Call number
FIC FOL
Collection
Genres
Publication
Delacorte Press (1993), Edition: First Edition, 533 pages
Description
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:A breathtaking thriller featuring "political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murder, and financial crises" (San Francisco Chronicle), from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Column of Fire In 1866, tragedy strikes the exclusive Windfield School when a young student drowns in a mysterious accident. His death and its aftermath initiate a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many lives. From the exclusive men�??s clubs and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London�??s upper class to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world�??s wealth, one family is splintered by a shared legacy. But greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy�??s death, must be stopped, or the dreams of a nation will die. Praise for A Dangerous Fortune �??A terrific page-turner.�?��??Los Angeles Times �??Political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murder, and financial crises . . . old-fashioned entertainment.�?��??San Francisco Chronicle �??Breathlessly plotted . . . relentlessly suspenseful.�?��??The New York Times �??Gripping, complex plot . . . sexual intrigue . . . fascinating characters . . . You won�??t be able to put down this exciting page-turner.�?��??Lexington Herald-Leader �??Follett [builds] to a dramatic climax with the same masterful control that guided Eye of the Needle and The Pillars of the Earth.�?��??Playboy �??I don�??t usually enjoy historical thrillers but admit to being totally captivated by Ken Follett�??s A Dangerous Fortune.�?��??Chicago Tribune �??Highly entertaining . . . Follett�??s characters are drawn with broad, realistic strokes . . . this story of greed and retribution should win Follett new fans.�?��??Publishers Weekly �??Rich, complex, thrilling, suspenseful, well plotted . . . A Dangerous Fortune is dangerous… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member birdsam0610
This book has the distinction of being the first book that I purchased and read on my Sony e-reader. The first thing I noticed was that the e-reader must condense the pages as there were less screens than the book copy of A Dangerous Fortune- a good thing in my opinion as Mr Follett tends to write
A Dangerous Fortune is another one of those page turners, focusing on an English banking family, the Pilasters, in the late 1800s. There is Edward, the rich banking heir and Hugh, who has been disgraced due to the bankruptcy and suicide of his father. We meet these cousins at their boarding school, where a schoolmate has mysteriously drowned. Enter Edward’s friend, Cordovan Micky Miranda and fellow Cordovian and Hugh’s friend, Tonio. This event will plague them for the rest of their lives.
The rest of the book is played out as a gripping family saga. There’s the domineering mother, Augusta, who will stop at virtually nothing to see that Edward becomes senior partner of the bank and that Hugh’s position is weakened. There’s the villain in Micky (some of his exploits will blow you away) but there’s the good friend of Hugh in Solly and Tonio. Maisie, whose life was changed when Hugh’s father went bankrupt, will also have you cheering at her rags to riches story.
Although this book is about banking, it’s never boring. The Pilasters and friends never cease to be thinking about plotting the rise or fall of someone. The possible exception to this is Hugh, who is honest (sometimes too much) and hardworking. He is a central character as a lot of the plotting revolves around his success and failure.
There is less focus on the history and more on the plot, which moves at a speedy pace. A great book to start ereading with!
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chunky pageturners.A Dangerous Fortune is another one of those page turners, focusing on an English banking family, the Pilasters, in the late 1800s. There is Edward, the rich banking heir and Hugh, who has been disgraced due to the bankruptcy and suicide of his father. We meet these cousins at their boarding school, where a schoolmate has mysteriously drowned. Enter Edward’s friend, Cordovan Micky Miranda and fellow Cordovian and Hugh’s friend, Tonio. This event will plague them for the rest of their lives.
The rest of the book is played out as a gripping family saga. There’s the domineering mother, Augusta, who will stop at virtually nothing to see that Edward becomes senior partner of the bank and that Hugh’s position is weakened. There’s the villain in Micky (some of his exploits will blow you away) but there’s the good friend of Hugh in Solly and Tonio. Maisie, whose life was changed when Hugh’s father went bankrupt, will also have you cheering at her rags to riches story.
Although this book is about banking, it’s never boring. The Pilasters and friends never cease to be thinking about plotting the rise or fall of someone. The possible exception to this is Hugh, who is honest (sometimes too much) and hardworking. He is a central character as a lot of the plotting revolves around his success and failure.
There is less focus on the history and more on the plot, which moves at a speedy pace. A great book to start ereading with!
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LibraryThing member beapea7
Good suspenseful vacation read.
LibraryThing member Othniel
I keep coming back to this book because of the connection between homophobia and crime which Follett develops in the relationships among Micky Mirnada, Augusta Pilaster (the family matriarch) and Edward Pilaster. I have always felt that Follett presents realistic characters, and this book is no
Follett is also a master at portraying the era whenever he writes historical fiction, and Dangerous Fortune does not disappoint in this regard.
Dangerous Fortune is also a work I would call Economic Fiction and Follett does an excellent job of portraying the financial and banking industries of Victorian England.
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exception.Follett is also a master at portraying the era whenever he writes historical fiction, and Dangerous Fortune does not disappoint in this regard.
Dangerous Fortune is also a work I would call Economic Fiction and Follett does an excellent job of portraying the financial and banking industries of Victorian England.
