- Hardcover: 533 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Pr; First Edition edition (Nov 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385311214
- ISBN-13: 978-0385311212
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 5.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 555,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
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 Paperback edition.
Book Description
By the 1860s, the Pilasters are one of the world's greatest banking families, with connections that reach from the City of London to far-afield colonies. However, as the family grow ever richer in the shadow of oppression and tragedy, their very future is threatened - by the self-same ambition and greed that first earned them their fortune. 'A full-blooded melodrama, complete with moustache-twirling villains, saintly heroes, wronged women, and a lot of plot' Irish Times 'Banks, brothels, and a high body count . . . it's all there' Financial Times 'A compulsively readable, enjoyable thriller-cum-saga' Sunday Times
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First Sentence
ON THE DAY OF THE TRAGEDY, the boys of Windfield School had been confined to their rooms. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
ON THE DAY OF THE TRAGEDY, the boys of Windfield School had been confined to their rooms. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A RIVETING WORK OF FICTION...,
By
This review is from: Dangerous Fortune (Hardcover)
The author, a masterful storyteller, weaves an intriguing and mesmerizing tapestry of events that surround the wealthy Pilaster banking family in the latter part of nineteenth century England. Its panoramic sweep will hold the reader in its thrall. This complex story tells of the ebb and flow of their personal fortunes and the personalities that are to profoundly affect them, for better or worse. Augusta Pilaster is the scheming, socially conscious, self-appointed matriarch of the family. She is a woman who will stop at nothing to ensure that her reckless and easily manipulated husband, Joseph, and their indolent, dissolute, and lackluster son, Edward, will get and retain control of the Pilaster banking enterprise. Her Machiavellian machinations, however, will eventually trigger the downfall of the family's fortune. Hugh Pilaster, Augusta's nephew by marriage, is the Pilaster who has the brains and work ethic to take the Pilaster banking fortunes to a new level. His Achilles heel is that he seems destined to be attracted to working class women, a chink in his armor that Augusta Pilaster uses to her and her immediate family's advantage. He, too, is Augusta Pilaster's unwitting pawn, until the day of reckoning comes. Micky Miranda is the romantically handsome scion of a South American despot. Micky attended an exclusive school with Edward and Hugh Pilaster, when they were young. While there, tragedy struck when a mysterious swimming accident took the lives of one of their friends, an event that was to shadow their lives in ways no one could have imagined. Micky Miranda would eventually enter into a web of complicity with Augusta Pilaster that would impact on the fortunes of both the Miranda and Pilaster families. This book takes the reader through all strata of English society, from the drawing rooms of the upper classes and nobility to the exclusive men's clubs and brothels that cater to exotic appetites. It is a totally engrossing and absorbing tale of love, hatred, and treachery that spans three decades. It is a story that the reader will thoroughly enjoy, as the book is terrific, a captivating and thoroughly entertaining
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enthralling book, persevere through the start!!,
By Mosschops "DM" (Nottingham) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Dangerous Fortune (Paperback)
An excellent story, yet again by Ken Follett, who so far in my reading history, has dipped into completely different periods of time, leading to fascinating and captivating stories, characterised by well-thought out scenes and characters with depth.
However I had some difficutly with this one - it was not clear until about page 100 who the story was about. I found the number of lead characters confusing - partially because I did not know which relationships I should be taking note of, and therefore had trouble understanding the direction it was going in. That the main character (Hugh), is also downplayed some of the time, whilst being shown sympathetically other times, meant that I simply didn't grasp the fact that the story is his. The initial chapter could have been better placed by calling it a prologue or something similar. For Follett fans - you are guarenteed to like this!
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting!,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Dangerous Fortune (Paperback)
Could not put it down. The kind of book to savour curled up on the sofa with a family size box of chocolates. I really enjoy reading Ken Follett and just finished this novel! A family saga you can really sink your teeth into, the story flows to the end. This author never disappoints me, whatever he writes about he does so brilliantly, flawlessly and leaves you wanting more. His best ever book (in my humble opinion) is "Pillars of the Earth" and "A Dangerous Fortune" is very close behind it!
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