Daughter of Fortune

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

I do love a good historical fiction tale and Isabel Allende is a master of the genre so this was good read for me. I learned quite a lot about the California gold rush and even more about Chinese medicine which has been practised for quite a bit longer than western medicine.

Eliza Sommers was left as an infant on the doorstep of an English trader in Valparaiso Chile. Jeremy Sommers was a bachelor but lived with his sister Rose. Rose and Mama Fresia, the Chilean who supervised their household, raised Eliza between them. From Rose Eliza learned how to be a proper English lady but from Mama Fresia she learned about cooking and baking and healing with native herbs. When Eliza was just starting to notice men into her life came a poor clerk show more from Jeremy Sommers company. Joaquin Andieta was full of revolutionary ideas and had the heart of a poet. Of course Eliza fell madly in love with him. Secretly they met and made love. When the news of the 1849 California gold rush reached Valparaiso Joaquin saw this as his way to rise out of poverty so he could marry Eliza. Shortly after he left Eliza discovered she was pregnant. Confiding in Mama Fresia they found a way for Eliza to smuggle aboard a ship bound for California. The cook on the ship, Tao Chi'en, was persuaded to take her aboard and hide her in the hold. Tao Chi'en was not just a cook though; in Canton, China he had been trained as a physician, a zhong yi. When his aged mentor died Tao Chi'en left Canton for Hong Kong where he became quite renownes. He even had an English physician as a friend as so he learned about Western medicine as well. One evening he was shanghaied aboard a sailing ship on which he served for two years. When his contract ended he was in Valparaiso and so came into contact with Eliza. That was a fortuitous meeting for both of them. Eliza, especially, was lucky to have Tao Chi'en to look after her when she had a miscarriage and nearly died on board. They stayed together for a while in San Francisco but Eliza was determined to find her lover so she travelled to the gold fields. She saw the lure gold had on the thousands who had travelled to California but she was never interested herself in trying to find gold. She also managed to avoid the fate of most of the other women there at that time by dressing as a boy and claiming to be Joaquin's younger brother. Tales of a highwayman named Joaquin spread like wildfire and Eliza travelled all over during the summer months trying to find him to see if it was her Joaquin. Meanwhile Tao Chi'en practised medicine. When he came into contact with the young Chinese girls serving in the brothels he was so upset at their condition that he decided to save as many as he could. Eliza and Tao Chi'en maintained communication through the somewhat unstable mail system. Eventually Eliza joined Tao in San Francisco and helped him in his endeavours but she continued to pursue all leads to Joaquin. It is clear to the reader that Eliza and Tao have more than just friendly feelings for each other but they are both in thrall to the memory of their lost loves.

I've read five other books by Allende. Not all of them are historical fiction but I think those are the ones I like the best. According to Wikipedia she has written 21 books; I think I'll have to read some more. 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

Orphan Eliza Summers was found as an infant squalling on the doorstep of a British merchant family in Valparaiso Chile. Raised to be a lady by the spinster sister of the household, given exotic treasures by the adventurous sea captain brother, and learning to cook by using her sensitive sense of smel under the tutelage of the Indian cook Mama Fresia, Eliza grows into a skilled and adventurous young woman with many talents - including that of 'disappearing'. The latter stands her in good stead when she falls in love with an unsuitable young man and decides to follow him on his journey to California during the Gold Rush.

The story also follows the life of the Chinese physician Tao Chi'en from his childhood in the provinces in China show more unappreciated by his family, his apprenticeship to a wise physician, his marriage and when he is shanghaied into Captain Summers' crew for a trip around the world.

I found the language highly evocative - of the hardships and the little joys of the life in California always on the run, of the feelings of first love - and the unsettling discovery that one may only have been in love with love itself rather than with the other person. I enjoyed the sensual descriptions of food, nature, sex, and some of the beauty and misery of San Francisco. I loved the subtleties and hints at the outcome throughout the novel.

Most entertaining to me were the references to Joaquin Murieta, Three-Fingered Jack and Captain Love. I'm not sure whether they were real historical figures (I assume so), but it kept reminding me of The Mask of Zorro and Antonio Banderas (clearly a good thing) - so now I'm itching to get my fingers on Allende's version of Zorro! show less