Hardback: 401 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Picador 2022
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentence: At eighteen, Thea is too old to be celebrating birthdays.
Review Quote: Clever and satisfying . . . Burton is an acute observer . . . A worthy sequel, mature and thoughtful ― Guardian
My Opinion: Having read and enjoyed 'The Miniaturist' back in 2016 I was keen to read this sequel.
'The House of Fortune' takes the reader back to Amsterdam some eighteen years later. It is 1705 and Thea Brandt turns eighteen. It is time for the family to find her husband , who will help save the family from financial ruin. However Thea is a headstrong young woman and determined to control her own destiny.
A character driven story, which showcases the difficulties women faced in this era, with the expectations forced upon them. If you liked 'The Miniaturist' I can recommend this sequel. In my opinion although you can read it without reading the previous novel you will find it makes more sense if you have done so.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
The House of Fortune is the sequel to Jessie Burton’s million copy bestselling The Miniaturist. Set in the golden city of Amsterdam in 1705, it is a story of fate and ambition, secrets and dreams, and one young woman’s determination to rule her own destiny.
Thea Brandt is turning eighteen, and is ready to welcome adulthood with open arms. At the theatre, Walter, the love of her life, awaits her, but at home in the house on the Herengracht, winter has set in – her father Otto and Aunt Nella argue endlessly, and the Brandt family are selling their furniture in order to eat. On Thea’s birthday, also the day that her mother Marin died, the secrets from the past begin to overwhelm the present.
Nella is desperate to save the family and maintain appearances, to find Thea a husband who will guarantee her future, and when they receive an invitation to Amsterdam’s most exclusive ball, she is overjoyed – perhaps this will set their fortunes straight. And indeed, the ball does set things spinning: new figures enter their life, promising new futures. But their fates are still unclear, and when Nella feels a strange prickling sensation on the back of her neck, she wonders if the miniaturist has returned for her . . .
Previous Review: The Miniaturist
Author Profile
© Vogue UK, Hugh Stewart
Jessie Burton is the author of four novels, The Miniaturist, The Muse, The Confession, and The House of Fortune. She was born in January 1982 in the United Kingdom.
The Miniaturist and The Muse were Sunday Times no.1 bestsellers in both hardback and paperback, New York Times bestsellers, and Radio 4's Book at Bedtime. The Miniaturist went on to sell over a million copies in its year of publication, was Christmas no.1 in the UK, National Book Awards Book of the Year, and Waterstones Book of the Year 2014. In 2017 it was adapted as a two-part miniseries on BBC One, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Alex Hassell and Romola Garai, screened over Christmas, and now available on DVD and streaming services. The Confession was an instant Sunday Times bestseller, and Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. The House of Fortune was a Sunday Times no.1 bestseller in hardback, and the paperback was released in July 2023.
Her novels have been published in 40 languages.
Jessie's first book for children, The Restless Girls, was published in September 2018, and Medusa, her second, in October 2021. Medusa was shortlisted for the 2023 Carnegie Medal for Children's Writing. Her story 'Daphne and the Doughnuts' appeared in The Book of Hopes, a collection of children's stories published in 2020, from which all profits go to the NHS.
As a non-fiction writer, she has written essays and reviews for The New York Times, Harpers Bazaar UK, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, Vogue, Elle, Red, Grazia, Lonely Planet Traveller and The Spectator. Harpers Bazaar US and Stylist have published her short stories.
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.
Goodreads - Author Profile Amazon - Jessie Burton Page Jessie Burton - Official Website. Instagram Profile
Picador - Author Profile.
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