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Daughter of Fortune: A Novel
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Daughter of Fortune: A Novel
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Daughter of Fortune: A Novel
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Daughter of Fortune: A Novel

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this ebook

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 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.

Editor's Note

Hispanic Heritage Month…

Isabel Allende was one of the first prominent female writers of Latin American fiction when she published her stunning debut in 1985. Her follow up, “Daughter of Fortune,” gained so much acclaim that it was selected for Oprah’s Book Club shortly after it was published. The story follows an orphan raised in Chile, Eliza Sommers, as she journeys north to Gold Rush era California. It’s a novel of growth, longing, and immense discovery, further solidifying Allende as a prominent voice in literature.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateApr 15, 2014
ISBN9780062254429
Unavailable
Daughter of Fortune: A Novel
Author

Isabel Allende

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of nine novels, including Inès of My Soul,Daughter of Fortune, and Portrait in Sepia. She has also written a collection of stories, four memoirs, and a trilogy of children's novels. Her books have been translated into more than twenty-seven languages and have become bestsellers across four continents. In 2004 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Isabel Allende lives in California.

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Reviews for Daughter of Fortune

Rating: 3.721088369440084 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

1,911 ratings93 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This was not one of my most favorite books to read. I was very excited to read it as it is a different genre of what I normally like to read. However, as I attempted to plod through this book, my interest was quickly lost as I found no point in the story. I did not become attached to the characters at all and I was extremely disappointed. However, I will not giver the author up and I am willing to try another of her novels.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did (in fact if this site had half star rating system I would have given it 2.5 stars). It has all the makings of a good story, but gets bogged down in extraneous details and tangents before ending abruptly - leaving quite a few story lines unresolved. It was, at times, an incredibly frustrating read for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is another one of my favorite books that few people I know have read. This is a work of historial fiction that takes the reader from Chile to historical San Francisco. Allende is a powerful writer who weaves together a story in a way that no on else can. I loved the historical aspects as well as the character and plot. As a reader, you feel for the people in this book and you can easily put yourself in their shoes. I have not read any other works by Allende although I have always made it a goal to read as much of her writing as I can. I recommend this to everyone as an outstanding read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    According to Aunt Rose, Eliza was a foundling found on the doorstep of sister and brother Rose and Jeremy Sommers' home in Chile. Although not formally adopted, the Sommers, including the two's brother, John, a ship's captain, chose to raise the child. The family was well-offer compared to the indigenous Indians and offered Eliza a cultural upbringing. Growing to be a beautiful young lady, she falls in love with Joaquin, an employee of her Uncle Jeremy's shipping warehouse and Eliza looks forward to her marriage. However, when gold was discovered in California, this discovery drew many men around the world hoping to make a fortune, including Joaquin. After several months absence, Eliza decides to sneak aboard a ship headed north to find and marry Joaquin.As with her other work, Allende tells a good story populated with well-fleshed out characters. I have never read anything about California's early history and the gold rush and I found Allende's description of life during the mid-19th century accurately detailed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Enjoyable read
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book, and I love this author. She is a great story-teller and was able to successfully connect Chilean history with US history. I enjoy learning when I read, and this book allowed me to do so, while transporting me throughout the story, the characters and their lives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved it. But it seemed to end very abruptly. LIke she tired of the story and just wound it up. I wanted to know what happens next and there is no next.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was prepared to like this far more than Allende's "Island Beneath the Sea", but like it less. I read Allende for their historical subtexts and because every once in a while she writes a simply magnificent characterizations--but with this the closest things too marvelous were her characters Tao Chi'en and Rose...but the rest of the book just lacks SOMETHING. Probably won't read it again.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A spell-binding tale following Eliza, a young woman coming of age in a privileged English family in mid-19th century Valparaiso, Chile. Becoming enamored of a poor revolutionary who sails off to seek his fortune during the California Gold Rush, she stows aboard a merchant vessel to find him. Along the way she meets a curious and helpful Chinese zhong yi [doctor of Eastern medicine] and many other fascinating degenerates and reprobates, some kind-hearted, some not. Her many adventures seeking word of her lover are possible only because she disguises herself as a male, and thus experiences a previously impossible freedom.Allende excels not only in building character, but also in building a scene: under her pen with its accumulation of observation, the cacaphonous landscape and diverse population of San Francisco, constructing itself during the gold rush, comes alive; as well as the milieu of the merchant class in seafaring Valparaiso. It’s a rich read and a good escape.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very good historical fiction literature set mostly during the gold rush in California. The coming-of-age story about a young Chilean girl that travels to San Francisco. It was interesting to read about the different cultures in San Fran in the mid-1800s.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was the first book to introduce me to Isabel Allende. There was of course no better introduction. The novel feels like the dank, swaying cabin on a boat. A boat like the one Eliza travels in from Chile to California. The gold dust currents lead Eliza into a journey that will lead her to the underbelly of 19th-century San Francisco--and into the arms of an unlikely man.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wide-spanning historical set in Chile and California around the time of the Gold Rush. Eliza turns up as an infant on the doorstep of a well-to-do British brother-sister duo in Valparaíso and is brought up in their household. She falls in love as the Gold Rush begins only for her love interest to head off to California. She decides to accompany him, and in the process she meets a cast of characters in the 1840s American West.This was the first of Isabel Allende's books that I've read, and I'm definitely glad I did so. For assorted reasons (some content-related, some style-related), this book reminded me a bit of The Luminaries and East of Eden, both of which are good things from my perspective. It's been a while since I read this sweeping of a story, and I'm definitely glad I did so. I can definitely see why Allende is so well-regarded, and I definitely plan to pick up more of her writing in the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really enjoyed reading this - and the main characters. A fascinating collection of vignettes, woven together.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I just adore Isabel Allende's books. This one has been sitting in my bookcase for much too long. I finally pulled it out to fill one of the categories for this year's Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. I'm so glad I did.

