Synopses & Reviews
A rich, outrageous, Dickensian novel in the comic tradition of The Crimson Petal and the White about a boy raised as a girl in the richest home in 19th century England.
Lord Geoffroy Loveall arrives home one fateful morning with a most unusual package hes found an abandoned baby, whom he adopts and names Rose in honor of his long-dead sister. Roses childhood inside the sprawling maze of towers, lawns, and halls that make up Love Hall is an endless round of privilege and delight. There is only one problem: Roses father wanted a daughter, but he brought home a son. When Rose reaches adolescence, Lord Lovealls delusion becomes apparent to all, and her parents can no longer disguise the secret around which theyve created Roses entire world: this delicate flower is, in fact, a boy. Outraged relatives descend to fight for their inheritance, the idyll collapses, and Rose must journey halfway around the world to find his true self and reclaim his rightful place.
A joy-filled and mischievous reinvention of the English adventure novel, Misfortune brims with unexpected plot twists, outrageous characters, and fanciful details of a world long past. The voice of Rose comes alive with irresistible, ravishing vitality all the more remarkable for being the work of a first-time writer. Misfortune is an astonishingly original and absolutely unforgettable debut.
Review
"Blend Tristram Shandy with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and you have something of the spirit of this spirited tale: a most promising debut." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Misfortune breaks the postmodern bonds of self-consciously sparse prose and frees the reader to revel like Rose in a bountiful garden of delight: reading so rich and unbridled that the story grabs us. At last, an out-of-the-box, truly original storyteller promises to soar above the literary horizon, all because he wrote the kind of book he liked reading." Skye K. Moody, Seattle Times
Review
"As in many cases of cross-dressing, the results are sparkling....Poignant and mordantly funny....Misfortune augurs a most auspicious debut." The Village Voice
Review
"[A] ripping transsexual romp...[that] reads like some inspired collaboration between Charles Dickens and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar....This is a fun book." The Washington Post
Review
"[Rose] is a very entertaining companion....[The novel is] a lot of fun in a Gilbert & Sullivan way and, yes, you will hear again of a boy, a baby, a ballad and a dog." Detroit Free Press
Synopsis
This unforgettable debut is a rich, outrageous Dickensian novel in the comic tradition of The Crimson Petal and the White about a boy raised as a girl in the richest home in 19th-century England.
Synopsis
On a moonlit night on the outskirts of London, Lord Geoffroy Loveall findsthe answer to his prayers: an abandoned baby, somehow still alive amid thejunk of a rubbish heap. Rescuing the infant from certain death, Lord Geoffroy adopts her as his only child, heir to the fabulous Love Hall fortune. He names her Rose in memory of his long-dead sister and gives hera childhood of unparalleled gaiety and unstinting pleasure. But every house has a secret, and as Rose approaches adolescence, the secret of Love Hall becomes impossible to hide. As much as Lord Geoffroy wanted a daughter, the baby he brought home is, in fact, a boy. As a flock
About the Author
Wesley Stace is an acclaimed rock musician who records under the name John Wesley Harding. He has released eight solo albums, tours regularly and has recorded a duet with Bruce Springsteen, as well as touring as his opening act. Misfortune continues the bestselling tradition of historical literary fiction such as The Crimson Petal and the White and The Dress Lodger. The novel grew out of one of Wes's ballads, which he will re-record for the book's publication.