Pacific Street - Hardcover

Cecelia Holland

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0575053348 ISBN 13: 9780575053342

Publisher: hm co, 1992

Synopsis

A small black woman and an Indian carpenter form a conspiracy against an enticing blond performer for the Shining Light saloon, in a vivid tale set against the backdrop of the ramshackle, half-built San Francisco during the Gold Rush. 15,000 first printing.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Holland (The Bear Flag, 1990, etc.) returns to pioneer California for her 20th fictional mix of history, blistering action, and romance--set this time in San Francisco, aborning in grit, violence, and an explosive mingle of races and allegiances after the war with Mexico. Among those intent on justice (pursued with knives more than with talk), loyalty, and love is a ragtag group of the homeless and despised. Frances ``Mammy'' Hardhardt, a tiny, fierce, black former brothel cook, is owner and founder of the bar Shining Light in the city where lush, blond Daisy had been sent by the uncle who abused her. Arriving in San Francisco, Frances takes charge, and with the help of would-be writer Gil Marcus, property is secured. Beautiful Daisy sings; Mitya, the half-Aleut, Northwest coast Indian, cast out by his own people, constructs a solid building from an old ship; black Josh oversees the labor, while Laban paints murals. Throughout, Frances's shrewdness and Mitya's knife and Gil's political savvy weather terrors to come: a gross competing bar- owner is out to douse the Shining Light; there are attempts to ``crimp'' (shanghai) Mitya; so-called Regulators--Mexican War volunteers from New York--aim to loot, smash, and govern; and, worst of all, the Vigilantes, also grabbing for power, arrest innocent and guilty alike and execute men by the score. The Vigilante leader is the man Frances had picked out for Daisy. Meanwhile, there's violence aplenty, plus a super-brave, last- minute ploy by Gil, before two lovers and a sick and bitter exile leave the Shining Light--its feuds, searing hatreds, and iron friendships. Holland conveys easily the noise, dust, and bumble of street crowds in the brand-new seacoast city to background a juicy tale of dark action and bright hopes. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

YA-- Holland paints vivid word pictures of a tumultuous, violent, and unique time and place in U. S. history--San Francisco at the beginning of the 1849 Gold Rush. All types of people converge here, by the overland route or the Isthmus of Panama, both of which were arduous. Cutthroats, army deserters, preachers, miners, Mormons, con men and women, prostitutes, and Native Americans--are all ready to start over. Among them are Frances Hardhardt, an escaped slave whose goal is to control white men as she has been controlled; Daisy, a voluptuous singer who is Frances's protegee and tool; and Mitya, an Aleut Indian with a troubled past whose talent as a builder creates the central locale of the book, the Shining Light Saloon. That arena becomes the glue that binds people and story together. Holland's characters are finely drawn and develop slowly, which will urge readers on. This novel is an excellent choice for those seeking multicultural material; the historical facts give food for thought and insight into motives relating to that particular time, and that particular place.
- Debbie Hyman, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: hm co
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0575053348
• ISBN 13: 9780575053342
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320