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Loading... The House of Fortuneby Jessie Burton
   No current Talk conversations about this book.  Margaret09 | Apr 15, 2024 |    ) JBD1 | Feb 21, 2024 |  ) CarolKub | Jan 13, 2024 |  )1  decaturmamaof2 | Nov 22, 2023 | 1705. Amsterdam. As Thea Brandt turns 18, she endures the family celebration that has been the same since childhood wishing her family would see her as an adult. Thea is a Dutch-African woman raised by her father Otto, Aunt Nella, and Cornelia, once her nursemaid and now the family cook. Her mother, Marin, died in childbirth, and just once on her birthday, Thea would like to learn something – anything about her mother. Her mother’s name is never spoken. Retreating to the world of the local theater, Thea befriends Rebecca. Thea also believes she has found the love of her life, Walter. All too aware of the increasing financial distress, Aunt Nella has been working on a plan to save them all. A plan to give Thea a future and stability for all of them. A coming of age story. A young woman’s first love that she believes is her lifetime love. But the young woman is also a child. A child yearning to learn of her mother. Friendship. Secrets. Adults protecting their dearly loved child. Financial distress hidden behind the cloak of a well-known address and exterior walls. Each family member loves one another. Each with different expressions of their love. Each with a different solution for their path forward. The reader is spellbound to learn if they can converge to a path of happiness, lighter air, and financial sufficiency. I realized the title was a sequel when adding the book on GoodReads and enjoyed it as a stand-alone. It was so mesmerizing; I will read "The Miniaturist. ( ) FerneMysteryReader | Nov 19, 2022 |
 Bold and thrilling sequel to The Miniaturist..In The House of Fortune, Burton has done that rare thing, following up a successful debut with a novel that is superior in both style and substance. What’s cheering is that, after a host of adventures, Thea and Nella are left staring out on a new world, suggesting there is more to be told of this boldly unconventional Dutch family. Belongs to SeriesMiniaturist (2) Awards
Amsterdam in the year 1705. It is Thea Brandt's eighteenth birthday. She is ready to welcome adulthood with open arms, but life at home is increasingly difficult. Her father Otto and her Aunt Nella argue endlessly over their financial fate, selling off furniture in a desperate attempt to hold on to the family home. As catastrophe threatens to engulf the household, Thea seeks refuge in Amsterdam's playhouses. She loves the performances, and the stolen moments afterwards are even better. In the backrooms of her favorite theater, Thea can spend a few precious minutes with her secret lover, Walter, the chief set-painter, a man adept at creating the perfect environments for comedies and tragedies to flourish. The thrill of their hidden romance offers Thea an exciting distraction from home. But it also puts her in mind of another secret that threatens to overwhelm the present: Thea knows her birthday marks the day her mother, Marin, died in labor. Thea's family refuses to share the details of this story, just as they seem terrified to speak of "the miniaturist" - a shadowy figure from their past who is possessed of uncanny abilities to capture that which is hidden. Aunt Nella believes the solution to all Thea's problems is to find her a husband who will guarantee her future. An unexpected invitation to Amsterdam's most exclusive ball seems like a golden opportunity. But when Thea finds, on her doorstep, a parcel containing a miniature figure of Walter, it becomes clear that someone out there has another fate in mind for the family . . . No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.63)
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Wikipedia in English
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The set up of the story - a number of loosely related people finding their way through genteel poverty, particularly 18 year old Thea - is quite an interesting premise, and Thea's teenage impetuosity and decision making are well-told. But I never quite believed in the characters, particularly that of the always unseen and unknown Miniaturist. I sense a third book coming along some time in the future. I'm not committed to reading it. (