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Misfortune
Misfortune
Jan 1, 2026 4:23 AM

Author:Wesley Stace

Misfortune

Lord Loveall, heretofore heirless lord of the sprawling Love Hall, is the richest man in England. He arrives home one morning with a most unusual package - a baby that he presents as the inheritor to the family name and fortune. In honor of his beloved sister, who died young, Loveall names the baby Rose. The household, relieved at the continuation of the Loveall line, ignores the fact that this Rose has a thorn...that she is, in fact, a boy.

Rose grows up with the two servant children who are her only friends, blissfully unaware of her own gender, casually hitting boundaries at Love Hall's yearly cricket game and learning to shave even as she continues to wear more and more elaborate dresses. Until, of course, the fateful day when Rose's world comes crashing down around her, and she is banished from Love Hall as an impostor by those who would claim her place as heir.

Reviews

I laughed, I cried, I swooned... I LOVED THIS BOOK

—— Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveller's Wife

I am in complete admiration... Remarkable, complex, delicate, sophisticated

—— Bret Easton Ellis

Stace's attention to every detail is a delight, and he revels in the richly embroidered language of his period... a delightful diversion

—— Daily Telegraph

As crazily gothic as Gormenghast

—— Independent on Sunday

Musical, almost symphonic...It engages boldly with the forces of social oppression and sexual repression

—— Guardian

Darkly surreal... A gothic tale of intrigue, greed, crime and transvestism... A remarkable debut from a promising new writer

—— Daily Mail

A stunning novel

—— Esquire

Stace writes well, engineering some memorable set pieces and twists

—— Observer

The real joy of [First Person] is the intensity of its honesty and its writing. This is a book of demonic possession, of obsession, and there’s a zinger of thought, of expression, in every paragraph.

—— Phillip Adams , The Australian

Flanagan is scathingly funny about the world of publishing as seen from the point of view of an unpublished writer, but this is also a profound and thought-provoking novel that explores the nature of truth, lies and fiction

—— Bookseller

First Person is a work that crawls under the reader’s skin for its duration. Harrowing in how it lampoons the publishing industry, Flanagan unflinchingly reflects on how social predators within such circles prey on those with a shred of hope or joy until nothing is left of their original identity

—— Michael Lanigan , Hot Press

The writing and structure are exceptionally good. Richard has fantastic finesse with the use of language and the enviable ability of describing a lot in concentrated amounts… It has a reflective after burn, which I always rate as a skill in its own right, and so it is definitely one, if tempted to, you ought to give it a go. The writing is impressive and most definitely unique

—— Sara Garland , Nudge

The book is convincing as an exploration of ourselves and the meaning of identity and truth in a "fake news" world.

—— Verena Vogt , Belfast Telegraph Morning

“You might want to get a firm grip on your socks before cracking open this one; otherwise, Gonzales is likely to knock them off. It’s very difficult to categorize this mind-bending novel… it’s pure excitement… A brilliant genre-blender.”

—— Booklist (STARRED review)

“The narrative not only bounces between perspectives in short, propelling chapters, but also pinballs in time... Gonzales writes with an abundance of imagination, riffing on comic book and pop culture plot lines and characters while adding his own unique perspective... there are moments of brilliance.”

—— Publishers Weekly

“A hyperkinetic sci-fi set piece along the lines of Die Hard seeded with paranormal elements cribbed from half a dozen other franchises and the absent-parent grudges that fuel any number of teen novels. … Genre enthusiasts will love the spooky cyberpunk spirit at play here, and resolute readers will be rewarded with an unexpected ending that ratchets up the action long after the Regional Office has been abandoned. A surprisingly erudite bit of sci-fi that throws in everything but the kitchen sink.”

—— Kirkus

If we do a better book than this on the [Simon Mayo Radio 2] Book Club, we'll have a very very good year!

—— Matt Williams, Radio 2 Book Club

A Gentleman in Moscow is quite a novel. Towles’ use of language is a pleasure and you can’t help but savour every word . . . a great work of fiction.

—— The Herald

A love story like no other, in a beautiful-looking book.

—— Sun

The perfect escapist read, Amor Towles’ A Gentleman In Moscow is utterly mesmerising.

—— Stylist

An inventive and charming novel

—— You magazine

The same gorgeous, layered richness that marked Towles' debut shapes this novel

—— Entertainment Weekly

A masterful writer . . . a talent for conjuring up scenes from the past and present and bringing them into remarkable focus

—— Washington Times

This novel is as much a celebration of that great culture as it is a biography of an irrepressible and indomitable spirit . . . an absolute must read.

—— Irish Independent

Spread across four decades, this is in all ways a great novel, a nonstop pleasure brimming with charm, personal wisdom and philosophical insight.

—— Kirkus

This is parable for all world travellers.

—— GQ

A charming novel.

—— Sunday Times Culture Magazine

Lovely, long and lingering story.

—— Red

Written with a clipped, capering style and comic flair that can't fail to charm.

—— Compass magazine

A profound, often funny survey of mid-20th-Century Russia

—— Daily Telegraph

Unputdownable

—— Irish Independent

Among the greatest comic novels of all time . . . told with such style and wit that every page reduced me to helpless laughter and admiration

—— The Daily Express, BOOK OF THE YEAR

The book I would recommend to anyone who appreciates what only fiction can do … It’s a page-turner and a delight.

—— David Hepworth , Radio Times

I love the novels of Amor Towles, especially A Gentleman in Moscow - he has this ability to nail the idiosyncrasies and quirks of a character in just a few words.

—— Antonio Pappano , Daily Telegraph

A heart-warming story that asks the reader to consider what is important in life. We loved it. *****

—— Woman’s Weekly

I can highly recommend A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles as lockdown reading ... The story resonates because we have all endured restricted lifestyles of late and may continue to for months to come.

—— Philip Rodney , The Times (Scotland)

It is a good book to read during this pandemic because it's about how he is being confined to Moscow's Hotel Metropol.

—— Dougray Scott , Metro

Towles's book is a delight, with a beguiling central character and lively descriptions of life in Russia over a period of 30 years.

—— Independent

A wonderful bookwhich gives the reader an understanding of life in post revolution Moscow.

—— Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

Totally original novel ... A great deal of Russian history is also subtly woven into this magical book, which is tear-jerking but never sentimental, with a quite unexpected and thrilling ending.

—— Daily Mail

Wonderful, combining brilliant storytelling with beautiful writing.

—— Jeffrey Archer, Daily Express

I love the novels of Amor Towles, especially A Gentleman in Moscow - he has this ability to nail the idiosyncrasies and quirks of a character in just a few words.

—— Antonio Pappano, Daily Telegraph

It's hard not to fall in love with Count Rostov, an impeccably mannered and mischievous aesthete placed under permanent house arrest at Moscow's Metropol hotel ... An endearing and frequently hilarious novel that covers big topics with a velvet touch.

—— Independent
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