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    A Desperate Fortune
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    A Desperate Fortune
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    A Desperate Fortune
    Ebook637 pages11 hours

    A Desperate Fortune

    By Susanna Kearsley

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    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

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateApr 7, 2015
    ISBN9781492602033
    Unavailable
    A Desperate Fortune
    Author

    Susanna Kearsley

    New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author Susanna Kearsley is a former museum curator who loves restoring the lost voices of real people to the page, often in twin-stranded stories that interweave present and past. Her award-winning novels have been published in translation in more than 25 countries. She lives near Toronto.

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    Reviews for A Desperate Fortune

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Sara Thomas is sent to France to decrypt the diary of a Jacobite woman, Mary Dundas. Sara has Asberger's but also works as a programmer and loves puzzles. Her facility with languages also makes her the perfect person to decode Mary's diary. This book alternates between the two women's stories. I enjoyed both but especially liked the history of Mary Dundas and the adventure she has as part of the cover for another Jacobite on the run. Sara's story is a nice contrast as she figures out the cipher and finds out what happened to Mary. Both women find romance along the way which made for a nice synchronicity. Ms. Kearsley weaves real history into her books which always makes them more interesting to me. She does such a nice job of describing the English and French countrysides here so that I want to visit every place she mentions. I agree with her description of troglodyte homes.This is another great book for lovers of romance and history.
    • 4/5
      The author's formula for historical fiction is a good one and I, as reader, get pulled into the two stories of current history and old. This particular book has, in my opinion, one fault: Kearsley creates the principal character as a clever woman with Asperger's Syndrome. Her character, however, is not at all typical of a woman on that spectrum making the story seem less authentic. Other than that sole criticism, I liked the book as I have liked others by the author.
    • 5/5
      A beautifully woven tale of a woman deciphering a diary from the 18th century, and the lives of the people surrounding it.
      A very enjoyable summer read.
    • 3/5
      Susanna Kearsley's The Shadowy Horses and The Firebird are favorite books of mine, but unfortunately I had a hard time getting into this one. The story is told in dual time periods, which I love, but the modern couple Sara & Luc weren't very compelling. I couldn't feel any chemistry between them. Sara's code-breaking ability was interesting though, which takes us to the historical portion of the story, the better of the two. Mary Dundas is the daughter of a Jacobite exile, and Sara's job is to crack Mary's journal's cipher from the 1700s. Mary gets wrapped up in some political intrigue that takes her on a road trip across Europe to Rome, which she records in her diary. Even this part of the book was slow-paced, and I was a wee bit let down by the outcome of the big "intrigue." With a secret coded diary at the story's center, I was expecting more. However, I loved Hugh MacPherson, the Highlander assigned as a bodyguard for Mary's group. His backstory was tragic! Mary's first impression of him made me giggle though. I could have spent all my time with Mary and Hugh in the past.Clearly this book was meticulously researched. I think I was looking forward to the suspenseful Gothic feeling I've gotten from her previous books, but it wasn't present in this one. Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Sara Thomas has always been good with numbers but lots less effective with large noisy groups, not to mention being pretty much oblivious to the social cues that most others take for granted. As a young adult she is finally diagnosed with Asperberger's syndrome, and that is due to her older cousin's almost obsessive interest in helping Sara cope with her unique take on her environment. Cousin Jacqui works in book publishing and is working with an author/historian who needs an old diary decoded. Jacqui immediately thinks of Sara, who has just quit her programming job because she wants to work alone, not as part of a team. In short order Sara finds herself in Paris, where the owner of the old diary lives. Sara is to stay in the lovely old home where the owner Claudine, an accomplished professional photographer, sets up a room which Sara can use as a private office. Before long Sara has broken the cipher and begins to translate the story of Mary Dundas, a woman born in France early in the 1700's to a Scottish father and French mother. Her father was apparently one of the Jacobites, whose lives and fortunes were given over to helping King James retake the throne of Great Britain. Mary's story is captivating, and the reader is instantly drawn into a tale of drama, danger and mystery.In the mean time, loner Sara is getting slowly involved with her host Claudine, Claudine's housekeeper and her young son Noah, as well as the boy's father, who lives very near by and is already part of the family. Both Sara and Mary find themselves at dramatic turning points in their lives. Sara even draws