    I really liked Eliza and Tao-Chien, both people who went against the cultures in which they were raised to make lives of their own making.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Allende's words paint the scenes in my mind, the true mark of a brilliant author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    *4.5 stars*

    At first I was a little unsure whether I would enjoy this book as it is not the usual genre that I read, but all my doubts were quickly swept away by Isabel Allende’s wonderful storytelling.

    It is set in the British colony of Valpraiso, in 1840’s Chile and begins in a humorous way by telling us Eliza Sommers two talents: a sense of smell and a good memory. By the end of the book I discovered that Eliza’s character had grown so much that these two meager talents have increased tenfold.

    Eliza is an orphan who was found on the doorstep, raised by Miss Rose, a Victorian spinster with a hidden past, her starchy brother Jeremy, and an Indian servant, Mama Fresia. Much to the family’s dismay she falls in love with Joaquín Andieta, an unsuitable young man from a poor family, with political ideals that are at odds with the state. Eliza without a thought to consequence, gives herself to this young man, drugging the household, so they will not hear their passionate lovemaking. She is disconsolate when she finds that he intends to go to California to make his fortune in gold. She can do nothing to stop him. He, like so many others is obsessed by the vision of gold, and wealth. Her lover takes off for San Francisco leaving her behind broken hearted. Eliza discovers that she is pregnant with his child, and decides that she has no other alternative left but to follow him.

    Eliza hides in the hold of a ship bound for California. She becomes ill and is attended to by Tao, a Chinese doctor. Tao began his sailor’s life after being shanghaied. He had been drinking to forget his sorrow at the sad death of his young, beautiful wife Lin. On board ship his wife’s delicate ghost comes to him when he is administering to Eliza and berates him for not doing his utmost to save her. He is so distressed by this ghostly vision of his wife that he does everything in his power to help Eliza. Eliza has a miscarriage but survives and escapes from the ship dressed in male clothing. She continues to pretend that she is male to blend in and safeguard her safety. In this land driven crazy by gold fever, single men and prostitutes make up the population. She has no wish to become a prostitute so she chooses to adopt a masculine persona. In this new world she finds freedom from the restraints of her life as a woman living in a British household in Chile. In time she discovers that her first love Joaquin is but a distant memory and that the kindness of Tao enriches her life in ways that Joaquin never did.

