Out of the many books Shreve has written, Fortune's Rocks is the best. The others are also fantastic, but the extent to which she draws out the emotions in FR's is incredible. I read this book straight through the night; I couldn't put it down. It's extraordinarely written, as though Shreve herself were once that young woman (Olympia). It portrays our human tendencies and emotions in a way that cuts straight to the heart with truth. The good, the bad, the ugly - Shreve tells it exactly like it is in this novel. It will be in my library forever.