A Desperate Fortune
Buy A Desperate Fortune
Synopsis
“My father said, we do not always get the things we want…”
For nearly 300 years, the mysterious journal of Jacobite exile Mary Dundas has lain unread – its secrets safe from prying eyes.
Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas has been hired by a once-famous historian to crack the journal’s cipher. But when she arrives in Paris, Sara finds herself besieged by complications from all sides: the journal’s reclusive owner, her charming Parisian neighbor, and Mary, whose journal doesn’t hold the secrets Sara expects.
As Mary’s tale grows more and more dire, Sara, too, must carefully choose which turning to take…to find the road that will lead her safely home.
Fascinating, immersive and twisty—twists not only of plot, but of character and time. I love a novel that deals with codes and ciphers, and the other ways in which people keep their secrets.
— Diana Gabaldon
Did You Know…
Although the house is given a different name in my novel, the present-day story of A Desperate Fortune takes place at La Maison de Chatou, a beautiful private home and guest house just outside Paris (and not far from the Chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye). I stayed here myself while doing research for the book, and I can highly recommend it.
Gallery
My novels are set in real locations, and doing the on-site research is an essential part of my writing process. Here are some of my photos.
Ham Common, where Sara meets Alastair
Chatou
Chatou
The real life Maison de Chatou
Another view of the Maison de Chatou / des Marronniers
The front entry taken from the salon with Sara’s office in the background
My room which I gave to Sara
Sara’s room. The door to Jacqui’s room is on the left, the door to the corridor is on the right.
In the salon looking into the entry hall
The corner of the salon where Luc fixes the radiator
The dining room
The dining room
Morning rainbows in the dining room
Looking from the dining room into the kitchen
The kitchen
The garden, the door in the wall, and the house at the end of the lane
In the lane looking back at the door and the Maison
Approaching Luc’s house
Luc’s house
Luc’s house
Luc’s house
The Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye as it once would have looked from the river, with the old château in the very back.
The old château at Saint-Germain-en-Laye as it stands today, with the parish church in the background.
The parish church at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. This building dates from the early 1800s but stands on the site of the old one, where Mary Dundas was baptised, and where John Moray once stood godfather to the child of a friend. The remains of King James VII (“my”‘ King James’s father), his queen Mary of Modena, and the Princess Louise Marie, are interred here.
The old chateau at Saint German en Laye
Looking from the old chateau towards the river
Inside the old chateau looking into the courtyard
The courtyard of the old chateau at Saint Germain en Laye
The royal chapel inside the old chateau
Inside the royal chapel at Saint-Germain-en-Laye: the Rose Window (now bricked in) with the glass-cased scale model of the château below it.
A different Saint-Germain, in Paris: the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
The Christmas Village at Saint-Germain-des-Prés
The Christmas Village at Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Mary’s street in Paris: The south part of the rue Grégoire-de-Tours, formerly the rue du Coeur Volant.
The end of Mary’s street in Paris. The hotel at the end here would have been there in Mary’s day.
Les Éditeurs, the restaurant in Paris where Sara and Luc have lunch
Inside Les Éditeurs, upstairs
Inside Les Éditeurs. Sara’s corner.
Rome: The hotel where Mary (and I) stayed. Now called the Hotel del Sole al Pantheon, it has been a hotel since 1467, standing a stone’s throw from the ancient Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotonda.
The Pantheon with the fountain in the foreground
Inside the Pantheon
The hotel on the right seen from just inside the Pantheon
The fountain at the centre of the Piazza della Rotonda with the hotel on the right
The fountain unchanged since Mary’s day
The Palazzo Balestra in the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli
The front entrance to the Palazzo Balestra/Palazzo del Re. The windows above the door belong to the King’s gallery, now a private apartment.
Looking through the front door into the palace, towards the central courtyard. This is the way Mary’s carriage came in.
The previous view, reversed. The door to what was then a private staircase leading up to James’s gallery and cabinet is on the left. It’s the door standing half open, with the grille above it. Carriages were brought in, the big main doors closed behind them, and guests secretly ushered through this door, sheilded from view by the carriage door, safe from the gaze of the palace spies.
The private staircase that once led Jacobites up to the king’s gallery
The door to the private staircase is on the right; the grand staircase is way in the background, and the daylight you see in the middle is coming from the courtyard.
The courtyard of the Palazzo del Re
Inside the courtyard. Note the old double door to the street.
A closer view of the door. This is how Mary’s carriage would have passed out of the palace and back into the streets of Rome.
The main palace stairway. Apologies for the poor picture quality.
I couldn’t get into the king’s gallery or cabinet, because they’re now a private apartment, but the rooms directly above them, which once had been the private rooms of his queen, Clementina, were still being renovated, so I was allowed to tour those. This is the view from the window above James’s gallery. He (and Mary) would have had a similar view over the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli.
The plaque in the Palazzo Balestra, noting it was the home of Henry Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (second son of King James VIII, younger brother of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the Earl of Marischal’s favourite). Today, this small plaque set in memory of Henry is the only acknowledgement that, for nearly fifty years, this was the vibrant, influential–and to the English government, dangerous–court of an exiled king.
The Castel Sant’Angelo, where Thomson was imprisoned, and where Mary goes to visit him.
An imposing structure, the Castle Sant’Angelo was built in Roman times as a tomb for the Emperor Hadrian.
Inside the Castel Sant Angelo
Prettier and less imposing, one of the galleries of the upper apartments in the Castel Sant’Angelo, where Thomson would have been kept.
Window and floor of a room inside the Castel Sant’Angelo similar to the apartment where Thomson would have been kept.
The courtyard where Mary meets the Earl Marischal
The Ponte Rotto: The Broken Bridge. Mary and Hugh’s bridge is just visible behind it, to the right.
The view of the Broken Bridge from the Ponte Fabricio (Hugh and Mary’s bridge). Tiber Island is on the right.
The same view but with one of the Janus pillars of the Ponte Fabricio looking on
The Ponte Fabricio, or Ponte dei Quattro Capi, the oldest original bridge in Rome, built in 62 BC.
A closer look at one of the Janus pillars or herms
The bridge as it looked when I first saw it
And as it looked when I finally left Mary and Hugh there
Check out my other books, including more behind-the-scenes info and images.
