Daughter of Fortune

A spell-binding tale following Eliza, a young woman coming of age in a privileged English family in mid-19th century Valparaiso, Chile. Becoming enamored of a poor revolutionary who sails off to seek his fortune during the California Gold Rush, she stows aboard a merchant vessel to find him. Along the way she meets a curious and helpful Chinese zhong yi [doctor of Eastern medicine] and many other fascinating degenerates and reprobates, some kind-hearted, some not. Her many adventures seeking word of her lover are possible only because she disguises herself as a male, and thus experiences a previously impossible freedom.

Allende excels not only in building character, but also in building a scene: under her pen with its accumulation of show more observation, the cacaphonous landscape and diverse population of San Francisco, constructing itself during the gold rush, comes alive; as well as the milieu of the merchant class in seafaring Valparaiso. It’s a rich read and a good escape. show less

4.5****
Audio book performed by Blair Brown.

This is an historical novel set during the mid-19th century and taking the reader from South America to China to California during the Gold Rush. The story begins in Valparaiso, Chile, where a baby is left on the doorstep of wealthy British importers. Raised as their child, Eliza Sommers is now a young lady and her family begins to screen available young men to find the perfect suitor. But Eliza has a mind of her own. She falls for a handsome, fiery clerk – Joaquin Andieta – and they become lovers. Six weeks after he leaves for California to make his fortune and prepare the way for her, Eliza discovers she is pregnant. With the help of Tao Chi’en, a Chinese shipboard cook, she stows away show more on a ship bound for San Francisco and disappears from her family’s lives.

This is a sweeping historical epic full of interesting and varied characters and situations. At the core is a search for self, and a look at the roles society assigns to men and women. Allende weaves a seductive story, keeping the reader guessing as to what may happen next. As we careen from adventure to adventure the plot does get a little over-the-top in places, but I forgive Allende her excesses because it’s just such a darn good yarn! I was captivated and enthralled. And I love the ending!

Blair Brown does a wonderful job narrating this epic. There are a lot of characters to keep straight, though most scenes involve only two or three at one time. Her pacing was good, her pronunciation of Spanish names and words perfect, and she kept me totally immersed in the story. show less

My first Isabel Allende! And I feel like I chose well. Found this relatively uncomplicated tale of a young, privileged, mixed-race Chilean girl who ends up seeking her fortune in the Wild-West, Gold-Rush chaos of proto-San Francisco to be well written, well researched, and an engaging read.

While the main plot is about Eliza’s gradual discovery of herself (her desires, her physical/emotional limits, her capacity for hope), there’s a strong feminist undercurrent in which Allende explores the many ways in which women historically have been subjugated (deprived of the right to control their own money, marriages, fates) and the drastic measures some of them resorted to in order escape those constraints (defying their families, show more accumulating personal wealth, passing as male). Sometimes they get away with it – Paulina leverages her cunning into a formidable fortune, Eliza finds happiness with her long-time Chinese BFF/zhong yi (Chinese physician). Other times, however, the tale acknowledges the vast number of women unable to escape the horrific exploitation of public humiliation, prostitution, and arranged marriage.

Allende’s clearly put a lot of time in on research. Not only does she get the period details right, but authentic historical personages (ex: outlaw Juaquin Murieta) interact with a panoply of no less authentic “types”: a Mapuche Indian nanny, European doctors and Chinese healers, LGBTQ entrepreneurs, feisty prostitutes, ruthless bounty-hunters, shady conmen, earnest Quaker settlers.

Also appreciated that the book was so sensual without resorting to eroticism. Allende’s terrific at evoking sights, sounds, smells, textures, and ambiance. Her Gold Rush mining camps reek of raw earth, burnt beans, and damp canvas; her San Francisco teems with the cacophonous clamor of disparate languages, the stench of untreated sewage, and the ghostly panorama of abandoned ships rotting in the harbor. Her descriptions of the voluptuous beauty of Chile or the piquant delights of French pastry are as evocative as her depiction of the horrors of Chinatown brothels.

Keeping my fingers crossed that there are more where this came from. show less

I put off reading this for a long time because I had heard that Allende writes magical realism, a genre that does not usually agree with me. When I did finally read it, I was surprised to find that this novel doesn't match my conception of what "magical realism" is. Perhaps it is a new use for the term: fiction that is realistic but nevertheless magically transports we readers to another time and place, and installs us completely in the head of the protagonist.

Eliza is discovered as an infant abandoned on the doorstep of a British brother and sister living in Valparaiso, Chile. Over the objections of her straitlaced brother, Rose Sommers--a headstrong, independent woman who says that the best thing about marriage is "becoming a show more widow"--adopts and raises the child, but keeps her at an arm's length. When Eliza is sixteen, she meets Joaquin Andieta, an idealistic and penniless poet, and she falls headlong into the uncritical passion of first love. Just then, the Gold Rush begins in California, and Andieta disappears from Eliza's life to seek his fortune there. When she learns she is pregnant, Eliza decides to track down her lover. With the help of a Chinese physician who came over on her uncle's ship, Tao Chi'en, she stows away in the hold of a ship bound for San Francisco, where she becomes very ill. During that miserable voyage, Eliza experiences a rebirth, and she emerges from the ship into daylight as someone completely new and without identity, disembarking into a city that is also brand new and making itself into something unique and purely American. The rest of the story reveals how Eliza rebuilds her identity while searching for her lover. She dons a series of disguises until finally she is able to re-emerge as herself, a woman not defined by the strictures of her day but constructed from within.

