Don't let the slow start put you off, this book plunges into a complex and complicated family and morphs into a book that can't be put down. Knowing it is based on actual royalty and the line of the Black Prince makes it all the more fascinating. There isn't a two dimensional character in the book, including those who have minor roles. I cannot believe Horwatch escaped my attention or so long, but I am looking forward to reading her entire canon of work. ( )

The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch is a 2012 Open Road Media publication- (Originally published in 1985 by Fawcett)

This ENORMOUS tome is a generational family saga centered around the Godwin family and their manor home Oxmoor.

The story begins in 1913- and carries the reader all the up to 1970. The first narrator is Robert Godwin – a man obsessed with both winning and bringing the Oxmoor estate back from the brink of ruin- which was a result of his grandmother’s scandalous affair.

Yet Robert is not without his own grand passions- he is also obsessed with his cousin, Ginverva. Through shocking revelations, he eventually wins Ginerva over his mother’s stringent objections and the couple marry- and eventually start a family of their own.

From here the story is told in parts by various members of the family- all in first the person narrative- throughout the coming years, and decades- as they engage in scandal, obsession, competition, classism, and even murder- all while holding fast to the imposing Oxmoor mansion…

Whew! Okay, this story is quasi-based, on- or is a retelling of- the history of John of Gault, Richard II, and the Bolingbrokes. This could be fun to research someday- but after completing a 1000 pages on the Godwin’s, that will have to be a project for another day.

If you like a long- and I do mean- LOOONNNGGG- family saga packed with every kind of scandal you can think of, filled with incredibly flawed characters, grand passions, heartbreaks, bitterness, guilt, adultery, cover-ups, and a possible murder mystery- then you’ve come to the right place!!

Unfortunately, as action packed as all this sounds the novel truly dragged on, especially in the midsection and I think it could have trimmed down significantly, or it should, at the very least, have been broken up into segments, perhaps like a trilogy, instead of one, huge, doorstop- sized tome.

At times the saga was incredibly absorbing, and at other times, I had to put the book aside for long periods because I lost interest.

The last portion of the book was interesting- but I thought it got a bit weird- with all the psychoanalysis- but the mystery was compelling, if a big convoluted.

I often associate Susan Howatch with Gothic novels popular in the 70s, but she wrote more books like this one, which I’d categorize as European literature, historical fiction, and Family Saga- rather than anything Gothic. The big old Oxmoor estate is the only thing ‘Gothic’ about this one, in my opinion. I loved 'Cashelmara', but this one was a real struggle for me, at times. I liked it, overall, but I can’t say I loved it.

That said, I was fortunate enough to come across three hardcover books by Howatch recently, to add to my scant collection of her books, and am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future…

When I can clear my schedule for one of her marathons, that is.

3.25 stars ( )

A great story filled with complex characters.

For a detailed review, click on the link below:

http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-wheel-of-fortune-susan-howatch.ht...

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I've enjoyed every Susan Howatch novel I've read. This is a good family saga about a mansion in Wales and how it is the undoing of an entire family. ( )

Saga of the house of Oxmoon and the power it wields over the family. The novel extends over several decades, as the past is uncovered, emotions are laid bare, and power struggles tear people apart. ( )