What do readers think of The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin? Write your own review.

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.

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.

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.

At first I thought the premise of this book was not a feasible one. It was pretty slow in the beginning so I didn't think I was going to like it. Then in the author notes I found that the characters were based on real people and real events. That made the story more interesting, as a study into the character of the Empress of Austria (Sisi), and English Society just before World War 1. As a young orphaned heiress, Charlotte represents the changing role of women. She is not rebellious, but she is not going to let old traditions dictate her life. She knows her own mind and I enjoyed learning about her. The young officer, Bay, is torn between two paths with two very different women and circumstances. And in the end Love prevails, which is always nice!

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.

This was a pleasant enough book, a fast read with a predictable but satisfying ending. Not something I would recommend to Book Clubs for I fear there would be little, if anything, to discuss.

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin is a highly readable Victorian era novel about a romance triangle. It centers on the Empress of Austria, the infamous Sisi, the Fortune Hunter of the title, Bay Middleton, and a young English heiress, Charlotte. Ms. Goodwin does an admirable job of introducing details of Empress Cici's struggles against fame an notoriety as she searches for happiness in an unforgiving and judgmental world. She is unfortunately not a sympathetic enough creature and I spent much of the book rooting against her. Unfortunately, it was difficult to root for star crossed lovers as I tire of books that represent woman as either grasping and conniving (Sisi) or insipid and weak willed in the face of the man they love (Charlotte) and the man who needs their forgiveness to be redeemed (Bay). It ends well if predictably. Great mindless beach reading for the summer.

Although loosely based on fact, this story contains every cliche you can imagine..fortune hunter, poor little rich girl, seductrice, loyal friends, buffoons and even a monkey. As I read I felt that I had read this book in a dozen different incarnations. It is not a bad book if you are a true romantic or a 15 year old girl...I am neither.