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10th out of 19 books
—
71 voters
A Dangerous Fortune
by
Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)
In 1866, tragedy strikes at theexclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circleof boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates aspiraling circle of treachery that will span threedecades and entwine many loves... From the exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to everydark desire of London's upper classes to the da...more
Paperback, 576 pages
Published
November 1st 1994
by Island Books
(first published 1993)
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Yes, this book is somewhat predictable and serves less as a mystery novel and more as a historical drama/romance, but I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the novel simply as it was. It may also be a bit too familiar to Follett followers as the model of storytelling remains consistent with his typical writing techniques, but it also displays Follett's tremendous ability to set a mood and create an atmosphere that makes almost all his books so hard to put down. The historical detail makes A Dange...more
Geniales Sittenbild des ausklingenden 19. Jahrhunderts
Das Buch ist ein geniales Sittenbild der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Im Kern geht es um die Geschichte des Hugh Pilasters, der das schwarze Schaf der Pilasters - einer der größten Bankiersfamilien - ist. Nun schwarzes Schaf ist vielleicht etwas falsch ausgedrückt, eher ist er das weiße Schaf innerhalb der grau-schwarzen Herde. Hugh ist ehrlich, aufrichtig und glaubt an das Gute im Menschen. Nebenbei ist er höchst intelligent und vers...more
Das Buch ist ein geniales Sittenbild der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Im Kern geht es um die Geschichte des Hugh Pilasters, der das schwarze Schaf der Pilasters - einer der größten Bankiersfamilien - ist. Nun schwarzes Schaf ist vielleicht etwas falsch ausgedrückt, eher ist er das weiße Schaf innerhalb der grau-schwarzen Herde. Hugh ist ehrlich, aufrichtig und glaubt an das Gute im Menschen. Nebenbei ist er höchst intelligent und vers...more
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A Dangerous Fortune is my third Ken Follett book, after Fall of Giants and Hornet Flight and I have to say after Fortune, he is fast becoming a favourite author of mine. This book was a tremendous read and one that had me hooked and longing to return to its pages to find out what would happen next.
Set in the 19th century, the story spans the decades between the 1860s and 1890s and follows the fortunes of the powerful Pilaster family following the death of a student one summer at a swimming hole...more
Set in the 19th century, the story spans the decades between the 1860s and 1890s and follows the fortunes of the powerful Pilaster family following the death of a student one summer at a swimming hole...more
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Ken Follet has added another great book this novel, A Dangerous Fortune. His has a great nack for creating amazing characters showing many different aspects of human life, like manipulation, greedy, misery, deceiving, murder, political and amorous intrigues, etc., making the book a very entertaining reading.
The story takes place in the late 1800’s and starts with a tragic drowning of a student in an exclusive school named Windfield. A small circle of boys are directly or indirectly involved in t...more
The story takes place in the late 1800’s and starts with a tragic drowning of a student in an exclusive school named Windfield. A small circle of boys are directly or indirectly involved in t...more
This book, what to say about this book? I absolutely love all Ken Follett’s book, he is genius.
Dangerous Fortune is not typical Follett’s book, set in 19th century , story follows the fortunes of famous and rich family Pilaster. At the beginning I thought it will be criminal book or something like that, I didn’t expect so much drama, romance and malice (all in good way).
First, my favorite character was Micky, I love that kind of smart and astute guys who knows how to care to themselves and pass...more
Dangerous Fortune is not typical Follett’s book, set in 19th century , story follows the fortunes of famous and rich family Pilaster. At the beginning I thought it will be criminal book or something like that, I didn’t expect so much drama, romance and malice (all in good way).
First, my favorite character was Micky, I love that kind of smart and astute guys who knows how to care to themselves and pass...more
Ken Follett sure knows how to tell a story, and he oozes character development skill. I got to know every character in the title well, for better or for worse. There were manipulators, the manipulated, the highborn, the lower class, and everything in between. I was eager to discover what these people would do next, and who they would do it to.
