Why a Booktrail?
1893: Tragedy sends Beth Bolton on a journey from Liverpool across America and Canada to the Klondike River in search of gold.
Gypsy
What you need to know before your trail
Fifteen-year-old Beth lives with her brother Sam and baby sister Molly and are devastated when they are left as orphans. Sam believes that they have to move to America in order to start a new life and to make their fortune but have to leave Molly behind with adoptive parents.
Taking a steamer to New York, they run into problems and some dangerous people even before they have arrived. Beth becomes known as Gypsy due to her talent playing the violin.
They join forces with charismatic gambler Theo and sharp-witted Londoner, Jack. After dodging trouble across America, finally the foursome head for the dangerous mountains of Canada and the Klondike river in search of gold.
What will become of Beth and her fellow adventurers and Molly?
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Very evocative and historically very interesting all set in the Gold rush era at the end of the 19th century. This book is a journey of its characters from Liverpool all the way across America and Canada. the Klondike river and the people all searching for gold is a fascinating place to be and to read this book is to quite literally place yourself right at the heart of history.
The trip across on the steamer is one of harsh conditions and it’s lovely to read about how Beth plays the violin in a time where it would have been unacceptable for her to do so in public since she was well brought up. She has few opportunities yet despite her grief and no family, she shows courage and determination in travelling so far away and to try and help her brother and sister.
Her love of music shines through –
“It was of course an unattainable dream. Even if she had been taught to play classical violin, she’d never seen a female violinist in an orchestra”
It’s Klondike river that is the heart of the plot and the action and it is evoked in such detail. Beth becomes known as the Klondike gypsy queen.
Within a week, Gas Town was caught in the grip of complete madness. The Klondike gold Rush stampede was on.
This must have been a powerful and chaotic time to be at the river and the Gold rush is a passionate and busy time that is thrilling to be part of. The drama that was the hordes of people traipsing hundreds of miles across mountains and all sorts of landscapes to reach quite literally the pot of gold at the end of it all is thrilling. Mad, exciting and on a scale that is stunningly recreated by Lesley.
Booktrailer Review
Susan:
A captivating read full of intriguing characters, a real adventure across America and canada and ending up in the chaos and excitement of the gold rush in the Klondike river. If setting is ever a character then it certainly is here and I really felt as if I was travelling with these people ever step of the way.
I’d heard of the Gold rush but never really given it much thought so by following a family from Liverpool to this part of the world, it really gave me an insight into it and you can tell the author has either lived or been there as the passion shines through as does the detail and the evocative descriptions and emotions.
Beth is a character I really enjoyed getting to know and admired her for what she did and challenged society for.
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Twitter: @lesleypearse
Web: lesleypearse.com
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