Gertrude Atherton
If you like your mysteries served up with a tall order of intrigue, romance, fascinating characters, and engrossing local color, try The Avalanche from author Gertrude Atherton. Set among the affluent upper classes in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, the novel delves into the relationship between a beautiful young woman from France and her ambitious American suitor. It's a satisfying, fully fleshed-out read in which the mystery is just
...What starts out as a much-anticipated wedding among members of the high-society set in 1870s San Francisco eventually devolves into a tragic story of a doomed love triangle in Gertrude Atherton's deeply moving historical romance novel Sleeping Fires.
American author Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton achieved significant literary acclaim during her career, garnering comparisons to luminaries like Henry James and Ambrose Bierce. This collection of spine-tingling gothic tales will please fans of the genre who don't want to sacrifice literary quality when it comes to scary stories.
Renowned for her realistic, intricate portraits of human relationships, Gertrude Atherton's The Californians unfolds against the backdrop of the author's native state as it entered a period of rapid change and diversification. The novel incorporates the contrasting viewpoints of two young girls—both California residents, but still worlds apart—as they navigate the road to adulthood.
Although author Gertrude Atherton was born and died in her beloved home state of California, she spent a significant amount of time touring and living in Europe. In Ancestors, she puts her experience as a world traveler to good use, spinning an entertaining yarn about several aristocratic English ladies who decide to liven up their twilight years by touring the rough-and-tumble landscape of the American frontier.
In this emotionally engaging and richly detailed multi-generational epic, author Gertrude Atherton uses her own family history as a lens through which to trace the evolution of the fictional Randolph family, from their roots in England to their eventual ascendance to power and prestige in the rough-and-tumble pioneer era of California.
This exhaustively researched historical novel presents a rich, three-dimensional representation of the late nineteenth-century politics in the United States. The focal point of the novel is Senator North, a character purportedly based on Maine's Senator Eugene Hale.
Though originally intended for younger audiences, The Valiant Runaways is a rip-roaring action-adventure tale that will ensnare the interest of readers of all ages. Roldan Castanada is a young man who has strong opinions about everything and who is not inclined to take orders he doesn't agree with. But when he's conscripted as a soldier in the conflict between U.S. and Mexico over control of California, Roldan's attitude begins to change.
...What happens when a quiet, reserved woman bound by strict social codes of decorum grows restless and decides she wants a new life? Sometimes, the result is more horrific than you can imagine. If you're in the mood for a classic psychological thriller, you'll love Gertrude Atherton's Mrs. Belfame.
Fans of Gertrude Atherton's California series of novels and stories will want to add The Sisters-in-Law to their must-read list. This tale focuses on a young woman named Alexina and her amusing exploits in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. But when the devastating earthquake hits, everything changes in an instant, and Alexina's fondness for social fun and games wanes.
Originally published in the late nineteenth century, this novel was initially overlooked by critics, but it is now regarded as an early classic in the genre of fantasy fiction. Struck by a dizzying thunderbolt of love at first sight, protagonist Charles Dartmouth falls fast and hard for the Welsh heiress Weir Penrhyn. Before long, he begins to suspect that there's a supernatural force prompting his affections.
12) Rezanov
Many of Gertrude Atherton's novels are set in her native state of California and feature gutsy, headstrong heroines. In Rezanov, a high-ranking Russian official travels to California and is blown over by his first encounter with the beautiful, independent Dona Concha Arguello. Can their love bridge the cultural divide between them?
This refreshingly innovative take on the age-old theme of star-crossed lovers is set during the period when Mexico and the U.S. were warring over the control of California. The lovely Doña Chonita is loyal to her family's pro-Mexico position in the conflict, but a chance encounter with a silver-tongued Lothario named Don Diego throws everything she holds true into question.