Fortune's Bride (Brides of Montclair, Book 3) [Paperback]

Jane Peart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 1990

Slowly she turned to face the door just as Graham came through at full stride. At the sight of him a wild kind of joy seized her. Graham halted on the threshold. He drew in his breath sharply, and in spite of himself, his pulse thundered at the sight of the tall, willowy figure. The last time he had seen Avril she had been a child. Here in her place was a graceful young woman. 'Avril, my dear,' he said, finding his voice. 'Welcome home!' Fortune's Bride, the third in a series of award-winning novels by Jane Peart, is a revision of the story of Avril Dumont, a wealthy young heiress and orphan, who gradually comes to terms with her lonely adolescence. There is romance and heartbreak, true love and fulfillment in this story of Avril's seemingly unreturned but undaunted love for her bachelor guardian, Graham Montrose. Readers of Fortune's Bride will be smitten with the charm of the old South as they follow Avril's development into womanhood, and meet the people who give her a sense of self-worth. So skillfully drawn is the plot of this romance that the reader will suffer form ongoing suspense throughout Avril's story.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Jane Peart is a best-selling novelist. With nearly 650,000 books sold, her popular Brides of Montclair series is one of the longest continuous series on the market. Her other series include Westward Dreams and American Quilt

From the Back Cover

Slowly she turned to face the door just as Graham came through at full stride. At the sight of him a wild kind of joy seized her. Graham halted on the threshold. He drew in his breath sharply, and in spite of himself, his pulse thundered at the sight of the tall, willowy figure. The last time he had seen Avril she had been a child. Here in her place was a graceful young woman. "Avril, my dear," he said, finding his voice. "Welcome home!" Fortune's Bride, the third in a series of award-winning novels by Jane Peart, is a revision of the story of Avril Dumont, a wealthy young heiress and orphan, who gradually comes to terms with her lonely adolescence. There is romance and heartbreak, true love and fulfillment in this story of Avril's seemingly unreturned but undaunted love for her bachelor guardian, Graham Montrose. Readers of Fortune's Bride will be smitten with the charm of the old South as they follow Avril's development into womanhood, and meet the people who give her a sense of self-worth. So skillfully drawn is the plot of this romance that the reader will suffer form ongoing suspense throughout Avril's story.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (June 9, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310669715
• ISBN-13: 978-0310669715
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Fortune or for True Love?, July 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Fortune's Bride (Brides of Montclair, Book 3) (Paperback)

The Brides of Montclair is a fantastic series written by Jane Peart. These books are about family love, romance, responsibilities, friendship and destiny that brought all the various characters together. Fortunes's Bride, the third book in this series, is about a young but rich orphan and her guardian. Avril, a young girl of ten, was sent to live with her father's long time friend, Graham Montrose, after her parents' deaths, leaving her a rich heiress. But since there was no written wills to prove the fortune to be hers, Avril will need to get married in order to secure her inheritance. Thus, she was married to Graham at the age of 12, since he was the most eligible and suitable choice. Their marriage excisted only on paper, and once Avril reached 21, she will be free to make her own choice of a husband. But while all this was happening around her, Avril's plain adoration for her guardian had turned into true love. After 5 years of boarding school, she returned to Montclair, now a beautiful, learned and rich young lady. Graham was shocked and scared at the same time for he believed he posessed a wrong and way too deep feeling for his ward. To prevent his true emotions from showing, he kept Avril out of his sights and sent her away for a whole year to Europe. During this time 2 young men proposed, but Avril refused them both, believing that if she could not have Graham, she will have nobody. After the journey was over, Avril once again returned, now an even more mature and dazzling young woman. Graham now felt even more sad because he didn't believe her to share his feelings and didn't think it was appropriate. Avril was admired everywhere she went while her 21st birthday was fast approaching. She was determined to tell Graham how she felt before the marriage was broken, and if he did not return her love, she will leave the place and live a spinsterish live on her own. But true love only happens once in a life time and it will be easy to guess that it was happening in this story. I think this is a very captivating book and once I started I couldn't seem to be able to put it down. Even though it is easy to guess what will happen, this book is really enjoyable and satisfying. It was set in Virginia during the 1800s and might give you the idea that it is quite westernized. But it actually seems like it took place in England with all the grand mansions and balls. I highly reccommand this excellent book and all the other books in this series although I haven't read them all yet. But I am very sure that they will all be very exciting and will easily interest you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An old favorite, September 1, 2010

By 

Rachel E. Gray "Reg" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fortune's Bride (Brides of Montclair, Book 3) (Paperback)

This third book in the "Brides of Montclair" series is the story of Avril Dumont, a young orphan who is taken in by her parents' friend, the young widower Graham Montrose. As she grows up, the childish crush that she feels for her guardian grows along with her, until she believes it is the love of a woman for a man. Graham, as he tries to move forward with his own life, resists seeing her as anything other than a young lady under his care, while Avril struggles to make him see more.

I absolutely ADORED this book when I first read it (and then re- and re- and re-read it) as a not-quite teenager. It was one of my absolute favorite books. I loved the story, I loved the depth of genuine emotion that it evoked it me--Avril's heartbreak was my heartbreak, her frustration my frustration, her joy my joy--I loved the characters (I would have wanted Graham for myself if I hadn't truly liked Avril and felt so strongly that they belonged together), and I loved the idea that an older man could fall in love with younger girl.

I like to think I was a discerning reader even then, so I think think this book is probably of at least of adequate writing quality, if not better. I trust that when I decide to read this again I'll find it to be as wonderful as I remember.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fortune's Bride, July 10, 2005

By 

Devon Bursch "DBursch" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fortune's Bride (Brides of Montclair, Book 3) (Paperback)

This is my favorite so far!! Avril is sweet, sensitive, caring, and intelligent. She has this child-like quality that blossoms into what every woman can only hope to be. While Avril is sent away time after time she endures. The events that she encouters and her nemisis, Clarice, make this story very much captivating.