An orphan raised in Valparaíso, Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. She enters a rough-and-tumble world whose newly arrived inhabitants are driven mad by gold fever. With the help of her good friend and savior, the Chinese doctor Tao Chi'en, Eliza moves freely in a society of single men and prostitutes, creating an unconventional but independent life for herself. The young Chilean's search for her elusive lover gradually turns into another kind of journey, and by the time she finally hears news of him, Eliza must decide who her true love really is.

This book offers the reader a unique view into the lives of the 1949 miners. Wonderful attention paid to the detail of the time and full of unique insights the author shares with her audience based on exhaustive research. 1919 Misfortune's End was clearly inspired by this book and the author.

Daughter of Fortune was a wonderful book. If you love to read story's set in this time period this book will not disappoint you. It's full of colorful characters you get to know and care about. I had never heard of this book prior to picking it up by chance at Costco. It sounded interesting but I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not, after a few minutes of looking at other titles I kept coming back to this book so I bought it. Daughter of Fortune ended up being a pleasant surprise, I found myself not being able to put it down! The only down side to the entire book for me was the ending. I felt a bit cheated until I found out the story continues generations later in "Portrait in Sepia" (which I have on order from Amazon and can not wait for it's arrival). I have recommended this book to my sister and a some friends and each one of them has enjoyed it as much as I did.

My book club just finished this book (women from ages 30-85), we all loved it.

I love historical fiction. I'd never given much thought to the various groups that participated in the Gold Rush, as well as the accounting of Chile in the late 1800's and Tao's story from China. I will never forget the term Golden Lilies. The story was very vivid and covered a multitude of circumstances, much of it centered on women.

Eliza is an orphan who overcomes her upbringing to pursue her love. Her journey to find him reveals much about herself, her strength and what she can accomplish. Along her path, she meets many other colorful, vibrant, strong women. Her spinster Aunt who has her own story which was completely unexpected. How the Aunt disdains society while appearing so proper and makes money was a surprise. The prostitutes who travel to the Gold Rush to make money and what happens to them; including, a rough/tough Madam and a reformed prostitute. Eliza's friend, a strong business savvy Chilean woman who defies her family and marries the man she loves, a man not afraid to listen to her advice. Many atypical characters of the time, but perhaps that is the point. (Sorry to be vague, but I don't want to spoil these stories.)

There are many comments in other reviews about the loose ends. I felt the book was complete. During the course of the story, Eliza reminisces from a future time point. She makes reference to several things that happen after the end of the book. I would suggest reading carefully and making note of her observances. It ties everything together nicely.

I only picked this book off my bookshelf because I did not have time to look closer at that moment. What a wonderful suprise when I grudingly opened it later and from the first sentence I was pulled into the story. The best way I can discribe the writing style of this book is warm and fluid, easy and addictive all at the same time. I would never read a historical novel about this time period, but then again I have never found one with an interesting, spirited female character either. I learned a great deal about this period from this book, the gold rush came alive for me through all the different characters. This is what learning about history should be like. I didn't want it to end and honestly I would love to know where the author thinks the characters ended up. I wish she would write a sequal. Bravo!

I had previously read The Stories of Eva Luna and wanted to try another Allende book. I love her writing style. In Daughter of Fortune, the end dragged a bit and maybe she should have dropped a character or two. I also never really felt the love between the main character and the person with whom she ended up. Maybe there are a few more loose ends that could have been tied up as well, but I don't want to put any spoilers. Considering these minor details, this is truly a great read! I love how she writes historical fact into the novel and transcends the reader to another time with a modern mind.