From the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabelle Allende, comes a passionate tale of one young woman’s quest to save her lover set against the chaos of the 1849 California Gold Rush. Orphaned at birth, Eliza Sommers is raised in the British colony of Valparaíso, Chile, by the well-intentioned Victorian spinster Miss Rose and her more rigid brother Jeremy. Just as … Victorian spinster Miss Rose and her more rigid brother Jeremy. Just as she meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquín Andieta, a lowly clerk who works for Jeremy, gold is discovered in the hills of northern California. By 1849, Chileans of every stripe have fallen prey to feverish dreams of wealth. Joaquín takes off for San Francisco to seek his fortune, and Eliza, pregnant with his child, decides to follow him.
As Eliza embarks on her perilous journey north in the hold of a ship and arrives in the rough-and-tumble world of San Francisco, she must navigate a society dominated by greedy men. But Eliza soon catches on with the help of her natural spirit and a good friend, the Chinese doctor Tao Chi’en. What began as a search for love ends up as the conquest of personal freedom.
A marvel of storytelling, Daughter of Fortune confirms once again Isabel Allende’s extraordinary gift for fiction and her place as one of the world’s leading writers.
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Different sort of book, unpredictable, kept me reading. I liked it.
Hope there is another book to follow this one
Allende spins another great story filled with fascinating characters and romance– a wonderful read.
this book frustrated me, leaving so many ends hanging. I usually fully enjoy Allende, but this book didn’t work for me.
Great writing about a very interesting time in our country, and South America. Intriguing characters and events.
One of my favorite authors. Love her historical fiction
I could not wait to read what happened next. The end was a disappointment came to sudden.
Working hard to get through it.
I read this book many years ago when it just came out, I read it in Spanish. This book is great. I highly recommend this book. Her writing style is similar to Gioconda Belli another one of my favorites authors.
Isabel Allende is always, always worth reading. This book is no exception. A unique look at the California Gold Rush.
A slice of an alternate reality
The historical elements were wonderful, especially the California gold rush.
I’ve read a number of books dealing with this subject and this era and I enjoyed how the characters were built.