The Fortune Hunter

If you combine the wit of Oscar Wilde, the elegance of Cary Grant, and the rogue-ishness of Humphrey Bogart, you have George, the hero of "The Fortune Hunter." Against him, plot our heroine, a combination of Katherine Hepburn and Greer Garson. Part of the fun of a romance is the knowledge of where it is going and what will probably happen, but not exactly. You know the hero will partake in the villain's fall, rescue the heroine, and choose her over all other temptations. The romance staple of the "bad" man who virtuously warns the heroine against him, becoming more and more charming as he falls deeply in love is irresistible, like "The Fortune Hunter" itself.

I am delighted and amazed when I encounter a perfect novel. Diane Farr's The Fortune Hunter is happily such a novel.The set-up is familiar: George Carstairs, Baron Rival, has managed to eek out an existence in London as a successful card shark. But he has struggled for years in vain to raise the capital to restore his beloved boyhood home, Rye Vale, which was impoverished by his deceased father's still outstanding gambling debts. Though George is infamous from his façade as a gambler and womanizer of the worst kind, he is actually a deeply honorable person and agonizes as desperate circumstances force him into his only remaining option: he must marry an heiress to save his estate.At the top of his list is the elusive and mysterious spinster, Lady Olivia Fairfax, whose secret past has made the truth of one fact absolutely certain to her: she will never give up her hard won control over her own life and over her own fabulous wealth by marrying anyone, especially a fortune hunter like the one who broke her heart when she was a girl.Yet George is not just anyone. When they meet, Olivia sees him immediately as the embodiment of her every fantasy. For his part, George is smitten by the saucy woman he takes to be a maid in his deceased friend's home. He helps her sort through the items left there to benefit the charity (school for poor but promising women) that Olivia founded. He ends up confessing to this alluring maid his plan to woo and marry Olivia for her money.His surprise and mortification are complete when at the reading of his friend's will he again encounters this unforgettable maid who has haunted his dreams-and she turns out to be Olivia! To make matters worse, George receives an inheritance-a modest quarterly income-that the friend stipulates Olivia is to disburse based on whether George is making a useful contribution to Olivia's school.Hence, seemingly against their wills, Olivia and George are thrown together in her school, and the fun begins: irresistible force (George) meets immovable object (Olivia) as George seeks to woo Olivia even as he is completely honest with her about being a fortune hunter. The development of their relationship is among the most clever and entertaining I've ever encountered.Farr has a gift for snappy banter that is never gratuitous but grows believably from the characters of these two complex and lovable persons she so vividly brings to life. There is so much cleverness, humor, deep emotion and verisimilitude in The Fortune Hunter that every page is a fabulously entertaining and pleasurable emotional experience. Farr's great writing skill also produces a very fun plot and lively supporting characters.Do not miss this wonderfully irreverent, wise and deeply emotional novel!

Some people only want to get where they're going--in a BIG hurry--so they'll even jump on the interstate for just a few blocks. They could care less what scenery there may be or what they might be missing in the process. It's "hurry up, already. Let's get there!" Others prefer to meander along, taking their time, savoring the view from here or there, and yes--smelling the roses. Either method is perfectly valid, depending on a lot of variables. But -- The Fortune Hunter is not for people in a hurry. No way. It needs--deserves--to be read slowly, and savored, word by word. Scene by scene. If you gallop through this book, you'll miss 90% of the lovely humorous bantering between George, Baron Rival and Olivia, Lady Fairfax. And what a shame that would be. These two use words, even in the most casual of circumstances, in ways that would put any other two fictional lovers totally to shame. Delicious is the only word to describe this wordplay.So what if there is no explicit love scene? Excuse me? This book is nothing if not nearly one long continuous love scene! Who needs explicit, when there is the most erotic yet innocent seduction imaginable in chapter twelve? The pages themselves produce steam as George removes one of Olivia's gloves. Only a glove! And then there is chapter twenty-one. Oh, my stars and garters! This is writing of the very highest quality, perfectly matched by two delightful, fully developed characters in a plot full of twists and turns. In short, this is a masterpiece. Poor Lord Rival (in more ways than one!) must marry an heiress if he is to restore his ancestral holdings. In order to accomplish this, he has carefully made up a list of the most eligible women who matched that description. The elusive, enigmatic Lady Olivia Fairfax was at the very top of the list. Only problem was, he'd never seen the lady, and neither had anyone else he knew. But then, he discovered someone who had seen her. After many weekly bouts of cribbage with this elderly gentleman, before Rival even had a chance to propose a possible meeting, the man died, leaving Rival back at square one. But maybe not, as Rival is called in for the reading of the will. And of course, so is Olivia. Sparks fly in all directions, and the chase is on! During most of history, once a man and woman married (each other) he owned her, and she was his to do with as he wished, up to and including spending her entire fortune any way he wished, or even beating her so severely she could easily die from the injuries. Of course, she could not have the same freedoms, oh, no. It's no wonder that independent, wealthy Olivia chose not to marry, considering the men with whom she was the most familiar--her father and half-brother--were this brutal sort. As if to demonstrate this unhappy side of marriage even more clearly, the author uses Olivia's half-brother's brutalities against his wife, Edith, to back-up Olivia's decision to remain unwed. It's a perfectly brilliant metaphor. But all that