    Daughter of Fortune has several strengths, her characterisation is excellent, I particularly enjoyed her portrayal of several female characters: Miss Rose, even though she is constrained by female niceties knows how to get what she wants. Paulina manipulates her husband to get her own bank account and eventually buys a steam ship and becomes a wealthy business woman. Though Tao’s wife Lin is described as being weak her ghost manages to find him across the vast expanse of ocean and convinces him to help Eliza.

    I also really enjoyed how Allende played with her characters: the intimidating giant Babula the Bad is really a good guy, with a soft side. In Eliza’s case this transformation is even more marked, as if she is rediscovering herself in stages as the adventure unfolds. She pretends to be a deaf-mute Chinese boy and then the brother of her Chilean lover, and finally she rediscovers her female identity, but this female is no longer chained by layers of corsetry but free to be herself.

    Also Tao’s character transforms from his humble start as fourth son to respected Chinese doctor. He learns that his delicate young wife with golden lilies for feet only brings him a fleeting happiness, cut short by her early death, whereas Eliza with her big feet and sturdy body will give him many years of companionship and love.

    There are passages in the novel that are gut wrenchingly sad, the death of Lin is difficult to read as it is so heartfelt. But there is also a sense that life is a journey of discovery, with many possibilities open to us.

    If I have any criticisms of the novel they are few and far between. There were possibly times when I thought that some of the descriptions were slightly long but overall I didn’t find that this bothered me. Early on in the novel it was mentioned that Eliza thought that Miss Rose and Mr Todd would make a good couple but this didn’t happen. I would have preferred to find this out myself rather than being told it.

    Overall I really enjoyed the book, I think in part due to the diverse characters, the cultural references and the skill of Allende’s writing. The final chapter didn’t disappoint. By the end of the tale Joaquin had become her past, a hazy reflection of the young man that she had adored and Eliza was looking forward rather than back, to a new beginning.


  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Daughter of Fortune is the story of Eliza Sommers, a nineteenth century woman raised in the home of a well-to-do brother and sister in Valparaiso, Chile. The first part of the book takes place in Chile. The second part is set in San Francisco during the California gold rush.Isabel Allende's writing is beautiful and accessible. She writes from inside the heads of her characters, making them real and sympathetic. Here's a sample from a letter Eliza is writing to her “faithful friend, the sage Tao Chi'en”:"I am finding new strength in myself; I may always have had it and just didn't know because I'd never had to call on it. I don't know at what turn in the road I shed the person I used to be, Tao. Now I am only one of thousands of adventurers scattered along the banks of these crystal-clear rivers and among the foothills of these eternal mountains. Here men are proud, with no one above them but the sky overhead; they bow to no one because they are inventing equality. And I want to be one of them. Some are winners with sacks of gold slung over their backs; some, defeated, carry nothing but disillusion and debts, but they all believe they are masters of their destiny, of the ground they walk on, of the future, of their own undeniable dignity.”The story is Eliza's, which brings me to my single complaint. I felt too much time was spent on the backgrounds of some of the other characters. I thought Rose's background was necessary, because she raised Eliza and understanding her baggage was critical to understanding the choices she made. I also though Joaquin's story was important, because Eliza's relationship with him was the force that drove her forward during most of the book. However, I thought there was too much time spent on Tao's background and Jacob Todd's story was almost entirely unnecessary. There were intriguing parts in those sections, but I believe tightening them would have advanced the plot just as much without slowing the story.Overall, Daughter of Fortune was a very good read. I intend to read the sequel, Portrait in Sepia.Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul, White Horse Regressions, Hopatcong Vision Quest, and Under a Warped Cross.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's very good, but about halfway through it slacks off. It does pick up again in the last few chapters. Once I got through the slump, I have to say it's a really good book. Not great, but really good and worth my time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Al principio, no me impresionó mucho, pero al introducir el carácter Tao Chien, me agarró el interés. ¡Muy bueno!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A solid historical fiction piece with a strong, independent-minded heroine set against the wonderful backdrop of 19th century Chile and the California Gold Rush of 1849. This story has all of the trappings of a satisfying historical fiction read: solid grounding in historical facts; interesting multi-faceted characters; vividly drawn backdrops of Chile, Canton, China and California; a wonderful ethnic mix English, Chinese, Chilean, Mexican and Americans; and steady pacing for the adventure the reader embarks upon with young Eliza. This one has all other qualities of an epic read with a lighter touch… I didn’t feel as though I was being dragged through some sweeping saga, like I do with some epic reads. Allende keeps the story grounded with the focus trained on her handful of key characters, given a more intimate, personal impression of the historically expansive California Gold Rush and the three continents the story is set in.A delightful historical fiction read and I now understand why Allende is considered to be such a gifted novelist.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    *4.5 stars*

