A Dangerous Fortune

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: Michael Page

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

A breathtaking thriller featuring “political and amorous intrigues, cold-blooded murder, and financial crises” (San Francisco Chronicle), from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Column of Fire

In 1866, tragedy strikes the exclusive Windfield School when a young student drowns in a mysterious accident. His death and its aftermath initiate a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many lives.

From the exclusive men’s clubs and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London’s upper class to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world’s wealth, one family is splintered by a shared legacy. But greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy’s death, must be stopped, or the dreams of a nation will die.

©1993 by Ken Follett. (P)1994 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Breathlessly plotted...relentlessly suspenseful." (The New York Times)

"Ken Follett is a matchless storyteller, and this story is tailor-made for audio.... With Follett teamed up with Page, you can't stop listening." (AudioFile)

I love Ken Follett

I started out with Pillars of the Earth, then World Without End. I have listened to both of them twice. I listened to a couple other of his shorter books next, but neither were as good as this one. Once you become familiar with the main characters, the momentum builds to the climax.

Classic Victorian time story

I don't know why I picked this book but I'm glad I did. It was a great story, cross between Count of Montecristo and War & Peace.

This was a pleasant reading/listening, the narrator was great. If you are into 18 or 19 century type stories, I strongly recommend this.

A Dangerous Fortune

Narrated by Michael Page, over sixteen hours of listening. This unabridged audiobook was released in 2008 by Blackstone Audio - although the original print version goes back to the late 90s.

A Dangerous Fortune is a mystery - however, you understand who the bad-guys are throughout. Not a thriller, rather a family saga riddled with black sheep and spoiled brats. Takes place in England, beginning in the 1860s through the 1890s. All topics from rags to riches to homosexuality to illegitimacy to prostitution to elicit affairs to high stakes banking. A plethora of topics, including noble ethical standards, kindness, greed, debauchery, murder. Something for everyone! The story begins with a school drowning, the ramifications of which traverse the pages to a somewhat predictable ending.

Typical of Follett, settings in A Dangerous Fortune, are wonderfully defined. The era, costumes, class system … you feel as if you are there, in that place, at that time - cinematic scenes. It took me a while to get hooked on the story … but after struggling through a few chapters, the soap opera aspect pulled me through to the conclusion.

Michael Page does a credible job, female voices included. No trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who. Tempo, pacing fine. A production issue with the repeat of a few paragraphs in the recording, not a major issue … still.

No gratuitous sex, but there are several such scenes relevant to the plot/character.

Overall, a worthy listen. Enjoy!

I loved this book.

I was a big fan of a World Without End and Pillars of the Earth and would rank this book at the top of the Follet list as well.

Follett's got skills

This is not great literature but pure entertainment with a nostalgic feel. It reads like an old movie. As usual for Follett, there is history, adventure, mystery and romance of an erotic nature. It's good fun. Richard's wife again.

If you like Follett you'll like this too

Follett's novels all seem formed from the same cookie cutter: good guys, bad guys, innocents and evil ones, and the good ones win in the end. Despite the predictability, I love the stories so well told. And this particular performance is amazing! Is it really Michael Page projecting all these voices? Light years ahead of the old books on tape I use to get.

Disturbing and Longwinded but Enthralling

One afternoon of rule breaking leads to over two decades of disorder in the lives of six English schoolboys.

The main character Hugh starts out as just... cringey and annoying and bookish. He ends the story as confident, intelligent, and bookish. He starts out as a black sheep but nevertheless ends up being the saviour of his entire family... in a way, because their empire falls.
The other main character, Maisie, is flatter than a sheet of paper. She’s a circus performer turned prostitute - who is also a virgin, in all senses. Gets knocked up but doesn’t make hardly any effort in trying to tell the father - marries a very nice, fat millionaire (a character who the author can’t mention without reminding the reader of his overwhelming fatness) and then she co-runs an unwed mothers hospital.
Other characters are the Selfish Fingers In Everybody’s Pie Augusta, So Stupid It’s Amazing He Doesn’t Just Grunt Edward, and Incredibly Evil and Outrageously Lucky Mickey.

The book is split into Three parts each with about five “chapters” that are all an hour long if not longer. The Prologue is 50 minutes describing that events of the “fateful day” of the five school boys NOT witnessing a murder and the following over-sped farce of a trial. Part One is about young Hugh, bookish and hardworking but nauseatingly virginal to the point of I wasn’t sure if he was meant to be “the good guy”. Also featured is virgin prostitute Maisie finishing Hugh and “not really liking him”, a disgusting adventure to a brothel and snapshots of Victorian life like an Angel faced 10 year old being offered by an old lady pimp, a dog being brutally slaughtered by rats, and our dear main character coming in his pants because of a single prostitute touching him. Also... Hugh is “banished” to America because of daring to lose his virginity and dear now-not-virgin Maisie is kicked to the curb by... HERSELF, having been “manipulated” by the aunt.
Part Two is six years later - Hugh is a GREAT banker, our villains kills again, Maisie is married to the corpulent millionaire, lots of frustration and more questions with no answers.
Part Three... well, to be honest, this story drags on and on and on... and on.

The ending is somewhat satisfying. Out of the five original boys, only two remain alive and one of the two to live is so far removed from the story that his only contribution is a letter. Our main villain gets what’s been coming to him at the hands of an unexpected character...

Many parts will stick with me for all the wrong reasons but overall, not bad. I REALLY wish the author would learn how to write realistic, well rounded women with actual character arcs.

Good, but not up to Follet's standards

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Dangerous Fortune?

The plot that concluded the story

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Good voice effects

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

the characters were a little over done...some were like comic book characters...unintended, but almost funny and from central casting

Lives challenged by the past.

Would you consider the audio edition of A Dangerous Fortune to be better than the print version?

Enjoyed the audio, but have not read it. I can't imagine reading it would be more enjoyable than this presentation

What about Michael Page’s performance did you like?

I thought he did a good job bringing the characters to life and helping keeping them distinct.

Any additional comments?

This is a well-told historic novel that easily holds the listener throughout.

A well told exciting book

This is very well narrated. I will be looking for other books told by this narrator. The story is exciting, interesting, informative and well worth investing in. I got hours and hours of enjoyment out of it, although I do not usually go for the 'easy' reads, this one was superb holiday listening.