A Desperate Fortune
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4.5 • 68 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller!
"I've loved every one of Susanna's books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly's delicate touch with characters—sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won't let go!"— DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander
Beloved New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley delivers a riveting novel that deftly intertwines the tales of two women, divided by centuries and forever changed by a clash of love and fate.
For nearly three hundred years, the cryptic journal of Mary Dundas has kept its secrets. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas travels to Paris to crack the cipher.
Jacobite exile Mary Dundas is filled with longing—for freedom, for adventure, for the family she lost. When fate opens the door, Mary dares to set her foot on a path far more surprising and dangerous than she ever could have dreamed.
As Mary’s gripping tale of rebellion and betrayal is revealed to her, Sara faces events in her own life that require letting go of everything she thought she knew—about herself, about loyalty, and especially about love. Though divided by centuries, these two women are united in a quest to discover the limits of trust and the unlikely coincidences of fate.
Other bestselling books by Susanna Kearsley:
The Winter Sea
The Rose Garden
The Firebird
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kearsley (The Winter Sea) entwines the contemporary and historical narratives of two unmoored women looking for their place in the world. In the present day, jobless Sara Thomas travels to France to crack the cipher of an encrypted 18th-century diary. In 1732, the diary's author, young Mary Dundas, gets caught up in the intrigues of the continental community of Jacobite exiles. A plan gone awry sweeps her into murder and a flight south to Rome under the protection of the indefatigable, indestructible MacPhearson, eluding bounty hunters, wolves, spies, and betrayal. Sara's quieter tale mainly involves enjoying French hospitality, scenery, and the beautiful, attentive Luc Sabran. But Sara is inspired by Mary, who "found she liked this woman she had chosen now to be this Mary Dundas, who had traveled and seen trouble and been changed by it." Mary's vividly described travels and threats add thrills to their shared tale. Fans of historical spy fiction will enjoy the dangers risked by Jacobite sympathizers, while Kearsley's gentle drama and accurate detail are sure to satisfy lovers of historical fiction and romance.
Customer Reviews
Wow!
I loved this book! I have read 4 other of Susanna's books and this is my favorite! I so enjoy the history that goes into her books, and the fact that are to stories past and present going on. I really enjoyed these characters.