As a period piece, I cannot vouch for its authenticity (since I'm not an expert on London and South America in the late 1800s), but I can tell you that it...more
As a period piece, I cannot vouch for its authenticity (since I'm not an expert on London and South America in the late 1800s), but I can tell you that it...more
A Dangerous Fortune is a novel about good and evil,power and greed, and the far-reaching consequences of our actions. It's also a lesson in the rigid class distinctions of Victorian England.
Young Edward Pilaster, scion of one of the richest banking families in England, and Miguel (Micky) Miranda, son of a powerful rancher in a small South American country, are friends in their exclusive private school. One summer day, a tragic event unfolds among a group of six boys at the school, leaving one o...more
Young Edward Pilaster, scion of one of the richest banking families in England, and Miguel (Micky) Miranda, son of a powerful rancher in a small South American country, are friends in their exclusive private school. One summer day, a tragic event unfolds among a group of six boys at the school, leaving one o...more
بعد الإنتهاء من رواية دعامات الأرض اقتنيت هذا الكتاب بسرعة، ولم يخب ضني، رواية تجعلك تبتلع الكتاب في مدة قصيرة.
كين فوليت استعمل تقريبا نفس الوصفة التي استعملها في كتاب دعامات الأرض، لكن هذه الرواية، رغم وقوعها في التشخيص الهزيل والغبي والغير واقعي في بعض الأحيان للشخصيات الشريرة في الرواية، تبقى رواية غنية بالأحداث التي تدور في وحول بريطانيا في النصف الأخير من القرن التاسع عشر، خصوصا الأحداث الإقتصادية منها.
أكثر ما يعجبني هو وصف الحالة الإجتماعية للبريطانيين في تلك الفطرة، بداية الحداثة، ألقاب ا...more
كين فوليت استعمل تقريبا نفس الوصفة التي استعملها في كتاب دعامات الأرض، لكن هذه الرواية، رغم وقوعها في التشخيص الهزيل والغبي والغير واقعي في بعض الأحيان للشخصيات الشريرة في الرواية، تبقى رواية غنية بالأحداث التي تدور في وحول بريطانيا في النصف الأخير من القرن التاسع عشر، خصوصا الأحداث الإقتصادية منها.
أكثر ما يعجبني هو وصف الحالة الإجتماعية للبريطانيين في تلك الفطرة، بداية الحداثة، ألقاب ا...more
A Dangerous Fortune is set in 19th century London and deals with love, hate, murder, and family relationships. There is a hero, Hugh, who is the black sheep of his family, and a villian, Hugh's Aunt Augusta. It is a story of a woman who marries for access and not for love, and an observation of middle class relationships of the period which are burdened with making a match to serve a purpose and then living with the consequences. Each character in the story makes decisions in their relationships...more
Jan 20, 2009
Devin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any Follett Follower
Shelves:
ken-follett
A Dangerous Fortune is one of Ken Follett's most popular novels and with good reason. The story is set in London during the late 19th century and touches on many themes including tragedy, murder, deceit, love, sex, hate, responsibility and justice.
The main hero of the story is Hugh Pilaster, an intelligent and handsome man who struggles to break free of his role as the black sheep of a prominent banking family. Follett does a brilliant job of making the reader sympathize with his misfortune and...more
The main hero of the story is Hugh Pilaster, an intelligent and handsome man who struggles to break free of his role as the black sheep of a prominent banking family. Follett does a brilliant job of making the reader sympathize with his misfortune and...more
An intricate story, based in the goings-ons of a banking family of the mid-late 19th century, entwined with a murder mystery. A few twists (predictable but I didn't see them coming until just before they were revealed, but then I'm a gullible reader). Lots of ups and downs; it's a long book but I never tired of it, I actually flew through the pages.
Plenty of well-developed characters. Follett successfully makes the reader feel a connection to each of the main characters, not to be defeated by h...more
Plenty of well-developed characters. Follett successfully makes the reader feel a connection to each of the main characters, not to be defeated by h...more
( Portuguese version) . As ever ken Follet novel are worth to read. This one talk about banks. He always chose a subject and build the story around it.I read about airplanes, buildings, miners and spies in World Word and Follet never disappoint the reader. Always creating essence to his stories, tense, awe and action dominated by tough characters. One thing I don't like it though is some brutal death that he insists in putting in his novel like smashing one head, drowning another with that horro...more
Oct 30, 2010
Sam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who like family sagas
Recommended to Sam by:
my mum
This book has the distinction of being the first book that I purchased and read on my Sony e-reader. The first thing I noticed was that the e-reader must condense the pages as there were less screens than the book copy of A Dangerous Fortune- a good thing in my opinion as Mr Follett tends to write chunky pageturners.
