MGM+ Is Adapting The American Heiress. Here’s the Daisy Goodwin Novel Behind It

MGM+ has ordered an eight-episode adaptation of The American Heiress, Daisy Goodwin’s debut novel about a wealthy American whose mother takes her to England to marry into the aristocracy. Julianna Margulies will play Isabella Cash, the mother who wants a title for her daughter, Cora. Goodwin, who created the period drama Victoria, will serve as showrunner and executive producer.

What makes me curious about this adaptation is a small moment in the novel’s opening. Cora rings for her maid, Bertha, who has just heard that her mother is gravely ill. Cora has no idea what she’s interrupted. Before the story even gets to England, Goodwin shows how easy it is for Cora to take someone else’s time for granted. It’s the scene I’d start with if the casting news has you wondering what kind of period drama this might be.

What is The American Heiress about?

Cora Cash grows up with the kind of money that can buy a grand Newport mansion. Her mother wants the family to have something it can only get overseas: an English title. Cora crosses the Atlantic and marries Ivo, the Duke of Wareham. Becoming a duchess gives her the standing her mother wanted, but Ivo keeps secrets, and Cora struggles to read the people around her.

That’s where the marriage plot gets interesting. At home, Cora is accustomed to people telling her what she wants to hear. In England, a polite conversation can leave her wondering whether she’s been welcomed or insulted. The opening scene with Bertha gives that reversal some bite. Goodwin lets us see Cora miss someone else’s discomfort before sending her into rooms where she has to guess what everybody is thinking.

Cora is fictional, and the marriage market Goodwin writes about has a real historical counterpart. In 1895, Consuelo Vanderbilt married the ninth Duke of Marlborough under pressure from her mother. English Heritage recounts that the duke told Consuelo he married her to save Blenheim Palace. That detail makes the family bargain behind Goodwin’s novel easy to grasp. The bride gained a title, and the British estate gained access to American money.

Who does Julianna Margulies play, and when does the show come out?

Margulies plays Isabella Cash, the mother who brings Cora to England in 1893. The MGM+ synopsis adds a glimpse of the setup. Cora thinks she loves an American artist named Teddy, but a fall during a hunt lands her at Lulworth Castle, the Duke of Wareham’s home. MGM+ describes the series as a romantic comedy of manners, which puts the emphasis on the social rules Cora has to learn.

MGM+ said production was scheduled to begin in the United Kingdom in November 2026. As of November 13, MGM+ had yet to announce a premiere date or name the actor playing Cora. The service announced plans to carry the series in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Latin America.

Which edition should you read before the MGM+ series?

In the U.S., look for The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin. The St. Martin’s Griffin paperback has ISBN 9780312658663. In the U.K., the same novel was published as My Last Duchess. That edition’s title can be especially useful if you’re searching a British library catalog or bookstore.

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Shop the St. Martin’s Griffin paperback of The American Heiress on Amazon

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