In
The Fortune Hunter, Daisy Goodwin’s
new historical novel, the reader is swept away to a little known historical
setting that promises grand adventure and romance. Unfortunately, The
Fortune Hunter fell flat for me, even if I did learn a bit of history while
reading.
Elizabeth,
Empress of Austria, is on a tour of England in 1875. Married as a teenager to an emperor devoted to his work,
Elizabeth yearned for more excitement than just that of a royal wife. Elizabeth (Sisi) considered the
“Princess Diana” of her time, wanted to focus on her interests, which include
riding horses and fox hunting.
On
a trip to England, Sisi is assigned a pilot named Bay Middleton. Captain Middleton, a veteran of
military service, is to guide Sisi through her rides. Though Captain Middleton is romantically involved with
Charlotte Baird, an heiress, he is charmed by Sisi’s royal demeanor and riding
prowess.
Charlotte,
a photographer, is no royal beauty.
She is forced to stay under the thumb of her brother and his overbearing
fiancée because she is not entitled to her fortune without her brother’s
say-so. Even her romance with Bay
Middleton is discouraged, as he has the reputation of being a fortune
hunter. But Charlotte feels
certain of Bay and his feelings—even as she watches him fall further and
further under the royal spell that Sisi weaves.
My
chief complaint about The Fortune Hunter
is that I did not believe the romance between Bay and Charlotte. There was nothing that made me believe
that this mousy little heiress would win the heart of the “great” Bay
Middleton. Their connection always
seemed tenuous at best, and I was not fully invested in either character.
Also
difficult to enjoy was the muddled character development. I still have no idea who this book is
mainly about. Is it about
Charlotte and her steadfast devotion to Bay Middleton? Is it about Sisi and her tour of
Europe? Is it about a lonely
heiress who is trying to discern whether she is about to be taken by a fortune
hunter? I finished the book and I
still cannot answer this question.
In
addition, Bay Middleton was no prize and mostly unlikable. He had an affair with a married woman
and impregnated her. (He later
ditched her.) He had an affair
with the married Empress, all while romantically involved with Charlotte. His only objection was the idea that he
would be considered a royal “stud”—available to the self-obsessed Empress
whenever she beckoned him.
Yes,
the history behind the book is fascinating, but I am not sure that it warranted
an entire book about it.
Sometimes, there is just not enough to make a novel, and the stretching
of the source material is just too thin to sustain a cohesive story. Unfortunately, this is the fate that
befalls The Fortune Hunter. Poor character development and a
slogging plot made this one a chore.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Regina
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