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Fortune Trilogy #1
Fortune's Mistress
In this romping romance, a low-born beauty branded as a witch stands no chance if she doesn’t go with the illegitimate son of King Charles II to find his hidden gold treasure but she discovers much more—passion under the sweet breeze of tropical moonlight.
Bound in chains together, the witch and the privateer await the hangman under the Newgate Prison gallows. But Lacy Bennett and James Black are destined for greater things and make a bold escape south to find his lost fortune in gold.
Grave perils await them as they are pursued by enemies who want the gold too. Betrayed by the treacherous greed of a false friend, Lacy and James forge an unbreakable bond—and enjoy searing passion. This unlikely pair—the handsome bastard lord and his enchanting low-born lady—create a dynasty with their sensuous, passionate—and rapturous love—and their quest will leave a living legacy for generations to come as their story continues.
371 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
40 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Judith E. French
41 books60 followers ABOUT JUDITH E. FRENCH
Judith E. French captures the essence of passion and brings her special characters alive on every page. A multiple award winner, including RT's Historical Romance Lifetime Achievement Author, Best Historical Author of the Year, The PEARL award for Best Anthology, and The Delaware Diamond Award for Literary Excellence, she is best known for her American frontier historical fiction. A master storyteller, she finds inspiration in her Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English and Lenni-Lenape ancestry near Chesapeake Bay, where the French family has made its home for more than 300 years. Judith’s novels have sold millions and been translated into French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Bulgarian, and Mandarin. She appeals to readers of Christi Caldwell, Mary Balogh, C. J. Petit, Shirleen Davies, Karen Kay, Madeline Baker, Elle Marlow, Ellen O'Connell, Vonna Harper, Kathryn Le Veque, Colleen French, Julie Garwood, Cecelia Mecca, Caroline Fyffe, and Hannah Howell. She is the mother of bestselling novelist Colleen French.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 6, 2016
Well told, Wonderful and Exciting Pirate & Privateer Saga!
This is the first in French’s “Fortune trilogy” and it’s one pirate tale not to be missed! Set in England and the Caribbean in 1672, the story begins as Lacy Bennett, marked as a witch, is bound for Tyburn gallows in London. When the guards worry that a pirate, James Black, one of the prisoners, may try and escape, they chain him to Lacy. However, Lacy has an escape plan of her own. Lacy’s brothers come to her rescue and create a disturbance in front of the gallows, enabling Lacy and James to escape—bound together.
Though a series of events, Lacy and James sail away on her family’s boat across the Atlantic where James seeks to recapture Incan gold he and his fellow privateers lost when their ship was sunk. Betrayed by the pirate Henry Morgan, James is taking no chances when he runs into a man he thought was his friend who demands his share of the gold and Lacy. But James bargains, using Lacy as collateral as if she were his possession, ending Lacy’s trust. But not her dreams, dreams that the gold will allow her to achieve.
French has taken great pains to get the setting, history and details right while weaving a fascinating tale of a woman who, though a wrecker’s daughter and of low birth, is smart and courageous and beautiful. You cannot help but love her. And the hero is the bastard son of Charles II, shunned by his father, who wants to regain what he views as rightfully his. To do so, he is not above using Lacy. He falls in love with the beautiful redhead, but will offer her no more than a courtesan’s life. Though she returns his love, Lacy will not be his kept woman.
French has created wonderful characters, including an Incan warrior who believes Lacy’s visions of future events makes her the “star woman,” foretold in their legends.
It’s an exciting tale from beginning to end with many threads that had me eager to know where the story would lead. I highly recommend this saga of pirates, privateers, legends and the high seas. It’s well told and wonderful!
The saga continues with the rest of the Fortune Trilogy:
FORTUNE’S MISTRESS
FORTUNE’S FLAME
FORTUNE’S BRIDE
This is the first in French’s “Fortune trilogy” and it’s one pirate tale not to be missed! Set in England and the Caribbean in 1672, the story begins as Lacy Bennett, marked as a witch, is bound for Tyburn gallows in London. When the guards worry that a pirate, James Black, one of the prisoners, may try and escape, they chain him to Lacy. However, Lacy has an escape plan of her own. Lacy’s brothers come to her rescue and create a disturbance in front of the gallows, enabling Lacy and James to escape—bound together.
Though a series of events, Lacy and James sail away on her family’s boat across the Atlantic where James seeks to recapture Incan gold he and his fellow privateers lost when their ship was sunk. Betrayed by the pirate Henry Morgan, James is taking no chances when he runs into a man he thought was his friend who demands his share of the gold and Lacy. But James bargains, using Lacy as collateral as if she were his possession, ending Lacy’s trust. But not her dreams, dreams that the gold will allow her to achieve.
French has taken great pains to get the setting, history and details right while weaving a fascinating tale of a woman who, though a wrecker’s daughter and of low birth, is smart and courageous and beautiful. You cannot help but love her. And the hero is the bastard son of Charles II, shunned by his father, who wants to regain what he views as rightfully his. To do so, he is not above using Lacy. He falls in love with the beautiful redhead, but will offer her no more than a courtesan’s life. Though she returns his love, Lacy will not be his kept woman.
French has created wonderful characters, including an Incan warrior who believes Lacy’s visions of future events makes her the “star woman,” foretold in their legends.
It’s an exciting tale from beginning to end with many threads that had me eager to know where the story would lead. I highly recommend this saga of pirates, privateers, legends and the high seas. It’s well told and wonderful!
