Master of His Fate

September 24, 2018
The sprawling first installment in Bradford’s House of Falconer series, set in Victorian England, follows James Falconer, son of a struggling merchant, and Alexis Malvern, the daughter of one of London’s most successful businessmen, as their lives move toward each other. James is a young man with ambitions of rising above his station to become a “merchant prince.” Beyond an attack on James by a pair of “bruisers” with unknown motives, and malicious rumors of his affair with an older widow, James encounters very few setbacks. Alexis is an upper-class woman known for her business acumen and charitable work setting up a safe house for battered women in Whitechapel. She falls in love with wealthy banker Sebastian Trevelyan, despite years of protestation that she would never marry. They have a whirlwind affair and engagement, only to be torn apart by tragedy. James and Alexis’s paths are mostly separate, their lives not meeting until late in the novel when James is hired by Alexis’s father, but they are united by driven, single-minded natures. Though the strands of the story are slow to converge, this series opener nicely sets the groundwork for future installments. Bradford’s many fans will find a vast new cast of characters to connect with.

Joan Walker's narration is memorable in this first of the House of Falconer series. At 14, James Falconer knows he wants to be more than a struggling merchant in Victorian England. He intends to found a mercantile empire. When he catches the attention of Henry Malvern, a shipping tycoon, his career begins its upward climb. Henry's daughter, Alexis, leads a charmed life--until she doesn't. Walker treads lightly on the heavily detailed, lush, and gilded descriptions. She develops substantial characters and makes even overwrought moments sound convincing. The villainous characters are villainous, while the ethical characters can be counted on to perform admirably. Since this is the introductory installment, expect incidents to be mentioned but not resolved. Perhaps they will be in the next Falconer episode? S.J.H. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine