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House of Fortune

House of Fortune

Most of those present had read Jessie Burton's earlier tale of The Miniaturist, and House of Fortune follows on some 18 years later.   The characters are well drawn and quite interesting.  The trials and tribulations of the family, and their attempts to resolve their problems form the backbone of the story.

Thea, a mixed race girl, has been kept away from the world to some extent, but finds an interest and later, a love interest, in the theatre.  From the outset, her lover Walter, seemed a little too good to be true, and this turned out to be the case, when he was discovered living in poverty with his wife and children - much to the distress of Thea.

Nella's efforts to find a 'good match' for Thea to rescue their declining circumstances showed an interesting side of Amsterdam society.  Jacob van Loos seemed to be an unlikely suitor but all of us seemed to feel that he was more interested in acquiring the property than the lady!

But, after initially agreeing to marry him, Thea did the sensible thing and absconded - leaving embarrassment and difficulties for the family.   Thea's flight to Assendelft where her aunt had her origins seemed a bit contrived.  The journey undertaken by Nella who followed her there was somewhat hard to credit.   The story left Thea and Nella at that country property - would they actually grow pineapples, we wondered?  Clearly an opening for another novel.

The miniaturist did not feature so heavily in this book, and as before, it was felt to be an almost superfluous facet of the story.  The riddle of the miniaturist remained unsolved. 

It was a comfortable, entertaining read, but left an unfinished feeling.  But, nevertheless, most people would recommend it, though would advise reading The Miniaturist first to get the most out of House of Fortune.

Review by June Hawkins