"American Heiress" - discussion questions

 1. Is the described world of Newport RI, authentic to you?

 

2. What is your initial impression of Cora Cash? How does she develop as a person in the course of the novel?

 

3.  In America, Cora is clearly at the top of society, while Bertha is very near the bottom. In what ways do their circumstances change when they move to England?

 

4.  What role do the mothers in the story --- Mrs. Cash, Mrs. Van Der Leyden, and the Double Duchess --- play in the central characters’ lives?

 

5. . Cora is always aware that “no one was unaffected by the money.” How does the money affect Cora herself? What are the pleasures and perils of great wealth?

 

6. Compare the relationship between Cora and Teddy (her hometown boyfriend/friend) with her relationship with Ivo (the duke).  

 

7. What is your opinion about Charlotte? Is she a big player in Cora’s life?

 

8. What do you think about Cora’s decision at the end of the book? Would you have made the same choice? (The author has said she was of two minds up until the last chapter.)

 

9. What are the differences between the Old World and the New in the novel? Do both worlds seem remote in the 21st century, or do you see parallels to contemporary society.