Misfortune's Daughters [Hardcover]

Joan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2005

In this utterly compelling novel, two sisters born into privilege find themselves forced to make wrenching life decisions as they struggle with a troubled family legacy and the immense weight of wealth, fame, ambition, and betrayal.

Misfortune's Daughters chronicles the gripping, multigenerational saga of the wealthy Stephanopolis family. Beginning in the Golden Era of Hollywood, the beautiful and talented actress Laura Marlowe meets the young, dashing, and rich shipping magnate Nicholas Stephanopolis. After a whirlwind courtship, the two marry and move to the private Stephanopolis Island in the south of Greece. Yet heartache and tragedy soon find them and extend into the lives of their two very different but willful and ambitious daughters, Venetia and Atlanta. One is a beautiful and favored daughter who's bent on self-destruction; the other is a wallflower who buries herself in books and shies away from her privileged world. But both must confront the legacy and tragedy of the lives of their parents.

Sweeping across almost 60 years and jetting from New York to Paris, Los Angeles, and Greece, Misfortune's Daughters is an irresistible, page-turning tale that reveals the glittering life of show business and the grittiness of the journalistic profession. Drawing on her own knowledge and experience, Collins takes the reader deep inside the exclusive gates of wealth and luxury, exposing dark secrets and forbidden desires as two young women vie to break free from their family's shadow and become independent women in their own right.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two poor little rich girls struggle to find their way in the cruel world of wealth and privilege in this latest potboiler by former Dynasty star Collins (Star Quality, etc.). Born to 1960s Hollywood starlet Laura Marlowe and ruthless, womanizing Greek tycoon Nicholas Stephanopolis, Atlanta and Venetia are as different as, well, Greece and Hollywood. Elder sister Atlanta is every bit her father's daughter—not only is she dark, but she has also inherited his furry arms and facial hair ("many young girls from Mediterranean climates suffer from this embarrassing condition"). Thus Venetia, the image of her mother with aquamarine eyes and blonde hair, becomes the apple of her father's eye, while Atlanta is thoroughly ignored, especially after Laura's mysterious death. At age 20, Atlanta disappears, only to emerge as a swan after months of cosmetic surgery. She soon begins to enjoy the attentions of men, as well as professional success as a magazine editor, but her father continues to snub her. Meanwhile, Venetia chooses to follow a self-destructive path of alcohol, drugs and promiscuity that causes her to lose her glow. Collins's patented glitz and overheated plotting keep the pages turning, but Venetia's rich-girl misbehavior is tabloid predictable, and some readers may be put off by the endorsement of massive plastic surgery as a cure-all.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In Collins' most recent novel, the over-the-top actress-writer provides 60 chapters of lively, if formulaic, fun. The story moves briskly as it follows the lives of Atlanta and Venetia, the daughters of a Greek billionaire. Although the sisters were born into a world of wealth and luxury, their relationship with their misogynistic father ensures that their adult lives will be filled with tragedy and heartache. Over the course of the novel's 400 pages, those events are played out as the girls and the story move from Greece to New York, L.A., and Paris, and their troubles, initially run-of-the mill rich-girl high jinks, become more and more serious. From a soft-porn tape made of outtakes of Atlanta's first movie to Venetia's crack addiction, the girls spiral ever downward, until at long last fortune intervenes, and everybody lives happily ever after. Filled with raunchy sex scenes and a highly imaginative plotline, Collins' third novel is nothing if not enthusiastic. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (February 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401300685
• ISBN-13: 978-1401300685
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,099,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Great!, March 14, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Misfortune's Daughters (Hardcover)

Joan Collins has been lambasted for her literary strength. However, it seems she has vindicated herself nicely with "Misfortune's Daughters."

It follows the lives of the two Stehanopolis sisters, who reflect a sort of Paris Hilton/Princess Stephanie of Monaco vibe that Collins nails perfectly.

With enough love, lust, greed, hate, money, power and blind ambition, the book kept me hooked and is by far Collins' best work of fiction to date.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining!!!, March 7, 2005

By 

MEGHNA KUCKREJA (Madison, WI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Misfortune's Daughters (Hardcover)

When one thinks of Hollywood "gossip" books, one thinks of Jackie Collins. But surprisingly, Joan Collins has made her mark in the fiction genre with ease. Misfortune's daughter is an interesting pool-side read. It has got all the elements to make the story a gripping one - romance, betrayal, insecurities, all put together with a pinch of glamour.

The two central characters of the book, the Stephanopolis sisters - Atlanta and Venetia are as different as night and day. Where Atlanta is the older sibling with a plethora of insecurities, Venetia is the wild-child, drugs addicted, jet setting younger sister. Both vie for their father, Nicholas Stephenopolis's affection. Hollywood and the life-styles of the rich and famous are used as the backdrop to this interesting read. People who love gossip and reading tabloids would love this book. Thumbs up!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Beach or Airport Novel!!, April 3, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Misfortune's Daughters (Hardcover)

This is hands down the best novel by Joan Collins to date. The sisters, Venetia and Atlanta, have anything and everything they could ever want in the material world.

But they lack the love of their father who emotionally abandons them at an early age leading one sister to accidently star in a scandalous film while another becomes a drug addict.

Coupled with an interesting sub-plot concerning an immigrant fashion designer thirsty for revenge and an Italian movie diva who hungers for pleasure, from anyone, "Misfortune's Daughters" is a delightfully fast paced novel that I couldn't put down!

Obviously, Joan is taking snipets of her own life and career, along with facets from other celebrities to craft her characters and storyline. But she succeeds very well, quite simply this is the best Jackie Collins novel that Jackie Collins didn't write!

Joan is at the top of her game, weaving decadent settings with delicious characters to craft a story that is neither groundbreaking or wildly original. Rather, it is an enthusiastic, fast paced novel that can be described in one word: FUN!