A Dangerous Fortune is another one of those page turners, focusing on an English banking family, the Pilasters, in the late 1800s. There is Edward, the rich banking heir and Hugh, wh...more
A Dangerous Fortune is another one of those page turners, focusing on an English banking family, the Pilasters, in the late 1800s. There is Edward, the rich banking heir and Hugh, wh...more
Definitely an interesting read, even more because of the financial crisis and the banking reality as its main theme. I think Follett manages to depict quite accurately the spirit of 19th century's protestantism and -equally religious- faith in liberal economy. I really enjoyed his description of London and the care he took in giving the reader the little details helped you immerse yourself in the story. The book's plot, was well developed, with nicely fitting twists and turns and at the same tim...more
I have yet to finish this book but that doesn't mean I haven't already devolped a strong opinion about it. The book is interesting and nearly impossible to put down. Though you see the villians crush the happiness of others again and again for their own personal gain, that's one reason I can't stop reading it, the hope that in the next page, the next chapter the villians will finally get exactly what they deserve. That also sets it apart from most of the crappy teen romances you see now, where e...more
If you're familiar with Follet's work then I'm afraid that this is more of the same; simply framed within a different context. The book is characteristically full of sexual scandal, blind sides, manipulative baddies, and angelic (but terribly unlucky) goodies - sound familiar? As a discourse on banking and the culture of varying societal levels of the late 19th century London, I think this is a interesting read. It dies however tread similar ground to 'fall of giants' in terms of the workings of...more
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I've read this book three times, which in and of itself should show how much I like it.
Anyway. There's a young man who is a financial genius but is disliked by his banking family, a young woman whose fortune rises and plunges in an instant, a few incredibly complicated, realistic villains, and at the back of it all, the bank.
Somehow, their interactions make sense when reading. It's historical fiction, but with such an elaborate plot that it's breathtaking. Each character's actions influence the...more
Anyway. There's a young man who is a financial genius but is disliked by his banking family, a young woman whose fortune rises and plunges in an instant, a few incredibly complicated, realistic villains, and at the back of it all, the bank.
Somehow, their interactions make sense when reading. It's historical fiction, but with such an elaborate plot that it's breathtaking. Each character's actions influence the...more
2009 # 93
Ken Follett - A Dangerous Fortune - Finished - 7/2/2009
An older Follett book that had me reading steadily. Set in 1800s London, it follows the ups and downs of the Pilaster Banking Family. Hugh Pilaster is the son whose father broke away from the family and started his own business but was wiped out when another bank failed. Hugh ends up back working for the Family bank and dealing with the dislike and even hatred of other members of the family. The books follows the intrigues and love...more
Ken Follett - A Dangerous Fortune - Finished - 7/2/2009
An older Follett book that had me reading steadily. Set in 1800s London, it follows the ups and downs of the Pilaster Banking Family. Hugh Pilaster is the son whose father broke away from the family and started his own business but was wiped out when another bank failed. Hugh ends up back working for the Family bank and dealing with the dislike and even hatred of other members of the family. The books follows the intrigues and love...more
this is so far my favorite book..
i honestly say that this is a real page-turner and you'll be hooked up 'til you finish it.....
this book is about everyone's greed for money that they're able to do even the impossible just to get it...
i honestly say that this is a real page-turner and you'll be hooked up 'til you finish it.....
this book is about everyone's greed for money that they're able to do even the impossible just to get it...
It's a bit of a mixed bag for me. The characters involve the reader with their travails and good fortune, the setting is interesting. Follett weaves together a story across multiple decades and there is murder, financial scandal and intrigues right and left. There are plenty of twists and delays in the union of the two central figures, right out of 'how to write fiction 101', which seemed overtly obvious to me. Somehow the story never quite gels.
