A Dangerous Fortune
 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | Ken Follett |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Published | 1993 (Macmillan/UK & Delacorte Press/US) |
| ISBN | 0-333-58031-1 |
| OCLC | 28374472 |
A Dangerous Fortune is a novel written by British author Ken Follett in 1993. The story is set against the backdrop of collapse of a bank in 1892. The book also features Follett's first female villain, the domineering and unscrupulous Augusta.
Plot summary
In 1866, a schoolboy named Peter Middleton drowns in a mysterious accident. Present are Hugh Pilaster and his older cousin Edward, the dissolute heir to a banking fortune and Micky Miranda, son of a brutal South American landowner. Caught in the ensuing maelstrom are sly matriarch Augusta Pilaster, rich heir Solly Greenbourne and slum girl Maisie Robinson. Micky Miranda uses blackmail and murder to advance his family and threatens the whole British economy. After a murder attempt gone wrong and now on the run from police, he boards a ship with Augusta but is murdered by Augusta when he reveals his plan to betray her.