In turn-of-the-century New England 14-year-old Olympia Biddeford is spending the summer with her parents at their seasonal house at Fortune's Rocks. She is swiftly despatched to Boston when it's discovered she has embarked on an affair with a friend of her father's, but Olympia is already pregnant. 2000. A trade paperback copy in very good condition.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Fortune's Rocks
Publisher: abacus
Publication Date: 2000
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0349112592
ISBN 13: 9780349112596
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 1st edition.

About this title

Synopsis

Everywhere hailed for its emotional intensity and unflagging narrative momentum, this magnificent novel transports us to the turn of the twentieth century, to the world of a prominent Boston family summering on the New Hampshire coast, and to the social orbit of a spirited young woman who falls into a passionate, illicit affair with an older man, with cataclysmic results.

Review

Hester Prynne never had it so good! The year is 1899, and Olympia Biddeford, the headstrong daughter of a Boston Brahmin family, has decided to test the limits of her cloistered world. Spending the summer at her father's New Hampshire estate, the teenage heroine of Fortune's Rocks is entranced with the visiting salon of artists, writers, and lawyers. She's especially captivated, however, by John Haskell, a charismatic physician who ministers to the blue-collar community in the nearby mill towns. This middle-aged Good Samaritan hires Olympia to assist him as a nurse, and their collaboration soon evolves into a fiery love affair. Alas, it's only a matter of weeks before this passionate exercise in managed care is exposed--with disastrous consequences for the young, impregnated heroine. Even her adoring father now considers her "an overplump sixteen-year-old girl whose judgment can no longer be trusted," and insists that she break off her relationship:

"There is nothing more to be said on this subject," he says. She bites her lip to keep from crying out further. She holds the arms of her chair so tightly she later will have cramps in her fingers. She will refuse to obey him, she thinks. She will accept his implied challenge and set off on her own. But in the next moment, she asks herself: How will she be able to do that? Without her father's support, she cannot hope to survive. And if she herself does not survive, then a child cannot live."

In the end, Anita Shreve's seventh novel is a polished, supremely entertaining variation on Wuthering Heights, with Olympia and Haskell sitting in for Catherine and Heathcliff. The author did some meticulous research for her New England background, which gives this study of one particular wayward woman some extra historical heft. Some readers may find the plot twists a bit pat. And despite Olympia's efforts to be an independent woman, she overcomes her trials largely as a result of her family's wealth and station, which takes the edge off Shreve's feminist message. Still, Fortune's Rocks is a romance in the classic sense of the word, and should be enjoyed as such, unless the reader is absolutely allergic to happy endings. --Ted Leventhal

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Barclay Books is a new,used and rare book store situated in the beautiful historic town of York, Western Australia. York is Western Australia's oldest inland town and being only 100km from Perth it is popular with tourists for it's charming period buildings and scenic Avon Valley setting. We are long time book collectors ourselves and understand the needs of collectors in regards to accurate book descriptions. We welcome any enquiry regarding our stock prior to purchase. Our opening hours are usually 9am - 5pm Thurs to Sun and Public Holidays or by appointment.

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Cygnus (WA) Pty Ltrd
151 Avon Tce, York, WA, 6302, Australia

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We guarantee the condition of every book as it is described on the Abebooks website. A full refund will be provided for any book returned as being not as described or that does not arrive within 30 days of the expected delivery date. Cygnus (WA) Pty Ltd as trustee for the Barclay Family Trust trading as Barclay Books. 151 Avon Tce, York WA 6302 AUSTRALIA info@barclaybooks.com.au 08 96 411665 ABN 35 274 897 226 Clayton Smith DIRECTOR

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