The house of fortune : a novel

Title:

Author:

Burton, Jessie, 1982- author.

Summary:

In 1705 Amsterdam, Thea Brandt is coming of age, trying to grapple with her family's secrets and her own identity as a young Dutch-African woman. She's drawn to the theater and an artistic life, but with her family in serious financial decline, pressure is on Thea to marry up in society. As her father and Aunt Nella work desperately to save the family home and catastrophe threatens to engulf them, Thea seeks refuge in the arms of her secret lover, Walter, the chief set-painter at her favorite theater. But the thrill of their romance is shadowed by another secret she keeps close: Her birthday marks the day her mother, Marin, died in labor. Thea's family refuses to share the details of the story, just as they seem terrified to speak of the shadowy artist from their past whose tiny figurines seem to capture the things most carefully hidden away. Aunt Nella believes the solution to Thea's problems is to find her a husband, and an unexpected invitation to Amsterdam's most exclusive ball seems like a golden opportunity. But when a miniature figure of Walter turns up on Thea's doorstep, it becomes clear that someone out there has another fate in mind for the family- and that perhaps the new beginning Thea seeks won't depend on a man. -- Amazon.

Physical Description:

296 pages ; 25 cm.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Subject Term:

Family secrets -- Fiction.

Miniature painters -- Fiction.

Theaters -- Stage-setting and scenery -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Young women -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Amsterdam (Netherlands) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Publishing,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9781635579741

Publication Information:

New York, N.Y. : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.

Call Number:

BURTON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003627406	Adult Fiction	BURTON Jessie	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Alive with the magic of Amsterdam, the enchanting new historical novel from the author of the sensational New York Times bestseller The Miniaturist , which has sold more than two million copies.

In 1705 Amsterdam, Thea Brandt is coming of age, trying to grapple with her family's secrets and her own identity as a young Dutch-African woman. She's drawn to the theater and an artistic life, but with her family in serious financial decline, pressure is on Thea to marry up in society.

As her father and Aunt Nella work desperately to save the family home and catastrophe threatens to engulf them, Thea seeks refuge in the arms of her secret lover, Walter, the chief set-painter at her favorite theater. But the thrill of their romance is shadowed by another secret she keeps close: Her birthday marks the day her mother, Marin, died in labor. Thea's family refuses to share the details of the story, just as they seem terrified to speak of the shadowy artist from their past whose tiny figurines seem to capture the things most carefully hidden away. Aunt Nella believes the solution to Thea's problems is to find her a husband, and an unexpected invitation to Amsterdam's most exclusive ball seems like a golden opportunity. But when a miniature figure of Walter turns up on Thea's doorstep, it becomes clear that someone out there has another fate in mind for the family- and that perhaps the new beginning Thea seeks won't depend on a man.

A feat of sweeping, magical storytelling, The House of Fortune is an unputdownable novel about love and obsession, family and loyalty, and the fantastic power of secrets.

Author Notes

Jessie Burton 's first novel, The Miniaturist , was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a PBS series, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Jessie's second novel, The Muse , was also a #1 international bestseller. Jessie has written essays and reviews for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She lives in London.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Burton returns with a captivating standalone companion to 2014's The Miniaturist. In 1705 Amsterdam, 18-year-old Thea Brandt lives in a cold mansion with her father, Otto, a Black man who was formerly enslaved; her aunt Nella; and her elderly nursemaid and cook Cornelia. The family can barely afford the house, which Otto inherited, leading to Nella intensifying her efforts to find a wealthy husband for Thea, whose mother was white, and Otto thinking about partnering with a botanist to cultivate pineapples in Holland. Thea finds refuge at a nearby theater with her friend Rebecca, a fierce and talented leading lady; and Walter, the chief set-painter and Thea's secret lover. However, after Walter breaks her heart, Thea resigns herself to marrying a wealthy lawyer from a prominent family. Throughout, the mysterious "miniaturist" of the previous book surreptitiously delivers warnings in the form of detailed figurines on Thea's doorstep, each with its own eerie significance and seeming supernatural power, just as she had done years ago with Nella. While the ending feels a little abrupt, the vibrant period detail, the characters' vibrant inner lives, and Thea's fulfilling journey to maturity make for a winning combination. Readers will relish the return of Nella and her world. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Aug.)