    At first I was a little unsure whether I would enjoy this book as it is not the usual genre that I read, but all my doubts were quickly swept away by Isabel Allende’s wonderful storytelling.

    It is set in the British colony of Valpraiso, in 1840’s Chile and begins in a humorous way by telling us Eliza Sommers two talents: a sense of smell and a good memory. By the end of the book I discovered that Eliza’s character had grown so much that these two meager talents have increased tenfold.

    Eliza is an orphan who was found on the doorstep, raised by Miss Rose, a Victorian spinster with a hidden past, her starchy brother Jeremy, and an Indian servant, Mama Fresia. Much to the family’s dismay she falls in love with Joaquín Andieta, an unsuitable young man from a poor family, with political ideals that are at odds with the state. Eliza without a thought to consequence, gives herself to this young man, drugging the household, so they will not hear their passionate lovemaking. She is disconsolate when she finds that he intends to go to California to make his fortune in gold. She can do nothing to stop him. He, like so many others is obsessed by the vision of gold, and wealth. Her lover takes off for San Francisco leaving her behind broken hearted. Eliza discovers that she is pregnant with his child, and decides that she has no other alternative left but to follow him.

    Eliza hides in the hold of a ship bound for California. She becomes ill and is attended to by Tao, a Chinese doctor. Tao began his sailor’s life after being shanghaied. He had been drinking to forget his sorrow at the sad death of his young, beautiful wife Lin. On board ship his wife’s delicate ghost comes to him when he is administering to Eliza and berates him for not doing his utmost to save her. He is so distressed by this ghostly vision of his wife that he does everything in his power to help Eliza. Eliza has a miscarriage but survives and escapes from the ship dressed in male clothing. She continues to pretend that she is male to blend in and safeguard her safety. In this land driven crazy by gold fever, single men and prostitutes make up the population. She has no wish to become a prostitute so she chooses to adopt a masculine persona. In this new world she finds freedom from the restraints of her life as a woman living in a British household in Chile. In time she discovers that her first love Joaquin is but a distant memory and that the kindness of Tao enriches her life in ways that Joaquin never did.

    Daughter of Fortune has several strengths, her characterisation is excellent, I particularly enjoyed her portrayal of several female characters: Miss Rose, even though she is constrained by female niceties knows how to get what she wants. Paulina manipulates her husband to get her own bank account and eventually buys a steam ship and becomes a wealthy business woman. Though Tao’s wife Lin is described as being weak her ghost manages to find him across the vast expanse of ocean and convinces him to help Eliza.

