Heiresses are inescapable in British culture. Their portraits crowd our museums and estates pepper our countryside. However. A less genteel story lurks beneath the veneer – the balls, dresses and dowries were funded by the exploitation of enslaved men, women and children. Heiresses offers a vital history of enslavement in Britain and the Caribbean.

Miranda Kaufmann is Senior Research Fellow at the University of London's Institute of Commonwealth Studies and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. More about her research can be found at https://www.mirandakaufmann.com/