A Desperate Fortune

For nearly 300 years, the cryptic journal of Mary Dundas has kept its secrets. Now, amateur code-breaker Sara Thomas travels to Paris to crack the cipher.Jacobite exile Mary Dundas is filled with longing – for freedom, for adventure, for the family she lost. When fate opens the door, Mary dares to set her foot on a path far more surprising and dangerous than she ever could have dreamed.As Mary's gripping tale of rebellion and betrayal is revealed to her, Sara faces events in her own life that require letting go of everything she thought she knew – about herself, about loyalty and especially about love. Though divided by centuries, these two women are united in a quest to discover the limits of trust and the unlikely coincidences of fate.

'Kearsley is an expert at seamlessly merging contemporary and historical fiction ... The colorful history and romance of the 18th century, combined with the contemporary mystery, create a tale readers will savor.' -- Romantic Times
'Kearsley's gentle drama and accurate detail are sure to satisfy lovers of historical fiction and romance.' -- Publishers Weekly

I had the good fortune to be born into a family of readers. My mother was reading Mary Stewart’s This Rough Magic when I was born, so it was perhaps no surprise that Mrs Stewart became my own favourite author.I can’t remember when I began to put words on paper myself, but at seven - after reading Little Women and deciding that I wanted to be just like Jo - I started writing first chapters, and wrote continually through my teenage years. After studying politics and international development at university, I sidestepped into museum work and at the age of twenty-two became a curator.In that same year, my sister dared me to stop writing first chapters and produce a book. I’d never been able to resist a dare! By the end of that summer I’d finished my first novel, and I was hooked. My ‘hobby’ had become a vocation.I left the museum to waitress and write. Working mostly late at night, I wrote my second novel, Mariana, and submitted it to Transworld Publishers’ Catherine Cookson Fiction Prize competition. Four days before Christmas, I learned that I’d won. The very best of Christmas presents, and one that truly changed my life - not only the £10,000 prize, but major international publication of a book that continues to find its own life.And more than twenty years later, I’m still feeling fortunate, doing the thing I love best...telling stories. Katherine Kellgren has recorded over 75 audiobooks, including winners of the Audie Award, the American Library Association's Odyssey Honor, the Earphones Award, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award and ForeWord Magazine's Audiobook of the Year. She was named one of AudioFile Magazine's Best Voices of the Year for 2008, and in 2009 received the Audie Award for Best Solo Narration – Female. Katherine has appeared onstage in London and New York, and has recorded numerous plays and dramatisations of novels for radio.

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