Synopsis During the California Gold Rush, Eliza Sommers, raised as an adopted daughter in a wealthy Chilean family, follows her flamboyant lover to California--partly as a way of beginning her life over again. Allende's historical adventure novel touches on feminist themes such as the repressed upbringing of girls in Chile, the disgraceful treatment of Chinese prostitutes in America, and the rough life of frontier women.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2001-11-01 | | Edition Description: | Reprint |
| Size | | Length: | 447 pages | | Height: | 7.0 in | | Width: | 4.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 8.0 oz |
Publisher's Note
An orphan raised in Valparaíso, Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849 -- a danger-filled quest that will become a momentous journey of transformation. In this rough-and-tumble world of panhandlers and prostitutes, immigrants and aristocrats, Eliza will discover a new life of freedom, independence, and a love greater than any ever dreamed.
Industry Reviews "[A]n extravagant tale by a gifted storyteller whose spell brings to life the 19th century world....DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE, while entertaining and well paced, is frustratingly one-dimensional....Though Allende offers pictures of this darker world, they come across as mere snapshots, dwarfed by the sweeping historical panorama she's trying to paint...." Curwen
""[B]ecause Allende details her plot and settings more richly than her characters' inner lives, this derring-do saga feels somewhat spiritless." Harlan
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