strength and insight from the tales Mary tells to her traveling companions. They are fictional fairy tales, but have multiple layers which can impart deeper messages to the more perceptive in her audience. Some of Sara's Paris "family," pick up on nuances that she had missed when originally translating, and share those insights with her. Each of the adults monitoring Sara's deciphering progress are very interested in how Mary's diary will end.The story within the story is actually a prominent feature of fiction written by women of that era. Kearsley is very adept at working in the culture, the literature and the social mores of this time in history as well as developing a thrilling drama and sweet romance within the structure of history as it actually happened.The Scots of Mary's diary, one in particular, might remind fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of the remarkable Jamie, and Mary's growing inner strength and quick-witted cleverness may remind readers of the Outlander heroine Clare. I found this book just as compelling, and recommend it highly to those who enjoy historical romance, drama and mystery. You have it all within these pages, so sit back and enjoy...that is, as soon as it hits the shelves in April, 2015.I received a pre-publication copy from the folks at Sourcebooks Landmark, and have become a serious Susanna Kearsley fan myself, as a result.
    • 5/5
      I have enjoyed every book by Susanna Kearsley that I've read. I slipped into the story of A Desperate Fortune and really didn't come up for air until I'd read the last page. If there are any Diana Gabaldon or Mary Stewart fans out there who haven't read Susanna Kearsley, I urge them to do so.I found both storylines absorbing. Sara's Asperger's is dealt with objectively, and her work in breaking Mary's code is a treat to watch. Mary's storyline really gives readers a feel for what exiled Jacobites had to endure. I also appreciated the similarities between the two women. As far as the secondary characters go, I like Sara's love interest, Luc, but found his history with his ex almost too good to be true. Sara and Luc's son Noah are definitely my favorite present-day characters. But what about Mary's time? Mary's traveling companions Madame Roy and MacPherson are wonderful, and so is Mary's dog, Frisque. And as far as competing love interests go, Mary's wins, hands down.Although A Desperate Fortune is a standalone novel, recurring characters from previous books do make brief appearances, which will please Kearsley's fans. While being immersed in Paris and secret codes and exciting escapes and handsome men, I also learned some fascinating details about the fairy tales of Madame d'Aulnoy and the role she and other women writers of that time played in literature. (The things you don't learn in school....)Yes, I love this book, and if I can leave you with any advice, it's this: please don't skip reading "About the Characters" at the very end. Kearsley's telling us about the real Mary Dundas brought a smile and a tear to my eye.
    • 3/5
      Not as fabulous as The Firebird. Felt the author was teaching me about Asperger's instead of developing an intriguing character who also has Asperger's. Storyline jumped around a lot and probably could have benefited from more editing. That being said, it was still an enjoyable historical story.
    • 4/5
      Reading a novel by Susanna Kearsley is like pulling on a favorite sweater - warm, comfortable, and familiar. The blend of history and fiction, past and present, is just about perfect and the intertwining plot-lines in this novel pulled me into the story and made a nearly 500-page book a quick read. I would highly recommend this book to fans of Outlander, as this is a great book to enjoy while waiting for the next book in the Outlander series.
    • 5/5
      I instantly liked Sara Thomas from the beginning. Her apprehensive behavior is intriguing and my interest in her continued as I read. The casual and subtle romance with Luc was much like a reward for both Sara and myself after I had become quite attached to her and wanted her to reach a happy ending. I have become a great admirer of this author and find that not just in this book but in this whole series, her characters live in parallel worlds that one can easily slip in between with ease. I could truly feel the labor of love that the author poured into this story with her great attention to detail and feel the passion in these characters. Although my favorite of this series is Winter Sea (thus far) this book is a 5 star. I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I love Susanna Kearsley. If she wrote a phone book I would read it cover to cover. I really liked this book, probably not quite as much as The Winter Sea or Mariana (my favorite Kearsley's), but I really enjoyed it. Several reviewers mentioned it was slow for them in the beginning. I didn't find it slow at all, I was intrigued from the very beginning. A heroine with Asberger's? Very cool. I thought she was portrayed very well and I felt like I really learned something about that condition. I also loved the historical story. I have learned more about Jacobites from Susanna Kearsley than from any history book. Thanks for doing all that research for me, Ms. Kearsley! I have a love/hate relationship with her dual-voice books, however. I love having both stories going on, but when I am really into one or the other of the storylines and it suddenly changes for a couple of chapters I find it a little jarring. That is what makes her books so great, though. You care so much about both stories. I think my only qualm with this book was that although I loved how both stories ended, it felt very sudden. We were going along great and then all of a sudden, boom, your story is over and now your story is over. But I can't complain too much because I loved the way they both wrapped up. Now the dreaded wait for her next book begins.
