Review 82: Natalie’s Good Fortune by Anthony R. Fanning

Natalie’s Good Fortune
by Anthony R. Fanning
Copyright: © 2006
Paperback $15.99
420 Pages
ISBN: 9780615288499

I received a hard copy of Anthony R. Fanning’s book in the mail a few months ago.  Opening the package, I discovered the book was wrapped in brown paper tied with cotton twine much like a treasure map.  What a cool marketing idea, I thought!  It really gave me a nice visual introduction to the book.  Unwrapping the paper, I discovered a nice little 4.25″ x 6.88″ pocket size book totaling 430 pages and only 19 chapters!  But it’s orange cover (the author has since changed the color) and pencil drawing of a young girl standing in front of an Old World Caribbean map appealed to me even more.  I usually frown at 300+ pages in any book, but the small size of this book made it read more like 215.

The book centers around Natalie Brennan Satterfield in the year 1722.  The blurb on the back of the book calls her a “pampered and privileged sixteen year old daugheter of a wealthy English merchant.”  But don’t go judging Natalie just yet!  I immediately thought of Keira Knightley’s character in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean had those films been more about her and less about Captain Jack Sparrow. Natalie is at sea on a ship called the Bonny Lass headed for the colonies.  The story opens with the cook telling Natalie a horrible story about what a crew of pirates did to a young “lassie” who was aboard a vessel they took captive just a year ago.

Just three chapters later, Natalie finds the Bonny Lass being taken captive by pirates and the cook’s wretched tale echoes in her ears.  She manages to escape and soon finds herself marooned on an uncharted island in the Caribbean Sea, but Natalie quickly discovers she is not alone. Hunger sets in and Natalie comes across a group of cannibals.  She approaches them in desperation. And obviously, the mad men attack her.  But a man by the name of John Hayes saves the day!  John is a former privateer and pirate himself, with a cunning reputation well known across the Atlantic and the Caribbean.

A battle of wits and of the sexes soon plays out between John and Natalie as he kids her about her prim and proper upbringing, all the while still respecting her as a lady, and Natalie becomes determined to hold her own and get off the island and to the American coast however she can.  While working on a boat for their escape, John teaches Natalie how to gather food and how to fight with a sword.  The scenes involving a coconut tree and a bamboo sword are both fun and hilarious at times!  And Natalie gets to test out her skills sooner than she expected when savages attack again.

Finally, the day comes when John and Natalie’s boat is ready to take to sea. John so aptly names the boat NATALIE’S GOOD FORTUNE in honor of Natalie’s hard work and determination.  But things don’t get much better when they are off the island.  Natalie must soon put her new skills to test when they come across boats of mad men, and eventually meet up with the pirates that originally captured the Bonny Lass.

Besides the physicality of the book itself and the nicely paced storyline, I was impressed with Fanning’s characterization.  Natalie is not treated as a stereotypical female character one might consider for this time and for this type of plot.  Sure, she’s slowly made into a hero of sorts, but Natalie becomes much more than that. She definitely holds her own at a sea full of men. Fanning keeps the underlying sexism to a minimum, and says himself that he wanted to “create a fun story that was reminiscent of tales of adventure like Treasure Island.”  And he has indeed done just that!

Look for part two in this trilogy coming later this summer: Isle of Lost Souls.

Preview Natalie’s Good Furtune at Lulu.

Tweet This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Facebook MySpace Reddit Stumble This Post