    I also really enjoyed how Allende played with her characters: the intimidating giant Babula the Bad is really a good guy, with a soft side. In Eliza’s case this transformation is even more marked, as if she is rediscovering herself in stages as the adventure unfolds. She pretends to be a deaf-mute Chinese boy and then the brother of her Chilean lover, and finally she rediscovers her female identity, but this female is no longer chained by layers of corsetry but free to be herself.

    Also Tao’s character transforms from his humble start as fourth son to respected Chinese doctor. He learns that his delicate young wife with golden lilies for feet only brings him a fleeting happiness, cut short by her early death, whereas Eliza with her big feet and sturdy body will give him many years of companionship and love.

    There are passages in the novel that are gut wrenchingly sad, the death of Lin is difficult to read as it is so heartfelt. But there is also a sense that life is a journey of discovery, with many possibilities open to us.

    If I have any criticisms of the novel they are few and far between. There were possibly times when I thought that some of the descriptions were slightly long but overall I didn’t find that this bothered me. Early on in the novel it was mentioned that Eliza thought that Miss Rose and Mr Todd would make a good couple but this didn’t happen. I would have preferred to find this out myself rather than being told it.

    Overall I really enjoyed the book, I think in part due to the diverse characters, the cultural references and the skill of Allende’s writing. The final chapter didn’t disappoint. By the end of the tale Joaquin had become her past, a hazy reflection of the young man that she had adored and Eliza was looking forward rather than back, to a new beginning.


  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Me gusto mucho la epoca en que se desarrolla y claro es de admirar el progreso que las mujeres tienen por ejemplo Paulina con su visión para los buenos negocios se convirtio en una mujer a la que su marido y su cuñado admiraban. También el cariño que nace entre ella y Tao, realmente es de envidiar esa clase de amistad, lo único que no me cuadra mucho es el final... que sucede con miss rouse?, alguna día eliza sabria que john es su padre?, aceptaria su tío jeremy que eliza visitara su casa de nuevo?, ..¿se quedaron tao y eliza a vivir en USA?...me gusto mucho me mantuvo entretenida todo el tiempo, aparte que es la primer novela de Isabell A. que leo, espero tener oportunidad de leer otras.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Allende's writing is so fluid and evocative that even parts of pure narration are irresistible. Protagonist Eliza Sommers is irrepressible, brave, loyal, and convincing in every way she needs to be. This book was just a pleasure to read!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an engaging story with strong likeable characters. Set in 1850s Valparaiso, China, and California, it follows the course of a young Chilean girl who runs off with the help of a Chinese doctor to follow her lover to the gold fields and boom towns of California. The setting and the characters were much stronger than the actual story, which wandered quite a bit and left me wondering which (if any) of the people would find each other again. However, there was plenty of interest to keep me reading.

