The Great Fortune

novel by Manning

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July 21, 2026

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The Great Fortune is the first novel in Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy. Published in 1960, it is a semiautobiographical work set in Bucharest, Romania, in 1939, as World War II looms. The story follows newlyweds Guy and Harriet Pringle. Guy, a charismatic university lecturer, holds liberal views that contrast with his reserved wife, Harriet. They navigate an increasingly fascist environment, encountering characters like Guy's admirer, Clarence Lawson. The novel vividly portrays the historical context and the couple's evolving relationship against the backdrop of political tension.12

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The Balkan Trilogy
Consisting of The Great Fortune (1960), The Spoilt City (1962), and Friends and Heroes (1965), the trilogy is a semiautobiographical account of a British couple living in the Balkans during World War II. The complex narrative, composed of several different voices, is noted for its vivid historicity.
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Consisting of The Great Fortune (1960), The Spoilt City (1962), and Friends and Heroes (1965), the trilogy is a semiautobiographical account of a British couple living in the Balkans during World War II. The complex narrative, composed of several different voices, is noted for its vivid historicity.
Read More