Library Journal Review

Admittedly this is the first book of Ackerman's that I struggled with. It's not that it wasn't a good book it's more that it just took it's time getting there if that makes sense. It started out really strong, the first couple of chapters were well written and set readers up for an engrossing tale. But then somewhere around the 20% mark it started to lose steam for me. I had a hard time believing that Isabel wanted to go to Hawaii to basically retrace the footsteps of her deceased brother. On the surface it made sense but as we got into the story where she meets Mateo and retracing her brother's favorite spots as a catalyst for their romance just felt weird and off to me. For me it just didn't work and felt a little off. The first half of the book mostly covered Mateo and Isabel going to her brother's favorite spots and Mateo documenting those spots and the whole time I was thinking "Why???? What's the point of this???". And Mateo's devotion to all those spots and memories felt a little weird too. Can't explain it but it just didn't feel fitting some how. I struggled with Lu's parts of the book too. There seemed to be zero connection between Lu and Mateo later on in the book and I just really struggled to get into that part of the story. For some reason this whole book felt very mismatched and strung together but not in a good way. After the 50% mark things eventually picked up and got better (no spoilers!) but by that point I was already feeling disconnected and bored with some of the story. It took too long getting there and getting to the interesting parts for my taste. This was unexpected for me because Ackerman's books have generally been really good. This book started out with her trademark love of Hawaii and it's war time history. I loved that part and I loved the descriptions of the island and it's rugged beauty. But the characters felt lacking for me. While this book didn't excite me as some of Ackerman's other novels, I think it's still worth a read. It's not bad but for me, I felt like her other novels were stronger and I think this one could have been better than it was. Ackerman is still an author that I recommend a lot to readers looking for 'off the beaten path' WWII novels. She is a marvelous writer and I love how she writes and the stories she tells, but in this one I think it could have been better. Admittedly this is the first book of Ackerman's that I struggled with. It's not that it wasn't a good book it's more that it just took it's time getting there if that makes sense. It started out really strong, the first couple of chapters were well written and set readers up for an engrossing tale. But then somewhere around the 20% mark it started to lose steam for me. I had a hard time believing that Isabel wanted to go to Hawaii to basically retrace the footsteps of her deceased brother. On the surface it made sense but as we got into the story where she meets Mateo and retracing her brother's favorite spots as a catalyst for their romance just felt weird and off to me. For me it just didn't work and felt a little off. The first half of the book mostly covered Mateo and Isabel going to her brother's favorite spots and Mateo documenting those spots and the whole time I was thinking "Why???? What's the point of this???". And Mateo's devotion to all those spots and memories felt a little weird too. Can't explain it but it just didn't feel fitting some how. I struggled with Lu's parts of the book too. There seemed to be zero connection between Lu and Mateo later on in the book and I just really struggled to get into that part of the story. For some reason this whole book felt very mismatched and strung together but not in a good way. After the 50% mark things eventually picked up and got better (no spoilers!) but by that point I was already feeling disconnected and bored with some of the story. It took too long getting there and getting to the interesting parts for my taste. This was unexpected for me because Ackerman's books have generally been really good. This book started out with her trademark love of Hawaii and it's war time history. I loved that part and I loved the descriptions of the island and it's rugged beauty. But the characters felt lacking for me. While this book didn't excite me as some of Ackerman's other novels, I think it's still worth a read. It's not bad but for me, I felt like her other novels were stronger and I think this one could have been better than it was. Ackerman is still an author that I recommend a lot to readers looking for 'off the beaten path' WWII novels. She is a marvelous writer and I love how she writes and the stories she tells, but in this one I think it could have been better.