“There’s gold in them thar hills” — at least, according to Mulberry Sellers in Mark Twain’s 1892 novel, The American Claimant. The middle of the nineteenth century was full already of wonders: railroads, telegraph machines, cameras, show biz, big business, new ideas and attitudes, all of it ushering in the modern age of America.
And then in January of 1848, the craziness erupts: America wins its war of manifest destiny against Mexico, gold is discovered in northern California, and hundreds of thousands of people rush west to find their fortunes. Here are five golden nuggets across various genres that will take you back to those heady times and their pervasive sense of adventure. Happy mining.
Heyday by Kurt Andersen
Heyday by Kurt Andersen (Random House, 2007)
When young London aristocrat Ben Knowles gets swept into the excitement of the 1848 Revolution in Paris, he resolves to make his move to the “New World,” “craving vulgarity and strangeness.” In New York, he encounters Timothy Skaggs, a journalist, novelist and pioneering photographer; Duff Lucking, a fire-fighter and Mexican-American War veteran; and Duff’s sister Polly, an actress and prostitute. Heyday charts the foursome as they journey west to participate in the Gold Rush — relentlessly tracked, unbeknownst to them, by a cold-blooded killer from Ben’s recent past, bent on revenge. Along the way, each of them will discover the nature of freedom, loyalty, friendship, and true love. This long but engaging read is a Langum Prize winner, which is awarded annually to the best work of American historical fiction.
Embracing the Elephant by Lori Hart Beninger
Embracing the Elephant by Lori Hart Beninger (On Track Publishing, 2012)
Guine Walker’s dad has “gone to see the elephant” after his wife and son die in childbirth, leaving her behind with relatives in Boston. His thirst for adventure leads him all the way to the other side of the country. A couple of years on, spirited and headstrong 11-year-old Guine embarks on a perilous six-month ocean journey to reunite with him, one that will take her from Boston down the coast and around Cape Horn. She reaches her destination to find her adventure just beginning — a mob of people have also arrived and are headed for the hills to pan for gold, her father among them. Guine and her dad undertake the fearless (maybe reckless) quest, where she’ll need to learn how to survive and handle some harsh realities. The novel is the first in a series tracing Guine’s life during a tumultuous time in American history leading into the Civil War. (Read Sherri Daley’s full review here.)
Bound for Gold by William Martin
Bound for Gold by William Martin (Forge, 2018)
Martin solidifies his claim as king of the historical thriller in this glittering installment of his Peter Fallon and Evangeline Carrington series, spiriting us back in time to the days of the California Gold Rush. Boston Yankees James Spencer and Michael Flynn embark on a journey for riches that morphs into a nineteenth-century version of The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Flashing to the present, it’s left to Peter Fallon to uncover the truth behind their adventures, a truth somehow connected to a mythical lost river of gold that may not be so mythical after all. Martin displays a deft hand in mastering both timelines and the result is an expansive tale drawn on a bold and bright canvas. —John Land
engeance Road by rin Bowman
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015)
Kate Thompson knows she must do whatever it takes to find a journal that leads to buried gold, for which her father was killed. What she discovers are family secrets and a group of men who aren’t afraid to dispose of an 18-year-old standing in their way. Bowman’s story is exciting and raw with Western grit that makes you want to saddle up a horse and take on the Wild West. In its starred review of this YA adventure, Publisher’s Weekly says, “Kate’s pursuit of the murderous Rose Riders, intertwined with gold-rush greed driving men to madness, makes for a thoroughly engrossing read.” The series later continues with a companion novel, Retribution Rails, and the novella Kate and Jesse. —Beth Wasko
A listicle on Gold Rush fiction wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Harte. The celebrated author of “Outcasts of Poker Flat,” “The Luck of Roaring Camp,” “Tennessee’s Partner,” and other stories, Harte became the first Western writer to become popular on an international scale, and his writings helped shape the world’s perception of the Old West. Populated by tall tales and long yarns, lucky breaks and freak tragedies, and all manner of colorful characters, you can still smell the campfires burning while taking in Harte’s masterful and entertaining storytelling. If you haven’t read these vignettes of the gold rush experience since your school days, it’s worth the journey into Harte’s imagination to read them again.