    • 5/5
      Although this did not have the touch of magic I have come to expect from Susanna Kearsley, it was a good read. I always enjoy her characters and how she ties the past and the present.
    • 5/5
      Opening up the first chapter of this book, or any book by Susanna Kearsley, is like front row tickets to your favorite band, world peace, finding the perfect jeans, Disneyland, and losing 10lbs in December all rolled into one.In Kearsley fashion, a present and historical timeline make the backdrop of the story.The present day involves a young woman named Sara Thomas, a computer programer with an ability to solve number games, codes, and cyphers. Sara is hired, through a friend, by a Parisian author to decipher a diary written in unknown code. A diary that holds secrets much differently than anyone expected. Sara likes working in the beautiful country of France. She becomes attached to her neighbors, and despite the obstacles and blessings of her living with Asperger's Syndrome, Sara manages to discover much about her own self and what is truly home.The diary in the story segues Kearsley's timelines quite nicely. The diary is written and encrypted in the 1730's by a twenty-one year old Mary Dundas. Herein, Mary writes of alleged monetary deception by a man she would end up traveling with, a bankruptcy of an economy, the continuing Jacobite cause, long lost family, severe political unrest, and the mercurial nature of love.Mary is thrust into the company of a possible embezzler, Jacobite spies, a Highland woman serving as a kind traveling companion, and a fierce Highland protector. Mary embarks on a journey to reach the exiled King James' protection and hopefully sympathetic ear.I love the storyline written about someone with Aspergers. Sara's character is written well, respectfully, and true to life. Beautifully done.The running theme throughout the story felt very bold, yet simple. Home is where we chose to make it, even when our story takes a detour for the worst or people tell us who we are, where we are going. Sara was told she could not have normal relationships. In her mind, Aspergers defined who she was and while strongly reinforced, she lived, in the best way I can describe, as resolved.In the same manner, Hugh MacPherson, a 1700s Highlander, stripped from all he cared for on this earth. Further, making choices that darkened his next choice, until he could no longer recognize the man he had become. Resolved in his choices, as he saw no other path.Its easier to believe the bad stuff about yourself. But it is also the influence of only one that can pepper your worldview for the best.My only complaint, if you could call it that, was the slower but necessary start to the story. By the time Mary and her companions set out, I was hooked.Lastly, if you haven't read any of Kearsley's other stories and you love to mix your historical fiction with present day, paranormal, adventure, romance, and/or time shift or time slip*, or all of the above? Get thee to a bookstore or e-reader near you!(*A time slip is what Wikipedia calls it. I had to look it up, but I digress...)Many thanks to Netgalley for the review copy of this title.*****Jacobites, historical fiction, and adventure. WOOT!With every book she outdoes herself which, by the way, has earned her the 2014 RITA Award for Paranormal Romance for her last book, The Firebird. I will read anything she writes. Cannot wait for this one.
    • 3/5
      This. Book. Is. Amazing. Pure genius. Every book I read by S.K. tops the one before it. Super that she brought in the characters from her other works. I can hardly wait for the next story:)
    • 5/5
      Love love love! Wonderful story woven around history and I adore the modern day heroine.I think any of Susanna Kearsley's novels would make wonderful movies....fingers crossed!
    • 5/5
      I have always been drawn to Susanna Kearsley's covers but have not read a book written by her until now. I am so glad that this was my first of her books because I loved it. I'm a big fan of historical fiction but this book took that to the next level. I loved bouncing back and forth between Mary Dundas in the 18th century and Sara Thomas in present day attempting to solve the cipher and translate Mary's diary. What makes Sara's portion incredibly interesting is that she has Asperger's. I don't think I have ever read a book where the main (or one of the main) characters has Asperger's. One thing I really enjoyed was how Sara seemed to grow as she read Mary's diary. I loved seeing how Sara was able to bond with Mary in a way and learn from her diary. When it came to Mary's chapters, I was equally as enthralled. I was so eager to learn more about this incredible journey that Mary was on. And the men in this book... dreamy and dashing. There are so many things I wish I could gush about right now but I hate giving away spoilers. If you do read this book, I highly suggest reading the author's notes at the end of how she came about using all of the historical characters and references. I just loved what she had to say about Mary. I very much enjoyed this book and will definitely be purchasing it in the near future because it is definitely a book I would love to reread.
    • 4/5
      This book began slowly but finished strongly.

