private jets and Chanel wardrobes and endless funds? Yet all too often those gilded lives have been beset with trauma and despair. Before the 20th century a wife's inheritance was the property of her husband, making her vulnerable to kidnap, forced marriages, even confinement in an asylum. And in modern times, heiresses fell victim to fortune-hunters who squandered their millions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeiresses\u003c\/i\u003e tells the stories of these million dollar babies: Mary Davies, who inherited London's most valuable real estate, and was bartered from the age of twelve; Consuelo Vanderbilt, the original American \"Dollar Heiress\", forced into a loveless marriage; Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress who married seven times and died almost penniless; and Patty Hearst, heiress to a newspaper fortune who was arrested for terrorism. However, there are also stories of independence and achievement: Angela Burdett-Coutts, who became one of the greatest philanthropists of Victorian England; Nancy Cunard, who lived off her mother's fortune and became a pioneer of the civil rights movement; and Daisy Fellowes, elegant linchpin of interwar high society and noted fashion editor. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeiresses\u003c\/i\u003e is about the lives of the rich, who--as F. Scott Fitzgerald said--are 'different'. But it is also a bigger story about how all women fought their way to equality, and sometimes even found autonomy and fulfillment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLAURA THOMPSON won the Somerset Maugham award for her first book, \u003ci\u003eThe Dogs\u003c\/i\u003e, and is the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eThe Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters\u003c\/i\u003e. Other books include the critically-acclaimed \u003ci\u003eLife in a Cold Climate, \u003c\/i\u003ea biography of Nancy Mitford, and \u003ci\u003eAgatha Christie: \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eA Mysterious Life, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich was nominated for an Edgar award in 2019.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50653854990610,"sku":"9781250316349","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b2c64621-d4c8-4e11-9713-7c2229359d69.jpg?v=1744216764","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/heiresses-the-lives-of-the-million-dollar-babies-9781250316349","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}