Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 473
Rating: ★★★★
Synopsis
In 1875, Sisi, the Empress of Austria is the woman that every man desires and every woman envies.
Beautiful, athletic and intelligent, Sisi has everything - except happiness. Bored with the stultifying etiquette of the Hapsburg Court and her dutiful but unexciting husband, Franz Joseph, Sisi comes to England to hunt. She comes looking for excitement and she finds it in the dashing form of Captain Bay Middleton, the only man in Europe who can outride her. Ten years younger than her and engaged to the rich and devoted Charlotte, Bay has everything to lose by falling for a woman who can never be his. But Bay and the Empress are as reckless as each other, and their mutual attraction is a force that cannot be denied.
My Thoughts
I was initially very unsure about reading this book because the synopsis focuses heavily on Sisi. After reading The Accidental Empress last March, I was hesitant to read The Fortune Hunter in case it changed the view I had of Sisi from the other book. I loved Daisy Goodwin's other novel, An American Heiress, so when Carly of The College Prepster chose The Fortune Hunter for her book club, I decided to go ahead and give it a try.
While the synopsis makes it seem that the central character of this novel is Empress Sisi, I think that it is actually about the heiress, Charlotte Baird. She's quiet, a little plain, and is about to start coming up in society now that her brother is engaged to Lady Augusta Crewe. Charlotte is an avid photographer, a hobby that has been facilitated by her Godmother, and is equally independent and naive.
At the beginning of the novel, Charlotte catches the eye of Captain Bay Middleton. Later in the novel, when all the characters are at the Crewe's home for the hunting season, Bay meets Empress Sisi. From here on, Bay is torn between the two women who are both compelling in their own ways. During this time, Charlotte begins to focus more on herself and photography and eventually leaves the countryside for London to take part in a photography exposition.
This store really showed the role of women during this time period and how trapped they were. Even though Charlotte is an heiress, she can't do anything herself and always has to comply with the ways of society. It took a lot for a woman to break out of the mold that the world created for her. It was exciting to see how the characters in this story pushed against the norms and that is where the best parts of the story come from.
I loved this story and the fact that the characters were real made me like it even more! I would highly recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction.
My Favorite Line
'Well, at least I have managed to put something in your head other than waltzing and cavalry officers. Men are all very well, and a good husband can be enormously useful, but women like us need something to do...'
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