      My only complaint is that the book felt contrived in a couple of spots. For example, the scene with Mistress Jamieson was necessary for Mary's character development, but the way it developed felt unnatural and unbelievable.

      As far as what I most enjoyed, I found both Mary and Sara to be interesting and sympathetic characters. Sara's struggles may have touched me a bit more than Mary's, but I was rooting for both girls and was hoping for two happy endings.

      This was also a clean book that I could recommend to just about anyone. There was no sex, only one curse word, and though a couple of violent things happened, they were not described in detail.

      I hope in the future we will be able to read about Mary's further adventures.
    • 5/5
      Great storytelling! Love the themes of this author. The code-breaking of
    • 3/5
      I have some pretty mixed feelings about this book. I liked it well enough but I didn't fall in love with it as I had expected to do. This is a story that is told in two timelines and I found that I really enjoyed one timeline much more than the other which usually makes it a little harder to completely enjoy a novel. I am glad that I decided to finally pick this one up and did enjoy the overall experience.As I mentioned, this book is told in two timelines. The first timeline is focused on Sara. Sara was a really interesting character that I found myself liking her right away. Sara has Asperger's Syndrome which does have an impact on how she thinks and sees the world. I enjoyed watching her work to break the code for Mary's diary as she was hired to do. I think that my favorite part of her timeline was the interactions with all the other characters. I loved watching her develop a relationship with Luc, Noah, and Denise.The second timeline follows Mary Dundas in the 1730s. Mary has been living with an aunt and really wants her father and brother to want her around so she is excited when her brother comes to get her. Her brother really needs Mary to help out with a mission to protect the Jacobite cause. Before she knows it, Mary is entangled in an exciting adventure that is quite dangerous. I never felt the same connection to Mary that I did with Sara. Even though there was more action in her timeline, I found that everything seemed to move rather slowly. I believe that this was my first time listening to Katherine Kellgren's narration and I have to admit that it did take me some time to get used to her voice. She did a good job with the rather large cast of characters and added a lot of emotion to the story. By the end of the book she did win me over and I had no problem listening for hours at a time.I think that a lot of readers will like this one a bit more than I did. This was a book that told two very interesting stories. Unfortunately, I preferred one of those stories much more than the other and anytime the book changed to a new timeline, I thought that it lost some momentum. I do look forward to reading more from Susanna Kearsley in the future.I received a digital review copy of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
    • 4/5
      Sara accepts a job in France, decoding a ciphered diary from 1732. The diary is written by Mary, a half-Scottish woman raised by French relatives, who agrees to disguise an Englishman in hiding by pretending to be his sister.I like how these two stories sit together. There’s a gentleness to Sara’s, as she discovers things she likes, including the sensory delights of winter in France and people who accept her. In contrast, Mary’s is full of danger, deception and the discomfort of travel. But there’s also a subtle, common thread or two running throughout: both Sara and Mary embark on temporary jobs that open up unexpected, life-changing choices -- and some of those choices are about trust and finding someone to build a life with.Mary’s chapters are told from the third person, with only occasional excerpts from her diary, which means her story can include more than what a person could, convincingly, find enough time to write down in code. (I don’t like having to suspend disbelief over how much characters write in their diaries so this pleased me.)Sara has Asperger’s. I’ve come across a few other books with protagonists on the spectrum lately, and this is the first one where the narrative isn’t shared with a neurotypical love-interest trying to understand them. It’s the right approach for this particular story. I liked seeing Sara’s world solely through her eyes, and liked that she is accepted so warmly, so easily.I found both protagonists relatable -- Sara, with her love for scarves and the colour blue, unexpectedly so. Mary loves telling stories and loves her dog, who she refuses to leave behind, which aren’t uncommon traits for heroines, but still, but there’s something delightful about character valuing things as you do. A point of connection.Finally, there are few, subtly, Mary Stewart-ish moments in this book and that pleased me, too.The past, Mary thought, was itself a great predator, chasing you always behind in a tireless pursuit so you ran from it, or lying ever in wait for you, ready to sink its sharp teeth in the spots where it knew you were weakest.
    • 4/5