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LibraryThing member JudyKenn
This was like watching a soap-opera on BBC. Illegitimate children, loveless marriages, evil, scheming women and men, murders, white knights and bad girls with hearts of gold. All of this is in this book and more. It does go ON quite a bit and everything ties up neatly in the end. All in all, I'd
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say it was entertaining, but , after finishing it, I felt like I always do after eating an entire pan of brownies. Why in the world did I do that? Show Less
LibraryThing member miyurose
Loved it. This was a nice change from the WWII era Follett that I've read. However, there's one thing that ties all of his books together for me ... his characters. They are always captivating and complex and interesting. The banking stuff is even written in a way that I can understand! The book
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covers 26 years in the life of a family, and in the end, the good and the bad both get what they're due ... just the way it should be! Show Less
LibraryThing member beezle176
relentlessy suspenseful, sassy and unscrupulous characters
LibraryThing member ElizChanLest
This book is a wonderful page turner. It is both perfectly plotted, and contains rich and believable characters. I also found there to be an underlying humor to the book that tempered the darkness of some of the characters. Once I started it, I resented having to put it down, and finished it in
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nearly 24 hours. Show Less
LibraryThing member dmorrison
My favorite Ken Follett book! After reading pillars of the earth, I really appreciated the detail he puts into his book. This one was set in a different time period, but still had lots of detail and really kept me engaged. An excellent book, I would recommend it to anyone!!
LibraryThing member mickmckeown
Follett is fantastic in A Dangerous Fortune. The author introduces us to a family business and a couple of corrupt characters. As the reader you not only get to see the inner workings of the Victorian era banking house known as Pilaster's but you also get to see the making of a man in Hugh
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Pilaster. The book is fun, fast paced and if your a Follett fan then you will like this one. If you have never read Follett before this is a good book to start with. Enjoy! Show Less
LibraryThing member flashflood42
Prep school relationships between a Mexican boy and a rich society boy leads to murder, financial chicanery that goes on for years, sexual exploitation. The hero also was ruined by members of his greedy family but love and fortune ultimately prevail. We listened to the audio version while driving
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from Detroit to Maine with my daughter's 1 year old son and dog. It kept us going all three days! Show Less
LibraryThing member Dessss
I really enjoyed this book, it gives a great insight to London in the 1800s.
LibraryThing member DomingoSantos
Well-done and a captivating read. Unlike many authors, Follett knows how to write an ending that does not seem contrived, disjointed, forced, lacking in credulity, or otherwise disappointing.
LibraryThing member ct.bergeron
Following the life of the Pilaster Family (particuliarly Hugh) through out his life was a most entertaining story. Over the spand of 30 plus year, we can see the devious ways of some, the honesty of others and how every decision made can impact the future. Very entertaining!
LibraryThing member rosies
my first Ken Follett and disappointed; unlikable characters; I didn't care what happened to anyone.
LibraryThing member Stensvaag
Delightful novel. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.
LibraryThing member paulhock
I liked it. Well written murder, political intrigue, set in the banking world of 19th Century England.
LibraryThing member ElizabethCromb
Good tale of family conflict and tensions set around the late 1800s English banking scene. Not as thrilling as some of his work but interesting character development, especially Augusta as the manipulative wife of one of the bank partners and matriarch of the family.
LibraryThing member henrog
This book grabs the reader from page one and keeps the suspense going so you don't want to put it down. Beginning with the death of a young boy at a prestigious school, the story follows the group of boys who were there at the time. Their lives continue to be connected throughout adulthood, with
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intrigue, suspense, greed and retribution. This is a page turner and another of Folletts great stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member sgsmitty
A rather good book. typical Follett story I think. This one about about families, etc in last half of the 19th century with the banking business in London as the backdrop. I say typical in that there are now shocking twists or surprise endings and good triumphs. But that is what I like about
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Follett books. Show Less
LibraryThing member DavidShellhamer
I liked Pillars much better; which I read first. Follett is an excellent writer but I could of done without this depressing story of corruption,murder, unnecessary sex, oh yes and don't forget to add a gay character because there were gays back then also! It seemed contrived. In general, I don't
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like a story that has no redeeming or complicated characters. Would make a decent made for TV movie with some B rate washed up actors. Show Less
LibraryThing member santhony
This is a quite unremarkable, moderately entertaining work of fiction set in late 19th century England. As with another of Follett's works, A Place Called Freedom, it has little to recommend it over dozens of other similar novels set in the period.
The plot revolves around the Pilasters, a wealthy
I would rate this novel slightly above the aforementioned A Place Called Freedom, but both pale in comparison to Follett's two novels Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Readers familiar with those works will likely be disappointed with this effort.
The plot revolves around the Pilasters, a wealthy
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and contentious banking family, whose various branches struggle for control of the family business. Subplots involving a fictitious South American country and members of the British "underclass" bring some spice into the history. However, as with A Place Called Freedom, the most striking aspect of the novel is its utter predictability. Twists in the story become strikingly obvious scores of pages in advance. I would rate this novel slightly above the aforementioned A Place Called Freedom, but both pale in comparison to Follett's two novels Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Readers familiar with those works will likely be disappointed with this effort.
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LibraryThing member jtsolakos
Another Ken Follett classic. A great read into the class system of Victorian England and the banking system. Don't let that turn you off. This is intriguing, characters are well developed and the you will not be able to put the book down.
Pages
533
ISBN
0385311214 / 9780385311212