Rest for the Wicked: A History Novel - Softcover

West, Naida

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965348709 ISBN 13: 9780965348706

Publisher: Bridge House Books, 2010

Synopsis

In 1893, Mae Duffy and her family arrive in El Dorado seeking the California dream, but the easy gold is gone and depression grips the nation. Breaking free, she stumbles into Sacramento's underworld and corrupted state government, where girls are political favors. She meets tycoons and senators of the Gilded Age while her brother and other homeless strikers fight the Southern Pacific Railroad. Humbled, Mae returns to rural Cosumne and learns about life from two old women, Chinese and Miwok. She also finds love with Indian Mary's son Billy, the last man of the People in their ancient home place along the Cosumnes River -- until her past comes to haunt them. This action-packed romp through Victorian times continues. A sweeping epic of the last of California's Old West. at times terrifying and yet deeply satisfying. Rooted firmly in history, with ironies extending to today's world. Like the first two award-winning novels of the trilogy (Eye of the Bear and River of Red Gold), this novel

About this title

About the Author

Naida West and her husband live in an old farmhouse on a small ranch along the Cosumnes River, partly surrounded by Rancho Murieta, a distant suburb of Sacramento. A poet with a PhD in sociology., in 1990 Naida quit teaching and lobbying to be a full time novelist. During her 20 years of researching and writing about the people who walked the land before her, large new houses have altered the area, but artifacts from the ground and the unchanged river landscape were a constant inspiration. West mixes real-life people and true events with representational characters to bring the past to vivid life. Her novels are often described as soul-searching sagas.

From the Back Cover

In 1893, Mae Duffy and her family arrive in El Dorado seeking the California dream, but the easy gold is gone and depression grips the nation. Breaking free, she stumbles into Sacramento's underworld and corrupted state government, where girls are political favors. She meets tycoons and senators of the Gilded Age while her brother and other homeless strikers fight the Southern Pacific Railroad. Humbled, Mae returns to rural Cosumne and learns about life from two old women, Chinese and Miwok. She also finds love with Indian Mary's son Billy, the last man of the People in their ancient home place along the Cosumnes River -- until her past comes to haunt them. This action-packed romp through Victorian times continues. A sweeping epic of the last of California's Old West. at times terrifying and yet deeply satisfying. Rooted firmly in history, with ironies extending to today's world. Naida West is a major talent. 640 pp, including 32 pp of narrative endnotes. Like the first two award-winning novels of the trilogy (Eye of the Bear and River of Red Gold), this novel can stand alone but most fans will prefer to read the books in sequence.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bridge House Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0965348709
• ISBN 13: 9780965348706
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 640