A Dangerous Fortune is Follett's saga which follow...more
A Dangerous Fortune is Follett's saga which follow...more
Il giudizio sicuramente è condizionato dal fatto di aver letto 'I pilastri della Terra', 'Mondo senza fine' e questo nel giro di quattro mesi. Cambia il periodo storico, siamo verso la fine del 1800, ma i protagonisti assomigliano a quelli degli altri libri. Il ragazzo in gamba, con grandi idee che sa sempre risollevarsi dalle situazioni peggiori, la donna amata che però non può stargli accanto, gli antagonisti(compresa la solita madre che guida un marito debole ed un figlio incapace) che compio...more
This book slowly got under my skin. Ken Follett somehow manages to have you almost routing for some of the "villians" because he so skillfully gets you inside their heads. As one "plot" after another comes to fruition, your allegiance changes, while you are still somehow hoping for everything to turn out all right for everyone. I thought I knew where the story was headed, and while I was correct on some points, I was wildly incorrect on others.
I really enjoyed the characters, and the way he dev...more
I really enjoyed the characters, and the way he dev...more
I gave this one 4 stars. It is typical Ken Follett work-vast and expansive. The character development is terrific, the story engaging and the saga of these people's lives is truly enjoyable to read. It was also interesting to read about the nineteenth century and how progress impacted business as well as personal lives. I'm not sure that the story really could have taken place and by that, I mean that I'm not really sure the characters could have survived or realistically interacted with each ot...more
This was great historical fiction and a departure from the usual Follett spy fare. This is a tale of English bankers circa 1895 who not only share a shocking secret of a childhood trauma at boarding school but who also now find themselves faced with financial collapse and economic ruin. The characters are three-dimensional and robust and include a female villain, mother of one of the schoolboys. She reminds me very much of the mother in "The Manchurian Candidate." What's also interesting is how...more
engaging reading. Ken Follet takes us to a nicely researched 19th century setting with a rather predictable set of characters - especially so if you've read a few books by Ken Follet. Still, the story draws the reader in, especially by creating lots of tension that is not released until the last 50 pages. This book is more of the "family drama" type, rather slow paced, few action scenes, but those few make you shiver. As a historically interested guy, I enjoyed the settings and historical hints...more
From the author of the great historical drama, Pillars of the Earth, this story of two banking families in London in the late eighteen hundreds is a brilliantly drawn tale of suspense and murder, filled with characters who live and breathe. We care about what happens to the people in this book, we root for the heroes and boo the villains. In A Dangerous Fortune, as in all Follett’s books, he has masterfully recreated the period in which it is set, bringing us fully into the social, political and...more
Esta es una de las obras mas divertidas de Follett. Nos pasea por los roles de la aristocracia londinense de finales del Siglo XIX. En esta novela tan entretenida tuve el gran placer de leer lo que para mi es la mejor escena, de una pareja teniendo relaciones sexuales, de la literatura universal. Narrada de una manera muy profesional, pero a la vez excitante, con gran estilo en su narrativa, y muy a pesar de lo detallado de la escena, jamas raya la vulgaridad; por el contrario, me parece que, ha...more
This was my first book by this author and I was really impressed. The story is set in the 1800s and in a way it is the classic tale of good vs evil. It is a glimpse into the banking industry in England in its' infancy. The book contains intrigue, murder, some sex, and a plot with lots of twists and turns. I thought the way the author portrays the English and Spanish characters in the book was particularly interesting. They are both ruthless in their seeking of power. But the Spanish characters w...more
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Ken Follett burst onto the book world in 1978 with Eye of the Needle, a taut and original thriller with a memorable woman character in the central role. The book won the Edgar award and became an outstanding film.
He went on to write four more bestselling thrillers: Triple; The Key to Rebecca; The Man from St Petersburg; and Lie Down with Lions.
He also wrote On Wings of Eagles, the true story of ho...more
More about Ken Follett...
He went on to write four more bestselling thrillers: Triple; The Key to Rebecca; The Man from St Petersburg; and Lie Down with Lions.
He also wrote On Wings of Eagles, the true story of ho...more
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