A shocking secret behind a young boy’s death leads to three generations of treachery in this breathtaking saga of love, power and revenge, set amid the wealth and decadence of Victorian England…
In 1866, a schoolboy drowns in a mysterious accident. Present are Hugh Pilaster and his older cousin Edward, the dissolute heir to a banking fortune and Micky Miranda, son of a brutal South American landowner. Caught in the ensuing maelstrom are sly matriarch Augusta Pilaster, rich heir Solly Greenbourne and slum girl Maisie Robinson. Micky Miranda uses blackmail and murder to advance his family and threatens the whole British economy.
Ken Follett’s view
I read a newspaper article about the day Barings Bank went bust in 1892. It intrigued me that this smug group of wealthy Victorian grandees should suddenly realise that all their money had gone. All of it. They are bankrupt, they owe money to people and they don’t have any themselves. They have to face the prospect of firing all their servants, moving to the suburbs and peeling their own potatoes and washing their own long johns. It struck me as terrifically dramatic and it became the central scene of the book. I worked backwards to construct how they got into this situation and then worked forwards to detail how did they dealt with it.
I had toyed with a banking novel before and dropped it and so in a sense I was returning to an old idea, although in a different form. The Victorian era is better than a contemporary setting for a banking story because modern banking is too mechanical and that impedes truly dramatic scenes. Banking then was also far less controlled: bonds were a relatively new invention, real cash was used a lot and records were written by clerks on stools with quill pens. It enabled me to do banking in a more vivid and material way.
A Dangerous Fortune is, however, more about murder than money. There are several murders, and a mystery that runs right through the story. It also has my first female villain, Augusta who’s domineering, sexy and unscrupulous. I like her.
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
Follett (Night Over Water, 1991; The Pillars of The Earth, 1989, etc.) peeks into the naughty world of late Victorian merchant bankers. A tragic misadventure among schoolboys is at the root of the rotten world of the Pilaster family. Weak bully Edward Pilaster and his too-dear South American chum Mickey Miranda cause the death by drowning of a lad from the lower form at their minor public school and then grow up to become as corrupt as one might expect. Mickey murders his way to a sinecure in the London legation of his nitrate-rich Latin American homeland, and, with much help from his gorgeous, manipulative mum Augusta, Edward bumbles his way to a partnership in the immensely important family bank. The only really good Pilaster, aside from discreetly gay Uncle Samuel, is young Hugh, whose father left the family firm, founded his own bank, and then had to commit suicide when the bank foundered. Hugh is a born banker, but since he's so much smarter than cousin Edward, Aunt Augusta hates him and throws constant obstacles in his path. Against Hugh's advice, Mickey and Edward team up on a series of huge loans to Mickey's government--money that goes to the purchase of war materiel and the advancement of Mickey's thuggish father. On this rotten foundation, the Pilaster bank grows to Imperial preeminence and Augusta gets the earldom she wants for the husband she dislikes. Hugh, pining for the Polish-born, Jewish bareback- rider he loved and lost and still nursing his childhood memory of That Day At The Swimming Hole, gets nothing but grief until those shaky South American bonds finally collapse and he's really needed. Interesting financial tips and a sprinkling of naughty bits, but the rest is minor Masterpiece Theatre. (BOM ??) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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.
From the Paperback edition.
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".
From the Publisher
"Political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murders and financial crises...old-fashioned entertainment!" -- San Francisco Chronicle.
In 1866, tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circle of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many loves... From the exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London's upper classes to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust, bound by a shared legacy... men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped, or not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation, will die...
"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.
From the Inside Flap
In 1866, tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circle of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many loves... From the exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London's upper classes to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust, bound by a shared legacy... men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped, or not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation, will die...
From the Paperback edition.
From the Back Cover
"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.
"Political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murders and financial crises...old-fashioned entertainment!" -- San Francisco Chronicle.
About the Author
Ken Follett is the author of numerous international bestsellers, including Jackdaws, Hornet Flight, Code to Zero, Triple, Eye of the Needle, Pillars of the Earth, and A Dangerous Fortune. He lives in England.
Editorial Reviews.
From Kirkus Reviews
Follett (Night Over Water, 1991; The Pillars of The Earth, 1989, etc.) peeks into the naughty world of late Victorian merchant bankers. A tragic misadventure among schoolboys is at the root of the rotten world of the Pilaster family. Weak bully Edward Pilaster and his too-dear South American chum Mickey Miranda cause the death by drowning of a lad from the lower form at their minor public school and then grow up to become as corrupt as one might expect. Mickey murders his way to a sinecure in the London legation of his nitrate-rich Latin American homeland, and, with much help from his gorgeous, manipulative mum Augusta, Edward bumbles his way to a partnership in the immensely important family bank. The only really good Pilaster, aside from discreetly gay Uncle Samuel, is young Hugh, whose father left the family firm, founded his own bank, and then had to commit suicide when the bank foundered. Hugh is a born banker, but since he's so much smarter than cousin Edward, Aunt Augusta hates him and throws constant obstacles in his path. Against Hugh's advice, Mickey and Edward team up on a series of huge loans to Mickey's government--money that goes to the purchase of war materiel and the advancement of Mickey's thuggish father. On this rotten foundation, the Pilaster bank grows to Imperial preeminence and Augusta gets the earldom she wants for the husband she dislikes. Hugh, pining for the Polish-born, Jewish bareback- rider he loved and lost and still nursing his childhood memory of That Day At The Swimming Hole, gets nothing but grief until those shaky South American bonds finally collapse and he's really needed. Interesting financial tips and a sprinkling of naughty bits, but the rest is minor Masterpiece Theatre. (BOM ??) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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.
From the Paperback edition.
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".
From the Publisher
"Political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murders and financial crises...old-fashioned entertainment!" -- San Francisco Chronicle.
In 1866, tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circle of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many loves... From the exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London's upper classes to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust, bound by a shared legacy... men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped, or not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation, will die...
"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.
From the Inside Flap
In 1866, tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circle of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many loves... From the exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London's upper classes to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust, bound by a shared legacy... men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped, or not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation, will die...
From the Paperback edition.
From the Back Cover
"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.
"Political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murders and financial crises...old-fashioned entertainment!" -- San Francisco Chronicle.
About the Author
Ken Follett is the author of numerous international bestsellers, including Jackdaws, Hornet Flight, Code to Zero, Triple, Eye of the Needle, Pillars of the Earth, and A Dangerous Fortune. He lives in England.
From AudioFile
Ken Follett is a matchless storyteller, and this story is tailor-made for audio. With the selection of Michael Page as narrator, the result is choice. Dangerous Fortune is the saga of an English banking family. It follows the Pilaster clan through a generation in the second half of the nineteenth century. There are multiple characters of all ages. Page's British articulation differentiates each voice, displaying a wide range, from English-speaking South Americans to Londoners of all classes. Augusta, the treacherous matriarch, comes across particularly well. With Follett teamed up with Page, you can't stop listening. D.W.K. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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