The Family Fortune [Hardcover]

Laurie Horowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

Jane Fortune's fortunes have taken a downturn. Thanks to the profligate habits of her father and older sister, the family's money has evaporated and Jane has to move out of the only home she's ever known: a stately brick town house on Boston's prestigious Beacon Hill. Thirty-eight and terminally single, Jane has never pursued idle pleasures like her sibling and father. Instead, she has devoted her time to running the Fortune Family Foundation, a revered philanthropic institution that has helped spark the careers of many a budding writer, including Max Wellman, Jane's first—and only—love.

Now Jane has lost her luster. Max, meanwhile, has become a bestselling novelist and a renowned literary lothario. But change is afoot. And in the process of saving her family and reigniting the flames of true love, Jane might just find herself becoming the woman she was always meant to be.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based loosely on Jane Austen's Persuasion, Horowitz's cheeky, uneven debut novel follows Jane Fortune, a Bostonian with a romantic crisis. The 38-year-old founder and editor of a prominent literary journal, Euphemia Review, Jane pines for true love while devouring novels and dealing with the financial woes of her once wealthy family, which force them out of their Beacon Hill home. When an enigmatic writer named Jack Reilly submits a brilliant story to a Euphemia contest, Jane is intrigued; when she learns that he lives off the grid, she becomes infatuated and tries to track him down. But Jane still carries a torch for her first love, Max Wellman, a successful novelist who got his start in Euphemia. Jane's narrative voice is natural and lively, but the plot unfolds in fits, careening between Jane's romantic adventures and the Fortune family foibles. Horowitz captures her "lifestyles of the rich and literary" milieu, but otherwise her Austen tribute is transparent and unnecessary; for all the highbrow window dressing, this is pure chick lit, featuring characters with the depth of a teacup and a "girl loses boy, girl finds boy" plot. Horowitz continues the tradition ably, promising plenty as soon as she ditches the lit-crit posturing and embraces her inner Lauren Weisberger. (May)
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From Booklist

Lively characters populate this mildly amusing modern take on Jane Austen's Persuasion. The nineteenth-century classic revolves around wealthy Anne Elliot, who is persuaded by her mother's best friend to break off her relationship with dashing but poor Captain Wentworth. In Horowitz's debut, sensible but suggestible Jane Fortune ("I live under the cloud of being Miss Fortune, though I prefer Ms.") splits with writer Max Wellman, the recipient of a fellowship sponsored by her family's foundation. Max soon becomes successful, while Jane endures her fate as a single professional woman surrounded by the vapid and vacuous denizens of upper-crust Boston. (When members of the Fortune family find themselves in dire financial straits, they must rent out their Beacon Hill mansion and winter in Palm Beach--poor souls!) Among the novel's snooty cast: Jane's younger sister, Winnie, a whiny, unhappily married hypochondriac, and Priscilla, the high-society divorcee who serves as catalyst for Jane's romantic demise. While frothy and fun, The Family Fortune is a far cry from the astute social commentary of the original Miss Jane. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060875267
• ISBN-13: 978-0060875268
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,475,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great read if you know and love New England, October 23, 2007

By 

Robin (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Family Fortune: A Novel (Paperback)

Having spent over 7 years in the Boston area, this book looked like a fun read, and I really enjoyed her inclusion of so many beautiful Boston destinations. Stand alone the book was great if you like the subtle romantic style of Jane Austin, but yet are not intent on comparing it to Persuasion the whole way through.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars light, fun & funny, August 1, 2007

By 

Lexi Andreas (Danville, Pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Family Fortune: A Novel (Paperback)

I gave this book 4 stars, but in my mind, it is the perfect example of 3 and 1/2 stars. The book is a quick read, and the story is light and funny. At times, however, the characters act too much like cariactures of themselves, the situations are too trite, the comments a bit too cliche. Nevertheless, I don't think the reader is supposed to take this book for more than what it is--an enjoyable, fun book with some stabs at social conventions which would bring a small grin to a contemporary Jane Austen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light, enjoyable read, October 13, 2006

By 

Bearette24 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Family Fortune (Hardcover)

At first, The Family Fortune seems a little stifled...a Brahmin family who's never worked, a 38-year-old protagonist who lives with her father, and an overwhelming atmosphere of ennui. By Chapter 3, though, conflict has set in: due to sloppy money management, the family fortune is dwindled, and Jane Fortune and her family are forced to live elsewhere, giving up their old-money Beacon Hill haunt for rent.

It took me a little while to warm to this novel...it seemed impossibly stuffy at first...and then it really sunk its teeth in. Jane Fortune is an endearing and considerate heroine, once you get to know her a bit; and there's a page-turning romance...will she or won't she get together with the guy she jilted years before? He's now a famous author and modelizer, young women are throwing themselves at him, and Jane is not getting any younger or trendier.

This book has a whiff of the Old World about it, a kind of European charm, that seems aloof at first but rapidly becomes warm and cozy. It's not quite like Austen...Austen's heroines were more often poor than rich...but it's an illuminating look at a way of life that many people have never experienced, and the romance is satisfying.