- Hardcover: 533 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Press; First Edition edition (Oct 1 1993)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385311214
- ISBN-13: 978-0385311212
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 5.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #341,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From AudioFile
Ken Follett is a matchless storyteller, and this story is tailor-made for audio. With the selection of Michael Page as narrator, the result is choice. Dangerous Fortune is the saga of an English banking family. It follows the Pilaster clan through a generation in the second half of the nineteenth century. There are multiple characters of all ages. Page's British articulation differentiates each voice, displaying a wide range, from English-speaking South Americans to Londoners of all classes. Augusta, the treacherous matriarch, comes across particularly well. With Follett teamed up with Page, you can't stop listening. D.W.K. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
Follett (Night Over Water, 1991; The Pillars of The Earth, 1989, etc.) peeks into the naughty world of late Victorian merchant bankers. A tragic misadventure among schoolboys is at the root of the rotten world of the Pilaster family. Weak bully Edward Pilaster and his too-dear South American chum Mickey Miranda cause the death by drowning of a lad from the lower form at their minor public school and then grow up to become as corrupt as one might expect. Mickey murders his way to a sinecure in the London legation of his nitrate-rich Latin American homeland, and, with much help from his gorgeous, manipulative mum Augusta, Edward bumbles his way to a partnership in the immensely important family bank. The only really good Pilaster, aside from discreetly gay Uncle Samuel, is young Hugh, whose father left the family firm, founded his own bank, and then had to commit suicide when the bank foundered. Hugh is a born banker, but since he's so much smarter than cousin Edward, Aunt Augusta hates him and throws constant obstacles in his path. Against Hugh's advice, Mickey and Edward team up on a series of huge loans to Mickey's government--money that goes to the purchase of war materiel and the advancement of Mickey's thuggish father. On this rotten foundation, the Pilaster bank grows to Imperial preeminence and Augusta gets the earldom she wants for the husband she dislikes. Hugh, pining for the Polish-born, Jewish bareback- rider he loved and lost and still nursing his childhood memory of That Day At The Swimming Hole, gets nothing but grief until those shaky South American bonds finally collapse and he's really needed. Interesting financial tips and a sprinkling of naughty bits, but the rest is minor Masterpiece Theatre. (BOM ??) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
ON THE DAY OF THE TRAGEDY, the boys of Windfield School had been confined to their rooms. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
ON THE DAY OF THE TRAGEDY, the boys of Windfield School had been confined to their rooms. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great story, too much sleaze,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Dangerous Fortune (Mass Market Paperback)
Follett is a great writer and gives a great feeling of the times. This story is no different with great character development and an imaginative plot. My only complaint is that Follett focuses way too much on sex. In fact he does in most of his novels, but this one just has too many details. This book would've been 5 stars without the ....
3.0 out of 5 stars
It is not the best book,
By
This review is from: A Dangerous Fortune (Mass Market Paperback)
The main story of the book is interesting and keeps you reading (when you can find it) all the time but it has to many explanations of the streets, houses, how the people is dressed in each party, gardens etc. that makes boring a big part of the story.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great read by a master storyteller,
By
This review is from: A Dangerous Fortune (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the third Follett book I've read in a row. It all started with Pillars of the Earth, the best book I've ever read. I read A placed Called Freedom right after that and enjoyed that alot as well. And I just got finished with A Dangerous Fortune. I can't possibly say enough good things about Ken Follett. Once again, it's the characters that drive the book. He takes you on a journey with these characters through many years of their lives and you get to see how they encounter, react and truimph over adversity. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but this is another 'must read' in my opinion. His characters are varied and colorful and the relationships, from friendship to love, villainy and hatred are so genuine I couldn't help but wish that these people lived at that point in history. A wonderful read that I will no doubt enjoy again in the future.
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