Alive with the magic of Amsterdam, the enchanting new historical novel
from the author of the sensational New York Times bestseller The
Miniaturist, which has sold more than two million copies.
In 1705 Amsterdam, Thea Brandt is coming of age, trying to grapple with
her family's secrets and her own identity as a young Dutch-African
woman. She's drawn to the theater and an artistic life, but with her
family in serious financial decline, pressure is on Thea to marry up in
society.
As her father and Aunt Nella work desperately to save the family home
and catastrophe threatens to engulf them, Thea seeks refuge in the arms
of her secret lover, Walter, the chief set-painter at her favorite
theater. But the thrill of their romance is shadowed by another secret
she keeps close: Her birthday marks the day her mother, Marin, died in
labor. Thea's family refuses to share the details of the story, just as
they seem terrified to speak of the shadowy artist from their past whose
tiny figurines seem to capture the things most carefully hidden away.
Aunt Nella believes the solution to Thea's problems is to find her a
husband, and an unexpected invitation to Amsterdam's most exclusive ball
seems like a golden opportunity. But when a miniature figure of Walter
turns up on Thea's doorstep, it becomes clear that someone out there has
another fate in mind for the family- and that perhaps the new beginning
Thea seeks won't depend on a man.
A feat of sweeping, magical storytelling, The House of Fortune is an
unputdownable novel about love and obsession, family and loyalty, and
the fantastic power of secrets.
