The Fortune Hunter

by Daisy Goodwin

"Empress Elizabeth of Austria, known as "Sisi," is the Princess Diana of nineteenth-century Europe. Famously beautiful, as captured in a portrait with diamond stars in her hair, she is unfulfilled in her marriage to the older Emperor Franz Joseph. Sisi has spent years evading the stifling formality of royal life on her private train or yacht or, whenever she can, on the back of a horse. Captain Bay Middleton is dashing, young, and the finest horseman in England. He is also impoverished, with no hope of buying the horse needed to win the Grand National--until he meets Charlotte Baird. A clever, plainspoken heiress whose money gives her a choice among suitors, Charlotte falls in love with Bay, the first man to really notice her, for his vulnerability as well as his glamour. When Sisi joins the legendary hunt organized by Earl Spencer in England, Bay is asked to guide her on the treacherous course. Their shared passion for riding leads to an infatuation that threatens the growing bond between Bay and Charlotte, and all of their futures. This brilliant new novel by Daisy Goodwin is a lush, irresistible story of the public lives and private longings of grand historical figures"--

A beautiful empress trapped in a loveless marriage, a dashing but impoverished horseman and a clever heiress form a passionate love triangle in 19th-century England against a backdrop of the legendary Grand National competition.

• ISBN10: 1250043891
• ISBN13: 9781250043894
• Publish Date: 29 July 2014 (first published 24 April 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 30 June 2021
• Imprint: St. Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

[duchessofdiscord]

I have a very strong knowledge of the subject matter, mostly from an academic perspective. The Fortune Hunter had all the right historical elements, and all the potential be a really great novel. However, sadly, it falls very flat. I didn’t quite love it, but I also didn’t completely hate it. It was just “meh” at best. I enjoy historical fiction, but this was more of an over-wrought love story and just not to my taste.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Novels that involve famed persons tend to be told through a female’s eye I did not find that to be the case in The Fortune Hunter. Daisy Goodwin’s book is one of a love triangle and is aptly told by all three participant’s point of view. It could very easily been told through the eyes of Sisi and Charlotte and still be a great book, but by including Bay to the mix gave it that extra ump adding a fine layer of truffles on top.

As any Lifetime movie will tell you, the guy is always at fault, one must route for the lead female. They bash their significant other in the back with a candelabra, go on their merry way and if fortune strikes them, end up with the man she should have been with in the first place.

I hated to relate The Fortune Hunter to a Lifetime movie, but my point in sharing that is because my feelings towards Bay Middleton mirror. Charlotte is as cute as a snowy mitten and just wanted her to kick Middleton to the curb. She could do so much better and was irate by how worried she was about seeing her betrothed before she left for the photography exhibition.

Sisi is as stubborn as a child. I have a relative who once threw a temper tantrum because they couldn't go swimming in a hotel pool. Rather than deal with the situation her request was succumbed to. This is how I pictured the Empress. While her requests are bowed to (she is royalty after all) in private she is shown as a person. She is not just a crown but a person who only lets her hair down in private. These fleeting moments were candid and my favorite parts of book.

A picture can say a thousand words and never lies which I felt fit perfectly into Bay's questionable behavior. He is suave, always knowing the right thing to say bordering on smarmy. In some respects he reminds me of Mr. Wickham from Pride and Prejudice, gossip and all.

Daisy Goodwin's writing is beyond descriptive. Her imagery started with Charlotte creating her animal portraits and didn't end until the last line. This, along with strong-willed characters makes The Fortune Hunter an irresistible read.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review