    I read this one in Spanish and found it easy to follow without a dictionary, though occasionally I could have used one. The narration was straightforward and linear, unlike a lot of Spanish language modern novels.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book kind of shocked me but it's by far my favorite Allende, it's filled with historical stories, that I'm not sure if they're real or fiction but very interesting and the second love story that blooms in the book is quite different than anything I've read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really wanted to love this book. I have heard great things about Allende's writing and just recently seen this getting 5 star ratings... so what happened? I think I am out of tune with the current writing style -- I know that the saying is "show don't tell" but I found myself several times while listening to this audiobook wishing Allende wouldn't show but just tell me! For example, at one point Eliza bets her last few coins on a contest between a bear and a bull. She loses but the fight between the two animals is described in great detail -- too much detail in my opinion. I understand that these were brutal times and that this is a brutal sport - I don't need to hear about how the bear ripped the snout off the bull. That is just padding & disgusting padding at that. The book also suffered for me because I didn't find Eliza very believable. Nor her 'mother' Rose for that matter. I was taken aback near the beginning of the story by Rose taking Eliza as a young child to the orphanage & threatening to dump her there if she didn't stop complaining and do her piano lessons!! And there is no governess or tutor -- how is Eliza supposed to be learning anything other than what she learns from the Chilean housekeeper? So a big section of the plot didn't work for me later on when Rose is supposed to be so heartbroken that Eliza has run away. And then neither she nor Jeremy knew the housekeeper's last name after 18 years! Even before that, when Rose is trying to find her a husband, it didn't seem reasonable that she didn't talk to Eliza about it at all.The idea of telling a tale of the California gold rush from the perspective of the underclasses (women and non-white immigrants) is a good one. But I was disappointed to see the trite stereotype of the prostitute with the heart of gold as one of the main secondary female characters. Granted she is described as a "man trapped in a woman's body" and over 6 feet tall but still... The best parts for me were those involving Tao Chi'en.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I put off reading this for a long time because I had heard that Allende writes magical realism, a genre that does not usually agree with me. When I did finally read it, I was surprised to find that this novel doesn't match my conception of what "magical realism" is. Perhaps it is a new use for the term: fiction that is realistic but nevertheless magically transports we readers to another time and place, and installs us completely in the head of the protagonist.Eliza is discovered as an infant abandoned on the doorstep of a British brother and sister living in Valparaiso, Chile. Over the objections of her straitlaced brother, Rose Sommers--a headstrong, independent woman who says that the best thing about marriage is "becoming a widow"--adopts and raises the child, but keeps her at an arm's length. When Eliza is sixteen, she meets Joaquin Andieta, an idealistic and penniless poet, and she falls headlong into the uncritical passion of first love. Just then, the Gold Rush begins in California, and Andieta disappears from Eliza's life to seek his fortune there. When she learns she is pregnant, Eliza decides to track down her lover. With the help of a Chinese physician who came over on her uncle's ship, Tao Chi'en, she stows away in the hold of a ship bound for San Francisco, where she becomes very ill. During that miserable voyage, Eliza experiences a rebirth, and she emerges from the ship into daylight as someone completely new and without identity, disembarking into a city that is also brand new and making itself into something unique and purely American. The rest of the story reveals how Eliza rebuilds her identity while searching for her lover. She dons a series of disguises until finally she is able to re-emerge as herself, a woman not defined by the strictures of her day but constructed from within.Set against the backdrop of the mad rush to California in search of gold, Allende reveals history through the eyes of the people who lived it but don't usually get to tell the story: women and non-whites. She creates a diverse and three-dimensional world that feels both real and different from the stories we usually get to hear. Eliza's journey of self-discovery absolutely swept me away.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Young Chiilean girl follows her lover to the gold fields of California. Eliza has been adopted by a wealthy sister and brother and lived a pampered life. With the aid of "celestial" she is a stowaway of a ship, and barely survived. She crosses paths with Tao multiple times in her search for her lover. Good portrayal of the free wheeling days of the 49ers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Daughter of Fortune is a well written historical novel set in Valparaiso, Chile and California in the 1820s the 50s, as well as in Canton. The novel tells the story of Eliza, a foundling raised by a seemingly staid English woman who has taken her in, and by the woman's reluctant elder brother, a paragon of English Victorian industry and virtue. Their other brother is a rough-hewn ship's captain who comes to visit as his voyages allow. With these surrogate relatives Eliza learns to become a well-mannered English maiden. Other elements of her nature, a keen connection to the natural world and a love of the practical arts, are nurtured by the family's native Chilean cook. Eliza's education into the ways of English womanly virtue is interrupted by first love. And here the adventure begins. With the aid of her wits and the help of a Chinese healer she makes her way to San Francisco to find her lover who has gone to California to make it rich in the Gold Rush. As Eliza matures she learns more about what love is, and isn't, learns to rely on her own talents to survive and become successful, something she had been taught was impossible for a lady.

    My only qualms, some parts seemed repetitive. Some parts seemed didactic, too many history lessons interrupting the narrative. I suppose for those who aren't well versed in American history this might be helpful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Chilean "orphan''s girl's story, mid 1800's, california gold rush, very good. LMIC August