      By now Kearsley's use of the same broad themes and organizational style for her books is familiar to readers, yet the books are still irresistible, much as the books of Eva Ibbotson are. When you have a good formula, you might as well capitalize upon it!As in two of her previous books - The Winter Sea and The Firebird, the action moves back and forth between the present day and the time of the Jacobite Movement in Scotland, with parallel heroines facing similar issues and encountering similar romantic possibilities.Jacobites were mostly Irish and Scots in the early 1700’s who were seeking to bring the exiled Catholic King James VIII back from France to take the Scottish throne. (James is Jacobus in Latin.) It was a time full of daring, conspiracy, heroism, and subterfuge, providing a great opportunity for exciting and romantic stories. (This period also serves as the backdrop for Diana Gabaldon’s popular “Outlander” series.)The modern protagonist in this book is Sara Thomas, a currently unemployed computer programmer with a talent for numbers and ciphers. An expert on Asperger’s told Sara that she, who shared that syndrome, was just wired differently, “like the lone Mac in an office of PCs.” While that metaphor gave Sara comfort, there was no denying she was a bit easily distraught and overwhelmed, and that she preferred to work alone. So when her cousin Jacqui got her a solitary position deciphering a coded journal from 1732, she leapt at the opportunity. Jacqui went along with Sara to Chatou, outside Paris, to help her get settled in the house of the woman, Claudine, who had the journal, and who would host Sara while she worked. The decoding that Sara is hired to do was contracted for by the author Alistair Scott, who was working on a book about the period and eager to find out what this encoded journal contained. It belonged to Mary Dundas, 21, who Alistair thinks was just “an ordinary girl” writing during extraordinary times. Alistair explains the Jacobite movement to Sara, also filling in readers with sufficient background to follow the rest of the story.In Chatou, Sara meets the most agreeable housekeeper, Denise, as well as her handsome ex-husband, Luc Sabran, who lives on the grounds. The two share custody of their 9-year-old son Noah. Sara is attracted to Luc, but believes that people with Asperger’s can’t have successful relationships.Back in 1732, Mary is sent on a “mission” to help camouflage the identity of a Jacobite man on the run as he tries to elude English authorities. The two are accompanied by an older female chaperon and a forbidding-looking bodyguard, the powerful, silent Mr. MacPherson. Ah, Mr. MacPherson. Here is a dark mysterious bad boy extraordinaire, the epitome of the “strong yet gentle" trope. True to the nature of such romantic characters, he is irresistible not only for his bravery and fierceness, but for his well-but-not-totally-hidden depth, caring, attentiveness, and passion.As events in Mary’s journal unfold, she learns more about who she is and who she has the potential to be, just as Sara does in the present day. And they both discover that the future, which seemed so foreclosed, might offer possibilities for their happiness after all.Evaluation: Sara and Luc’s (modern) story is good, but Mary and MacPherson’s 18th Century story is even better. The 18th Century characters are far more dashing, if perhaps not as realistic. (But as mentioned above, the period of the Jacobite upheavals elicited all sorts of the daring and doughtiness as exhibited by both Mary and MacPherson.) Both romances are quite moving, as is a third that the author manages to sneak into the plot. The history is well reported, and the ending has a bit of flair distinguishing it from the usual romance novel ending.An afterword provides more details on the historical characters and circumstances reported in the book.
    • 4/5
      I like this author's books.
    • 5/5
      A beautifully woven tale of a woman deciphering a diary from the 18th century, and the lives of the people surrounding it.
      A very enjoyable summer read.
    • 5/5
      Sarah Thomas, a modern day computer programmer with a passion for ciphers, decodes a diary written by Mary Dundass 300 years before. Sarah's been different and isolated by her aspergers until she begins working on the diary. Mary is one of the second generation Jacobites living in exile near Paris. Her Mother is deceased, her Father and brothers left her behind with family to follow King James to Rome. Mary longs for the family which has abandoned her--until they decide she can be used on a mission.
    • 3/5
      I am a huge fan of this author but this book didn’t grab and keep me entranced as her other books have. I liked it but I didn’t love it. Even with Katherine Kellgren’s narration I still found myself confused as to who was talking and which time period we were in because there was almost too many characters in each time period from different countries it was just hard for me to keep up.Another problem I may have had is the Jacobite stuff and the Comte St Germaine I have maybe read Diana Gabaldon books too many times to be able to read any other stories set in this time period because I kept thinking of the Comte from Diana’s books and whenever the Jacobite’s were mentioned all I could picture was Jamie Fraser so…I think this book is a fluke for my love of Susanna Kearsley I will still clamor for whatever she writes next and will be first in line to get an ARC the second it’s available because she does write like a dream. The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden still remain in my favorites. This one just maybe wasn’t for me.2 1/2 - 3 stars
    • 4/5
       Modern day mix with 1700's Jacobite time period. Sara Thomas is a young woman who has asbergers and a niche for numbers and ciphers is hired by a well known author to break a cipher in a coded personal journal of a young woman from the 1700's for his new book. Sara must travel to Paris to work on the journal, while there she finds a love connection, not so different from the adventures of Mary Dundas the young woman whose journal she is deciphering.