The saga continues with the rest of the Fortune Trilogy:
FORTUNE’S MISTRESS
FORTUNE’S FLAME
FORTUNE’S BRIDE
April 6, 2014
London, England Autumn 1672 Lacy Bennett stepped from the dank shadows of Newgate Prison into the bright September morning.
And finds herself chained to condemned pirate John Black and on their way to the hangman at Tyburn Hill.
“Where are your friends? Late won’t cut it. We’re deep in shit, woman.”
I don't think it will come as any surprise, but the two do manage to get away, break their chains and they're on the run. James' plans didn't include Lacy, but things happen on they're on the way to the a Caribbean island where a pirate ship carrying a huge fortune in gold stolen from the Spanish who stole it from the Incas sunk and everyone on board perished. Well, James didn't perish and who knows who else didn't perish? Hmmmm?
You'll just have to guess at that, but what a fun ride, with plenty of surprise twists and turns on every page.. I almost gave up after the first chapter or so, the period dialog was very heavily done (Lacy and her chums being from Cornwall and all), but once the pair got off on their own it did ease up quite a bit, Lacy still ye'd a lot, but James being an unacknowledged illegitimate son of Charles Stuart, he was raised in his mother's home as a gentleman (way too hard to try to explain - just read the book). The relationship between Lacy and James was well done IMO, and I loved the repartee and banter between the pair. They do steam up the pages on occasion, and the sex is definitely not behind closed doors, but it was well done without some of the eye rollingly peen reaches the womb silly prose to be found in some of those older romances. Or in today's romances as well.
French is a new-to-me author and I do plan on checking out more of her titles.
Kindle copy obtained via library loan.
And finds herself chained to condemned pirate John Black and on their way to the hangman at Tyburn Hill.
“Where are your friends? Late won’t cut it. We’re deep in shit, woman.”
I don't think it will come as any surprise, but the two do manage to get away, break their chains and they're on the run. James' plans didn't include Lacy, but things happen on they're on the way to the a Caribbean island where a pirate ship carrying a huge fortune in gold stolen from the Spanish who stole it from the Incas sunk and everyone on board perished. Well, James didn't perish and who knows who else didn't perish? Hmmmm?
You'll just have to guess at that, but what a fun ride, with plenty of surprise twists and turns on every page.. I almost gave up after the first chapter or so, the period dialog was very heavily done (Lacy and her chums being from Cornwall and all), but once the pair got off on their own it did ease up quite a bit, Lacy still ye'd a lot, but James being an unacknowledged illegitimate son of Charles Stuart, he was raised in his mother's home as a gentleman (way too hard to try to explain - just read the book). The relationship between Lacy and James was well done IMO, and I loved the repartee and banter between the pair. They do steam up the pages on occasion, and the sex is definitely not behind closed doors, but it was well done without some of the eye rollingly peen reaches the womb silly prose to be found in some of those older romances. Or in today's romances as well.
French is a new-to-me author and I do plan on checking out more of her titles.
Kindle copy obtained via library loan.
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March 22, 2025This was one I bought for the cover. It’s set in 1672 and opens with the MMC and FMC heading to the gallows.
The good: I loved the vivid writing, the setup, the characters—it was a really good time until about halfway through, when it quite a lot of racist language started making its way into the book.
The plot, while a little white-saviory, wasn’t bad in that sense, but the language French used (bl*ckamoor, “savage” when referring to an Incan, some hideous “massah” type speech from the Jamaicans)... This would have been bad enough in 1993, when it was written, but I was reading the 2017 reissue.
Dear Judith French: WHY did you not fix these easily fixable problems? This could have been a five-star pirate romance. There is no excuse for not sorting this sh!t out. Baffling and infuriating.
As it is, I don’t even know how to rate this.
The good: I loved the vivid writing, the setup, the characters—it was a really good time until about halfway through, when it quite a lot of racist language started making its way into the book.
The plot, while a little white-saviory, wasn’t bad in that sense, but the language French used (bl*ckamoor, “savage” when referring to an Incan, some hideous “massah” type speech from the Jamaicans)... This would have been bad enough in 1993, when it was written, but I was reading the 2017 reissue.
Dear Judith French: WHY did you not fix these easily fixable problems? This could have been a five-star pirate romance. There is no excuse for not sorting this sh!t out. Baffling and infuriating.
As it is, I don’t even know how to rate this.
September 20, 2012
this book was extremely explicit itmade me aware of things i wasnt even aware of......... inspite of all that it was very informative to me it made me aware of so many details of the 16 century life that i wasnt aware of , like how men and women co existed with each other.......it also was very informative about the geographical side of the 16 century it was very intresting to learn about the land and the seas back in the 1600s.......i loved the book :)
February 2, 2015
Great Story
This was an action packed, fast paced book about two people who escape the gallows and fall in love. Their relationship was of the tumultuous variety but had a very steamy love life as they seek a sunken treasure. I have read most of Judith French's books and none have ever let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a real page turner and had me hooked right from the first page. I look forward to the next two in the trilogy.
This was an action packed, fast paced book about two people who escape the gallows and fall in love. Their relationship was of the tumultuous variety but had a very steamy love life as they seek a sunken treasure. I have read most of Judith French's books and none have ever let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a real page turner and had me hooked right from the first page. I look forward to the next two in the trilogy.
Want to read
April 13, 2015saya ingin membaca novel fortune's mistress dalam bentuk pdf
July 27, 2016
Fun, entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews