It’s time for another book review! I’m not usually a fan of family sagas or chick lit, but when I saw that the plot of Penny Vincenzi’s novel ‘A Perfect Heritage’ took place at a cosmetics company, I knew I had to read it. And I wasn’t disappointed!
Synopsis
Bianca Bailey is a trouble-shooter who is getting called in when companies struggle and decline. She’s frighteningly good at her job, and has it all – charming husband, three kids, a country home. She’s just started a new job at Farrell’s, a London cosmetics company that was founded in the year the Queen ascended to the throne. The venerable company is now out-dated and fusty, with the Farrell family unwilling to let an imposter take the reins. Over two years, we observe how Bianca tries to modernise Farrell’s, how Lady Athina Farrell, the matriarch still in charge of Farrell’s, does everything to thwart her, and how that struggle affects the people around them.
Review (with a few spoilers)
This is a book about alpha women. Nearly all the major players of the novel are women, and I enjoyed that very much, especially as it is set in the business world. Bianca’s happy family life is even centred around the fact that her husband Patrick cares for the family, while she’s the one with a high-soaring career. Consequently, one of the major conflicts of the book happens when Patrick accepts a demanding job. I was temporarily afraid that the novel would do a complete turnaround at that point and show Bianca as a happy mother and housewife, but luckily, that didn’t happen (even if the solution felt a bit lukewarm).
I nevertheless enjoyed to peek into the lives of so many women connected to Farrell’s. There’re Susie, the PR, who struggles with a stalker boyfriend; Florence, the other grande dame at Farrell’s; Lucy Farrell, granddaughter of Athina and an emerging Make-up-Artist; and Melly, Bianca’s daughter, who is mobbed at school. In the matter of a typical family saga, there’s of course a happy ending for nearly every one of them – but you have to wait quite long for those happy endings, so long that I started being concerned. Happily, all characters are quite multi-dimensional (at least most female characters are. I felt that both Saul, Cornelius and Patrick are a bit less fleshed out).
Did I learn something about the cosmetics’ industry? Not really. I learnt a new word (yay!) and know now what ‘mastige’ is (the brands between mass-market and prestige brands), had a chuckle or two over Susie’s woes as a harried PR (yup, recognised a thing or two) and cheered at Bianca’s marketing campaign. I laughed about a fun fact that was cleverly included into the story – the hate between the Revsons, the family behind Revlon and the Arden’s that culminated into the naming of Revlon’s perfume ‘That Man’, because that’s what Elizabeth Arden always called Charles Revson. (True story!) The only time I wasn’t convinced was at the launch of a new perfume. I’ve read a lot about perfumery and how a perfume is created (I can wholeheartedly recommend ‘The Perfect Scent’ by Chandler Burr), I can’t help but feel that the conflict around that was very far-fetched. All in all, I enjoyed reading it and don’t regret spending time with Bianca, Athina and co.! The cosmetics background was the cherry on top.
This is for you if
- You like long novels (we’re talking 700+ pages).
- You usually like family dramas/sagas.
- You’re willing to wade through a LOT of conflicts till the happy end (including bullying, adultery, stalking).
- You want to read mainly about women.
- You enjoy a peek behind the scenes of the cosmetics industry.
I got the kindle version of the book at amazon for about 5€ (it’s a bit cheaper in the German amazon store).
770 pages, Hachette, 2014.