    • 4/5
      I just finished the novel A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley. Sara Thomas is between jobs (she just quit another one). She is a computer programmer who prefers to work alone (and programmers rarely work alone). Sara has Asperger’s syndrome which she has learned to handle over the years. Her cousin, Jacqui (who is very protective of Sara) has a great job opportunity for Sara where she will able to work by herself. Alistair Scott is an historical writer who needs the diary of Mary Dundas translated. It is written in a cipher. Alistair needs someone to figure out the cipher and then translate the diary. Sara is good with puzzles and ciphers (she was also able to pass Alistair’s test). Sara agrees to take the job (she is looking forward to the challenge). Sara will be staying in France with the owner of the diary while she works on it.Mary Dundas is a Scotswoman (who comes from a family of Jacobite’s) who has been raised in France with relatives. Her older brother, Nicolas has finally requested that she come live with him. It turns out that Nicolas actually wants Mary to help hide a Jacobite on the run. Mary will pose as his sister to help keep him in hiding (and from getting captured). Mary is in for the journey of a lifetime.A Desperate Fortune goes back and forth between Sara and Mary. We get to see how Sara works to solve the cipher, translate the diary, and enjoys life in France. Mary is in for a journey she never thought she would experience, but she also worries what will happen to her at the end of this adventure. I enjoyed reading A Desperate Fortune. It is a well written novel. I enjoyed the setting of France, the characters, the interesting information on ciphers (I also enjoy puzzles) and the Jacobite’s. There is some romance (it seems to be prevalent in all books), but, thankfully, it is not the dominant part of the story. The story does get a little tedious (slow going) at times from the history in the novel (it can be hard to keep it all straight and I love history). We also get information on Asperger’s syndrome, how it affects an individual, and the mechanisms they can use to cope. I give A Desperate Fortune 4 out of 5 stars (which means I liked it). I will be reading more works from Susanna Kearsley.I received a complimentary copy of A Desperate Fortune from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      This was a beautifully written dual-timeline story. Sara Thomas, a modern young woman somewhere on the Asperger's Syndrome, is encouraged by her older cousin to take a job in France decoding the journal that photographer Claudine had purchased. The decoded journal would help one of her cousin's clients with the book he is supposed to be writing. Since Sara has recently left her job, the timing is right and the challenge of figuring out the cipher that Mary Dundas used in 1723 catches her attention.Mary Dundas is twenty-one when the story begins. She has been raised by her mother's sister and her husband when her father left her there at age six to follow exiled King James as he looked for a new place to set up his court. Mary has always felt abandoned even though she loves her aunt, uncle and cousins and she has always felt like a person without a country since she was both Scottish and French.When her older brother Nicolas comes to get her, she has hopes that she will finally be able to spend time with her family. But Nicolas has other plans. Mary is drafted to be the cover for a man who has escaped from England after a major financial scandal and who needs to make his way to King James. Mary finds herself installed in Paris as the "sister" of "Jacques" with a maid/chaperone named Madame Roy. She feels that she is being watched by a man across the street. When "Jacques" or rather John Thomson is discovered, the watcher from across the street now identified as Highlander Hugh MacPherson gathers them up and they flee while being pursued by bounty hunters. Along their difficult and perilous journey told both by Mary and decoded by Sara, we see Mary gradually fall in love with Hugh. And even though the diary ends with their fate undecided, the author was kind enough to continue Mary's part of the story to its conclusion.Sara does figure out the cipher with the assistance of Noah Sabran, the almost nine-year-old son of Claudine's housekeeper and her ex-husband Luc Sabran. Sara is learning to fit in with the household in France and falls in love with Luc even though her cousin warns her not to get involved. Sara has always had difficulties with relationships because of Asperger's preferring to end them herself rather than taking a chance. Luc is not willing to be left behind and understands Sara since his own brother also has Asperger's. I loved the way the two stories wove together. Each story was strong and had wonderful characters many of them actual historical figures. I enjoyed the author's Afterword which told which of the characters were real and more about the time period when the Jacobites followed their exiled king to France and Italy. I also liked the hints that the stories of some of the characters were told in more detail in some of the author's other books. In format, this book reminded me strongly of Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation which is another favorite book of mine. While I am not a fan of time travel in my reading, this sort of time travel where a modern story is interwoven with a historical one is a kind of book I really enjoy.