Review: Sisters of Fortune

Title: Sisters of Fortune 

Author: Anna Lee Huber

Publisher: 20th February 2024 by Kensington Books 

Pages: 320 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction

Synopsis:

April,1912: It’s the perfect finale to a Grand Tour of Europe—sailing home on the largest, most luxurious ocean liner ever built. For the Fortune sisters, the voyage offers a chance to reflect on the treasures of the past they’ve seen—magnificent castles and museums in Italy and France, the ruins of Greece and the Middle East—and contemplate the futures that await them.

For Alice, there’s foreboding mixed with her excitement. A fortune teller in Egypt gave her a dire warning about traveling at sea. And the freedom she has enjoyed on her travels contrasts with her fiancé’s plans for her return—a cossetted existence she’s no longer sure she wants.

Flora is also returning to a fiancé, a well-to-do banker of whom her parents heartily approve, as befits their most dutiful daughter. Yet the closer the wedding looms, the less sure Flora feels. Another man—charming, exasperating, completely unsuitable—occupies her thoughts, daring her to follow her own desires rather than settling for the wishes of others.

Youngest sister Mabel knows her parents arranged this Grand Tour to separate her from a jazz musician. But the secret truth is that Helen has little interest in marrying at all, preferring to explore ideas of suffrage and reform—even if it forces a rift with her family.

Each sister grapples with the choices before her as the grand vessel glides through the Atlantic waters. Until, on an infamous night, fate intervenes, forever altering their lives . . .

My Thoughts

I am always up for anything Titanic related, some good and some ... not so good. I am happy to say that this is one of the good ones, in fact, one of the really good ones regarding the tale of this infamous ship from history. 

“You’ve heard, then? About the iceberg? I saw it from the promenade. It was a great monstrous thing. Are they still telling people to return to their staterooms?”

This is the tale of three sisters who, with their family, embarked on the maiden voyage of the Titanic (this is after the whole family had completed their ‘European Tour’ and were just back from Egypt). The story is told from their alternating viewpoints and we gradually learn a bit about each sister and their dreams and aspirations. This is a very well written tale with the pacing just right. All characters, not just the three main women, are strong and engaging, highlighting very different approaches to life in the early years of the twentieth century, especially for women. Reading the author’s final notes explains how much is fact and how much is fiction and I believe Anna has done an outstanding job of combining the two. 

‘The room’s décor was Jacobean in style, with Tudor roses depicted in scrollwork across the Saloon’s roof and decorative columns.’

Two points that make this book a standout for me: one, although a work of fiction, the necessary research has been done and it came across as a most realistic portrayal of this well documented tragedy. Everything from the luxurious furnishings, the food and events onboard, the famous passengers, to how they were evacuated and the chaos that ensued. Secondly, the background stories really made this tale. It was definitely not just about the ship, it was more about these three women and how this event changed their lives in profound and unexpected ways. 

‘... the ship could break into three separate pieces and each part could still stay afloat. I would say that makes the claims of practical un-sinkability pretty valid.’

Reading this book you get a first hand account of how lives were before, during and after being part of such a tragedy.It is a wonderful work of fiction based on historical research (there really were three sisters on the Titanic!) with likeable leads, fabulous descriptions, romance and resilience, hope and heartache all rolled into one well written tale. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.