A Dangerous Fortune (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ken Follett (Author) "ON THE DAY OF THE TRAGEDY, the boys of Windfield School had been confined to their rooms..." (more)
Key Phrases: jeweled snuffboxes, nitrate mines, banking hall, Senior Partner, Micky Miranda, Hugh Pilaster (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Political and amorous intrigues,  cold-blooded murders and financial crises...old-fashioned  entertainment!" -- San Francisco  Chronicle.

"Breathlessly plotted...relentlessly  suspensenseful." -- The New York  Times.

"Gripping, complex plot..  sexual intrigue...fascinating characters...you won't be  able to put down this exciting page-turner!"  -- Lexington Herald-Leader. -- Review

Review
"Political and amorous intrigues,  cold-blooded murders and financial crises...old-fashioned  entertainment!" -- San Francisco  Chronicle.

"Breathlessly plotted...relentlessly  suspensenseful." -- The New York  Times.

"Gripping, complex plot..  sexual intrigue...fascinating characters...you won't be  able to put down this exciting page-turner!"  -- Lexington Herald-Leader.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Island Books (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440217490
• ISBN-13: 978-0440217497
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,285 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A RIVETING WORK OF FICTION..., November 11, 2002

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Dangerous Fortune, A (Audio Cassette)

The author, a masterful storyteller, weaves an intriguing and mesmerizing tapestry of events that surround the wealthy Pilaster banking family in the latter part of nineteenth century England. Its panoramic sweep will hold the reader in its thrall. This complex story tells of the ebb and flow of their individual personal fortunes and the personalities that are to profoundly affect them, for better or worse.

Augusta Pilaster is the scheming, socially conscious, self-appointed matriarch of the family. She is a woman who will stop at nothing to ensure that her reckless and easily manipulated husband, Joseph, and their indolent, dissolute, and lackluster son, Edward, will get and retain control of the Pilaster banking enterprise. Her machiavellian machinations, however, will eventually trigger the downfall of the family's fortune.

Hugh Pilaster, Augusta's nephew by marriage, is the Pilaster who has the brains and work ethic to take the Pilaster banking fortunes to a new level. His Achilles heel is that he seems destined to be attracted to working class women, a chink in his armor that Augusta Pilaster uses to her and her immediate family's advantage. He, too, is Augusta Pilater's unwitting pawn, until the day of reckoning comes.

Micky Miranda is the romantically handsome scion of a wealthy, unscrupulous, and power hungry South American businessman. Micky attended an exclusive school with Edward and Hugh Pilaster, when they were young. While there, tragedy struck when a mysterious swimming "accident" took the life of one of their friends, an event that was to shadow their lives in ways no one could have imagined. Micky Miranda would eventually enter into into a web of complicity with Augusta Pilaster that would impact on the fortunes of both the Miranda and Pilaster families.

This book takes the reader through all strata of English society, from the drawing rooms of the upper classes to the exclusive men's clubs and brothels that cater to exotic appetites. It is a totally engrossing and absorbing tale of love, hatred, and treachery that spans three decades. It is a story that the reader will thoroughly enjoy.

I originally read this book several years ago and enjoyed it so much that I decided to purchase the unabridged audiobook for a road trip. It provided seventeen hours of pure listening pleasure, as the narrator, Michael Page, is absolutely superlative. He manages to imbue each character with its own recognizable voice and personality. I was able to tear myself away from the car only with great difficulty, at times, as I was so engrossed by the story and its telling.

This is a terrific book. Whether one reads it or has it read to them makes no difference, as it is a captivating and wholly entertaining work of well written fiction. Bravo!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining, October 23, 2001

By	AntiochAndy "antiochandy" (Antioch, CA USA) - See all my reviews

In my opinion, Ken Follett is one of the better writers working currently, and A DANGEROUS FORTUNE is one of his best books to date. I liked his EYE OF THE NEEDLE and PILLARS OF THE EARTH very much, too, and while I don't think FORTUNE is quite that good, it is still one of the most entertaining books I've read recently. The story is set in England in the latter half of the 19th century, and revolves around the wealthy Pilaster family. The Pilasters are bankers and control the large and powerful Pilaster Bank. As schoolboys, both Edward Pilaster and his cousin Hugh, son of the family black sheep, are involved in the death by drowning of a fellow student. That event is the beginning of 25 years of intrigue, corruption and murder as the fortunes of the Pilasters and those close to them play out. Follett weaves an intricate and fast-paced, if not always surprising, plot around his characters that carries the reader from the mansions of London's rich and powerful, through seedy bordellos, to vile gambling dens.

This is contemporary pulp fiction at its best. The characters have depth and believability and Follett seems to do a good job of evoking the look and feel of the period. The pages roll by quickly and the book is hard to put down. But, if it's so good, why didn't I give it five stars? Generally, I reserve five-star status for books of what I regard to be classic status. Caesar, Tolkien, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter (yeah, I do think Harry Potter will be around for a long time). Maybe Harry Bosch, although I may have gotten carried away, there. This is, after all, pulp fiction and it just doesn't have the depth of the above. It is very entertaining, though, and I think most readers will enjoy it very much. Consider it a strong four plus and give it a look.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder and money in Victorian England, December 21, 1999

By	Jo Berry (Countesthorpe, UK) - See all my reviews

Ken Follett writes two kinds of novels: good spy thrillers or good historical novels. This is the latter, a book where the reader is dipped into the subterfuge and manipulation of a major banking company in Victorian England, owned by the Pilaster family who have been haunted by an event which happened at a boarding school years ago. The plot has more twists than a corkscrew as the family's need for money and recognition plunge them into devious playing of Victorian values, ambitious plans and even murder. Hugh Pilaster, the hero of the story, has a kind of Hugh-Grantish confusion about him, even as he fights to keep the love of his life and his position in society, which is at times both endearing and annoying, and we find out more about Victorian brothels than we really want to, but other than that, a brilliant read.