Diane Farr has once again outdone herself in her latest novel, the touching and beautiful story of two seemingly mismatched lovers, an impoverished but charming rogue who must marry an heiress to save his destitute family estate and a wealthy spinster who has resolved never to marry in order to maintain her hard-won independence. George Carstairs, Baron Rival, is literally down to his last penny when he embarks on a campaign to meet and win the hand in marriage of the reclusive but fabulously rich Lady Olivia Fairfax. Lady Olivia, who has had a history of disastrous relationships with men, from her distant and domineering father, to her abusive step-brother, her faithless fiance, and her condescending solicitor, is happy in her independent life as a 26 year old spinster, running the charitable school for orphaned girls that she has founded. Despite the fact that George makes no secret of his need for Olivia's wealth, she finds her determination never to marry and never to put herself within a man's control crumbling in the face of Geroge's devastating charm, his obvious devotion to her and her family, and his intrinsic honesty and kindness. But can she trust him, or trust her heart? For George's part, what begins as a rather cold-blooded plot to marry money soon becomes transformed, in a very believable way, into a great and enduring love that transcends material wealth. The story begins with a case of mistaken identity and there are many plots and sublots along the way that keep the pace of this book moving quickly. The dialogue between the lovers, so real and so full of gentle wit and amusing double-entendres, is some of the best I have ever read. This is a beautifully-written story with lots of depth and a sure bet to be nominated for a RITA award for 2002. If you are a stickler for romantic fiction of the highest quality, do yourself a favor--run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore or on-line bookseller and pick up a copy of The Fortune Hunter for your keeper shelf. You will laugh, you will cry, and your heart will be touched, but you will not be disappointed.

There have been dozens upon dozens of Regency romances that center around the plot of Handsome-and-Corrupted-Rake-with-Unrealized-Heart-of-Gold-Attempts-to-Seduce-Innocent-and-Virtuous-Young-Lady-in-Order-to-Win a Bet/Gain a Fortune/Get Back at Someone-Only-to-be-Seduced-Himself. The Fortune Hunter, of course, uses this very plot, but manages to be fresh and funny and endearing despite the familiarity of the story.I believe this is mostly because of the characters. Lord Rival (with the improbable first name of George) is calculating, manipulative, and can't cross a street without plotting a way to reap some advantage from it; but this is balanced by an innate sense of fair play and an outrageous sense of humor. Olivia, as well, is a very well-drawn and likable character.However, the best part of this book is the plot, which veers off from the normal tread of its predecessors very quickly. I don't want to give any of it away, but I will say that almost all of the plot twists in the book I didn't see coming at all, and they were all written wonderfully to create the most drama and emotional impact for every situation.The only thing I didn't like about this book (there always has to be something!) was George's conversion from rakehell to "hero." I think if the author would have given us more insight into his character, it would have been a much smoother transition. For example, I know that suddenly George decided he needed to start rebuild his home, but WHY did he suddenly decide this? His character was a little too ambivilent to leave to question, I think.Besides that minor detail, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were likable, believable, and intriguing; the story was fun and interesting; the writing was superb; and it had love and romance. In essence, my definition of a perfect book! I would recomment THE FORTUNE HUNTER to anyone who loves regencies.