The Inheritors

Notes

The Inheritors by Hannelore Cayre, was first published in France as Richesse Oblige. It is the second of her novels to be translated into English.

The plot follows the same theme as The Godmother. A woman who society has abandoned becomes disenchanted and decides to take matters into her own hands in a less than moral way. But there, the similarity ends.

Another dose of satirical Gallic cynicism.

Publisher’s Synopsis

An unforgettable new novel by the award-winning author of the international French bestseller The Godmother.

She had been dead now for four days and I had become rich. Unimaginably rich.

Blanche de Rigny has always considered herself the black sheep of the family. And a black sheep on crutches at that. But it turns out her family tree has branches she didn’t even know existed. And many of them are rotten to the core. As Blanche learns more about the legacy left by her wealthy Parisian ancestors, she decides a little family tree pruning might be in order.

But great wealth also brings great responsibility – a form of richesse oblige, perhaps – and Blanche has a plan to use her inheritance to cure the world of its ills.

Spanning two centuries, from Paris on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War to the modern day, this unforgettable family saga lays bare the persistent and poisonous injustice of inequality. In her trademark razor-sharp style, Hannelore Cayre again delivers the sardonic humour and devilish creativity that made The Godmother an international bestseller.

Hannelore Cayre is a French writer, director and criminal lawyer. Her most recent work, The Godmother, won the European Crime Fiction Prize, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and the Crime Writers’ Association Crime in Translation Dagger award. The Godmother was also featured on The New York Times’ ‘100 Notable Books of 2019’ list and has been made into a major film starring Isabelle Huppert.

‘A tightly plotted and darkly funny tale of trade in human bodies and souls.’ — Kerryn Goldsworthy, The Age

‘The darkly gripping story of a tainted family legacy’ — Readings

‘Richesse Oblige [The Inheritors] has everything we love about [Hannelore Cayre]; damaged but memorable characters, sharp language, ferocious humour, an undercurrent of political rage, a punchy narrative and lashings of subversion.’ —Lire literary magazine

Read a full review of The Inheritors by Hannelore Cayre at Better Reading.