Daughter of Fortune

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Blair Brown, Isabel Allende

From the New York Times best-selling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabelle Allende, comes a passionate tale of one young woman's quest to save her lover set against the chaos of the 1849 California Gold Rush.

Orphaned at birth, Eliza Sommers is raised in the British colony of Valparaíso, Chile, by the well-intentioned Victorian spinster Miss Rose and her more rigid brother Jeremy. Just as she meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquín Andieta, a lowly clerk who works for Jeremy, gold is discovered in the hills of northern California. By 1849, Chileans of every stripe have fallen prey to feverish dreams of wealth. Joaquín takes off for San Francisco to seek his fortune, and Eliza, pregnant with his child, decides to follow him.

As Eliza embarks on her perilous journey north in the hold of a ship and arrives in the rough-and-tumble world of San Francisco, she must navigate a society dominated by greedy men. But Eliza soon catches on with the help of her natural spirit and a good friend, the Chinese doctor Tao Chi’en. What began as a search for love ends up as the conquest of personal freedom.

A marvel of storytelling, Daughter of Fortune confirms once again Isabel Allende's extraordinary gift for fiction and her place as one of the world's leading writers.

©2014 Isabel Allende (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Compelling, but ultimately disappointing

There is so much about this story that is beautifully rendered, particularly in the first half, which takes place in Chile. Allende has an obvious affinity for the complex colonial history of Valparaíso and a deep appreciation for the landscape and culture. Every step through the seaside city seems richly lived, setting the characters within a landscape that animates and challenges them. But the rendering of Gold Rush California is flatter, which is surprising given the similarities between the two cities.

At one point, in the 1850-1854 section that ends the book, as Eliza Sommers and her friend Tao Chi’en walk from Chinatown to Union Square to have pictures made, I imagined the dizzying walk down Geary St. and wondered how the city's white shoppers would have reckoned with the Chinese/Chilean duo. These sorts of details were not part of the story, as they had been when Eliza attended a Catholic festival or met with her lover in a hillside chapel in Valparaiso. This led me to google information on when the square was developed. I learned from a "History of Union Square" that "Throughout the 1850s, the Square, like all public squares in San Francisco, remained undeveloped. It was used primarily for dumping, by occasional squatters, and for sand-lot baseball games." So much for excruciating research!

Character development is the real strength of the story, and Allende offers vivid portraits of Eliza, her adoptive mother, Rose and her brothers, as well as Tao Chi’en and a host of other characters who would appear less three-dimensions under the pen of lesser writers.

The ending is abrupt, even after 13 hours, leaving many unanswered questions to the reader's imagination. But the story is narrated with great beauty by Blair Brown.

Fantástico

An enthralling historical fiction tale with captivating characters of all sorts and cultures. I loved learning of the Valparaiso, Chile customs of the time as well as the beginnings of San Francisco, CA. Truly magnificent. Muchísimas gracias!

Interesting pov of gold rush

Really liked getting to hear a story from an unusual perspective and the characters are very good.

A fantastic piece of historical fiction

Loved it. Well written and read. An exciting tale of love and what really matters.

Daughter of Fortune

Isabel Allende is an excellent storyteller.
This is my very first time listening one of her books and definitely got hook with the way she writes.
I won’t stop listening at this book until I finished.
Now I just downloaded the next of this series ‘Portrait in Sepia’, I can’t wait to start listen it.

An adventure to the California Gold Fields of 1849

This is an interesting historical fiction about a Chilean woman, Eliza Sommers, who comes to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. She is hunting for her lover, Joaquin Andiata, who left Chile for the gold fields of California.

The book is well written and researched. Allende states she spent seven years researching this book. So many books have people coming from Europe to the California Gold Rush. It was great to read a story where the key people come from South America. Allende is a great storyteller, and I felt I was with Eliza in Chile, on the ship and in California. I could almost hear, smell and see the scenes she described. The ending left me feeling as if the book was not over. Is this book part of a series or trilogy? I noted the book was published in 1998 in Spanish by Plaza & Janes and translated to English in 1999. It was featured as in Oprah’s Book Club in February 2000. I recommend this book.

The book is thirteen hours and nineteen minutes. Blair Brown does a good job narrating the book. Brown is a Tony Award winning actress. Brown also won the Ace Award and was nominated for five Emmy Awards. I wondered if the narration would have been even better if done by a person with a native Chilian/Spanish accent.

great story definitely recommend

why does it say that this comment section is optional? it won't let you submit without 15 words. this is my last review.

Interesting characters set in a fascinating time...

Allende tells a story of a woman's struggle to live beyond the conventions of her time. A great read about the mad California gold rush.

I'm a believer of this type of love

The old fashioned novel have a place but this books also has a place in getting to know yourself as female. I got to reflect in many aspects of my life and verbalize what it was missing. The author not only explored the role of a female in many layers of society, she also explore topics that we are still living today without fantasizing the details.

Isabel Allende never disappoints

I discovered her books a few years ago and enjoyed every one. This is no different. A delightful and engrossing story although I am still struggling with the ending. Great narration.