 Cover of the first UK edition | |
| Author | Olivia Manning |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1960 |
| Publication place | Great Britain |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 296 pp |
| ISBN | 0-09-941572-0 |
The Great Fortune is a novel by English writer Olivia Manning first published in 1960. It forms the opening part of a six-part novel series called Fortunes Of War. The Fortunes Of War series itself is split into two trilogies, The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy. The novels tell an unfolding story of how the Second World War impacts on the lives of a group of British expatriates.[1]
The Great Fortune covers the first year of the war from September 1939 to June 1940, and is set in Romania. It is semi-autobiographical, mirroring the life of Olivia Manning during those years, but uses fictional characters.[2]
The work was praised by critics for its perception and for an adept and scrupulous attention to detail, seen in its vivid descriptions of people, places, and the natural world.[3]
- ^ Arnold, Sue (12 September 2008). "The Great Fortune". The Guardian Book Review. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ Manning, Olivia (1 June 2008). The Great Fortune. by Olivia Manning (Abridged ed.). London: CSA Word. pp. About the Book. ISBN 978-1-906147-20-4.
- ^ David, Deirdre (10 January 2013). Olivia Manning: A Woman at War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-19-165505-0. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2020.