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There are currently 25 member reviews
for The Fortune Hunter
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Judith S. (Santa Clarita, CA)
Pleasant and Predictable
Charlotte Baird is accustomed to the attentions of society bachelors. They are interested in her money. It is most unfortunate that the true object of her affections is co-opted by the Empress Elizabeth of Austria. Poor Bay Middleton, how is he to choose; the one with the money or the one with the title? Can either woman compete with his affection for his horse?
This is a predictable, but pleasant Victorian society romance. There are lush settings, interesting historical details and a stereotypical set of characters. Charlotte Baird, the underaged heiress, is saddled with an overbearing, greedy brother and a jealous future sister-in-law. She is more interested in photography than in finding a husband, but it will be some years before she will have the control of her own money. Captain Bay Middleton is an impoverished, cavalryman who has an unfortunate reputation with other men's wives. And, then there is the Empress who is truly a fascinating and tragic historical figure.
I enjoyed the details of the Victorian's growing interest in portrait photography. It was interesting to read about the challenges of the English fox hunt. But, it is a bit difficult to believe there could be any real attraction between the bluestocking heiress and the dashing Captain, even if historically, they were eventually married. Goodwin's portrayal of the Empress Elizabeth makes me want to look for a more complete and factual account of her life. It's unfortunate that such a fascinating character should end up in such a pedestrian book.
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Elizabeth G. (Cincinnati, OH)
Pleasantly Surprised
I don't usually like this type of novel--the story or the writing. But I was drawn in from the beginning and couldn't put the book aside for anything else. I liked all the elements of historical fiction, mystery, romance, and a bit of feminism in the main character (I don't know if that much freedom really existed at that time or not). The great thing is that I learned more about that time in history without reading works written during that time. I am a student of literature, but Victorian, actually a lot of early English literature is not my cup of tea. So The Fortune Hunter could use a bit of editing--it drags a bit in the middle--but it is a good read. And I think it would be a good book club offering. And the love of horses in it was very appealing as well. And the way the Queen is depicted--well you'll just have to read it. Like my title says I was pleasantly surprised and congratulate the author on an accomplishment fitting her obsession from childhood with good research filled in with good story-telling.
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Kate G. (Bronx, NY)
The Aristocrats at Play
Daisy Godwin has written a novel about English aristocracy in the1870s. Charlotte Baird is an orphan who will come into her very healthy inheritance at the age of 25. She has taken up the new form of media, photography as a hobby as she finds parts of her life suffocating, with its expectations of behavior. She has several suitors, but only eyes for Captain Bay Middleton who has served in the regiment with her brother, Fred. The novel encompasses one season of fox hunting and culminates with the wedding of Fred and his well- born fiancée Augusta. The story is based on true characters, although Godwin has taken liberties with them, as little is known about some of them. It is an interesting, romantic story, but it could have been shorter as the second part dragged. It kept my interest, as I was eager to see how it ended.
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Barbara L. (Novato, CA)
The Fortune Hunter
I loved American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin, and was therefore very excited to read The Fortune Hunter. I must say I was a bit disappointed in it. I found that the plot unfolded very slowly. The characters, although based on real people, seemed a bit unreal. I did not get invested in them,nor did I care what happened to them. This story did not grab me at all.
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Joan V. (Miller Place, NY)
The Fortune Hunter
Since I enjoyed "The American Heiress" I had high expectations for this book and was very disappointed. On the positive side Ms. Goodwin did a very good job depicting what life was like for these historical figures. The fact that she was writing about real people added a lot of interest. Her descriptions of the hunts were fast paced Royal protocol was well research and very interesting. However, at times the prose was very melodramatic. The characters were not very likeable and even Charlotte who was the most sympathetic character was a bit boring. I googled the Empress Elizabeth and she was truly beautiful, Ms. Goodwin described her perfectly.
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Joanne V. (Towanda, PA)
The Fortune Hunter
This is a fairly pleasant, fast read, but to my mind, kind of shallow and predictable. I would have thought that if the author was so fascinated with the Empress Elizabeth, that the character development would have been better or that she would have given her more depth. As it was, she seemed self involved and totally unsympathetic. The best characters were Charlotte and Caspar, and other minor characters who made the story as interesting as it was. I am going to do some non-fiction reading on Empress Elizabeth, so I can get some idea of her life as a whole. I would not recommend this to my book club, since I didn't think there is much to discuss and they would probably think, for the most part, that Charlotte was an idiot, despite her unusual "hobby" for the time.
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Vivian H. (Winchester, VA)
The Story Had Potential But Was Not Engaging
I love historical fiction and this book had so much potential to be engaging; but it was not what it could have been.
Many of the book's characters including Elizabeth of Austria and Bay Middleton actually did exist and after reading this novel was compelled to read a bit more of the Empress. However, in this book there was absolutely nothing redeeming about her self-centred personality. I felt no empathy or sympathy for the characters.
Also, as one who has a working knowledge and is a practitioner of 19th Century photographic processes, there were some misrepresentations of the work Charlotte Baird practiced. For example, a photographer did not use a flash outside. A photographic negative made outside in the sun would not have taken a minute during daylight hours and a horse would never remain still long enough for a 60 second exposure. In the 1870's a photographer would have had to transport the large box camera & tripod as well as the dry plates to the Grand National racetrack and probably would not have done that in the rain.
When I read what is essentially an historical romance novel I expect the story to move along at a decent pace as well. With this book I had to put it down for a few days and then come back to it.
The Empress of Austria was, in life, a fascinating woman. But I didn't like her in this book. I did not like Charlotte's brother and fiancee; And Charlotte herself disappointed me.
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