Set against the backdrop of the mad rush to California in search of gold, Allende reveals history through the eyes of the people who lived it but don't usually get to tell the story: women and non-whites. She creates a diverse and three-dimensional world that feels both real and different from the stories we usually get to hear. Eliza's journey of self-discovery absolutely swept me away. show less

Daughter of Fortune is an epic historical adventure set in the mid-1800s, spanning the globe from England to China to Chile to the American west. The main character, Eliza, is abandoned as an infant on the doorstep of wealthy British Siblings, resettled in Valparaíso, Chile. The first half of the book, set in Chile, is focused on Eliza’s early years, family, and first love. The second half transports the reader to the tumultuous days of the California gold rush, contrasting the initial visions of easy wealth with vivid descriptions of the harsh realities encountered upon arrival.

Allende has created engaging and colorful characters. Eliza is memorable for her courageous, independent spirit and Chinese healer Tao Chi'en for his quiet show more integrity. The era is beautifully rendered with historically accurate details. This imaginative, skillfully-written story touches on such meaningful themes as racism, classism, sex trafficking, female empowerment, the spirit of adventure, greed, self-discovery, reinvention, rebellion, compassion, freedom, and the many forms of love.

The book gains momentum as it progresses, becoming ever more engrossing. Recommended to those interested in family sagas, perilous journeys, and historical fiction, especially of the 19th century. Includes violence to humans and animals, profanity, prostitution, and other sexual content. show less

Ja, sie ist eine Tochter des Glücks, Eliza -- chilenisches Findelkind -- das eines guten Tages einfach auf den Stufen des Hauses der englischen Familie Sommers liegt. Isabel Allende führt uns in ihrem neuesten Roman Fortunas Tochter, in das Valparaíso Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Mit großer Erzählkraft schildert sie die Geschichte einer Frau, die zwischen zwei Welten und zwei Kulturen aufwächst, ihre erste Liebe und die abenteuerliche Suche nach dem Geliebten. Allende führt den Leser in eindrucksvolle Welten mit merkwürdigen Gestalten und ebensolchen Gepflogenheiten. So wird das Baby Eliza, als es völlig entkräftet ins Haus der Sommers gelangt, von der forschen Haushälterin beherzt aufgepäppelt. Mama Fresia legt das show more kränkelnde Kind einfach unter das pralle Euter einer Ziege. Zum Entsetzen von Miss Rose Sommers. Doch wird die kapriziöse Adoptivmutter vom Erfolg der Methode überzeugt. Eliza gedeiht prächtig und wächst, von den Dienstboten in hausfraulichen Tätigkeiten, von erstklassigen Lehrern in standesgemäßeren Beschäftigungen wie Klavierspielen und Ballettanzen unterrichtet, zu einer attraktiven Frau heran. Sie verliebt sich in Joaquín. Doch den zieht es, vom Goldfieber gepackt, nach Kalifornien. Als Eliza merkt, daß ihre Beziehung nicht ohne Folgen geblieben ist, gibt es für sie nur eins: Heimlich und in Männerkleidung macht sie sich auf die Suche nach ihm. Hals über Kopf tauscht sie das behütete Leben gegen eines voller Unsicherheiten und Gefahren ein, um am Schluß ihrer Odyssee zwar nicht bei ihrem Geliebten, aber bei sich selbst anzukommen. Elizas Reise, so Isabel Allende, stellt das dar, was mit den Frauen allgemein geschehen ist: Wir mußten unser Korsett abstreifen und uns "vermännlichen", um dann wieder zu unseren Frauenkleidern zurückzukehren -- dieses Mal ohne Korsett. --Anne Hauschild show less

Usually I run from Oprah's book picks for many reasons, but because she is a well known Latina author, I wanted to read Allende and judge for myself.

Her novel did not disappoint. For me, the time period and limited freedom for women was wonderfully demonstrated through Eliza. Women at that time were either properly married or whores. There was very little in- between.

The story begins in Chile in the late 1840s and Eliza is the adopted daughter of Rose Sommers a transplanted Englishwoman who is well-meaning but selfish. Unsure as to her parental origins, Eliza is an accepted part of the family but only on the fringes of their circle. Eliza grows up sheltered and later imagines that she has fallen in love with a noble young Chilean from show more the wrong side of the tracks.

Eventually, her lover leaves her to pursue his fortune during California's gold rush. Eliza follows him as a stowaway and finds her independence and clarity around her path in life during her search for her lost lover.

Lots of adventures and details, some of which could be seen as repetitive or impossible hence my four stars. However, for me the themes around love, freedom, family history, injustice, feminism, class and human dignity made it well worth a read. show less