Leaves of Fortune

by Linda Barlow

The Templetons - they were heirs to a business empire...but their real legacy was a secret that could destroy them all...

MINERVA TEMPLETON - The matriarch: for 60 years she manipulated her family. Now, she must choose a successor to her tea empire and reveal a shattering truth.
DELILAH SCOFIELD - The granddaughter: she ran away to become her own woman. She came back to fight for her legacy and the man she loved.
TRAVIS TEMPLETON - The Empire's President: he believed money could buy anything...or anyone. But if he couldn't stop Delilah with wealth, he'd use desire.
NICK TEMPLETON - Travis' borhter: he once lost in matters of love and business. This time he'd battle with a deadlier weapon - a secret so provocative it could lead to murder

Genres: Fiction, Romance

560 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

About the author

Linda Barlow is the author of 25 novels in various genres, including family sagas, historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic romance, and general mainstream fiction.

Publishers have included Doubleday, Dell, Penguin, Warner Books, New American Library/Signet, Berkley/Putnam, Silhouette and Harlequin. Her books have been translated into approximately 20 foreign languages.

Linda is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist. Several of her romances have hit the top 10 in the Kindle Store. She's also won numerous industry awards, including the Rita from Romance Writers of America (1989), Best New Historical Romance Author from Romantic Times (1986) and a Lifetime Achievement award from Romantic Times. She also contributed two essays to Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women, a collection of scholarly essays on the enduring appeal of the romance. This book won the Susan Koppelman Award for Excellence in Feminist Studies of Popular Culture and American Culture in 1993.

Linda is now indie publishing and loving it!

Linda served as President of Novelists, Inc. in 1992 and did two three-year terms on the Executive Council of the Authors Guild in the 1990s. She was Romance Writers of America’s keynote speaker at the annual conference in 1989.

When she is not at her computer writing, she is likely to be reading. She can't imagine what her life would be like without books!

Reviews

[Linda]

Unfortunately, one can't be too objective about one's own book :)

Leaves of Fortune was my child of the late 1980s. I'm currently considering updating and re-issuing the novel in ebook format.

[Sarah H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library in the used book section for $2. It was copy written in 1988 so I didn't know what to expect. It really reminded me of the Judith Krantz novel Scruples and all novels by Jackie Collins. You know the ones? Big shoulder pads and could be made into mini-series or TV shows like Dynasty? The timeline of the book spans from 1730 to 1986 so it is a lot of ground to cover. 525 pages anyone? It is the story of the family business of Templeton Tea and centers around the aging family matriarch Minerva Templeton and the family "players" Delilah, Nick and Travis, all cousins. It is a good story, very developed. It has a good bit of sex and quite a bit of liaisons between cousins. The writer talks about that being "ok" in the Victorian Era. Whoa! Wha????? Not in my family folks. That part made me a little uncomfortable but the rest is great. It's the first book in MONTHS that has held my attention for very long. Big thumbs up.

[Jean Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

If i had read the reviews of this book before reading, i would not have read it and missed ab great story. Barnes is a good storyteller and this is more then just a trashy romantic fantasy. Loved it!

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a tea aficionado, I am always interested in books involving tea. This is the story of a family who made their fortunes through tea, although there were the requisite scandals along the way. At the time of the story, there is a power struggle between two cousins, one who has been running the tea company with his grandmother, and the other, a woman who divorced herself from the family years earlier and who has made a name for herself with an herbal tea company that has been somewhat competitive with her grandmother's company. There is much more bubbling beneath the surface of the story: long-held secrets, disastrous scandals, forbidden love, and romance in the wrong places. The story is complicated, as any real-life story of tycoons of the tea industry would be, but it is definitely a good read.

[Jacob Petrossian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had quite a cool portrayal of different generations within the Templeton family. I liked that there was a recurring theme that tied everything together.

This book wasn't life changing for me, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Anne Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

the author must hate women... all the most horrible things happen to them and are considered as rather normal.
The book feels like one of the numerous imitations of Barbara Taylor Bradford's saga, without the same charm. But with rape, involuntary incest -should be plural as it happens several times-, and lots of secrets, stupid ones of course.

[Kathy Bourgard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story line dates back to the late 1700s and traces the lives of the descendents of the founder of a hugely successful but fictional tea company in Boston. There is a heavy emphasis on the metaphysical here which I don't believe in but is crucial to the storyline. It is a page-turner!

[Karen Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. U have to keep up, but definitely well written.

[Lyn Mcdonell · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out well but it became a bit far fetched as it went on. i did read it all but disappointed.

[Ana Jaber · Rating 5 out of 5]

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