A Family Fortune

by Jerome Weidman

A world where "the family" stood above all else...where murder was a cure for treachery...where respectability could be purchased for vast sums of money...where love struggled to survive in a climate of corruption and violence...where memories of a penniless immigrant past still fired his consuming ambition...and vengeance could still come suddenly, totally, from friends, from family, from the most unexpected places.

Genres: Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 1978

About the author

Jerome Weidman was an American playwright and novelist. He collaborated with George Abbott on the book for the musical Fiorello! with music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. All received the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever wonder what it would be like to have pots and pots of money and what you would be like if you did?
This is a rags to riches story of Jewish immigrants, the empire they build during Prohibition, the people they serve and those who serve them. It is also a tale of family relationships, trust and distrust and what happens to those who get too much too soon.
It is a story of survival on a grand scale and what the family has to do to maintain its lifestyle. There is also treachery, vengeance, crime and murder.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame no one knows this book. Ida Lessing is truly the book's central character and motivation. I am a bit disappointed with the lack of scandal and obscene crime that I was promised in the book description. I liked the 1920-30s the most, it's a shame about the time jump. I was more interested in the building of the Lessing empire than about Joe's plot to take over and share with Stevie (frankly, that plot could have been made more interesting).