- Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: McClelland & Stewart; First THUS edition (Oct 1 1989)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0771058667
- ISBN-13: 978-0771058660
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.7 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 136 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #652,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In straightforward, unadorned prose, Michener spins an old-fashioned historical adventure as he follows a British expedition's doomed trek across Canada to the Klondike gold fields in 1897-1899. The group's leader, Lord Evelyn Luton, is an arrogant ass whose colossal stubbornness costs the lives of three of the five men. Totally dissimilar is the party's poet, frail, sensitive Trevor Blythe. Accompanying the four well-bred Englishmen on the journey is a shrewd Irish poacher who acts as the "servant." Besides exploring class tensions, Michener offers insight into how the British viewed their two former colonies--America and Canada--at the turn of the century. But basically this is an absorbing little tale of hubris, courage and redemption (Lutton, humbled by the tragedy, goes on to help Lloyd George rearm England just before WW I), as the dazed adventurers meet Canadian hucksters and friendly Indians, and cope with frozen rivers, mosquitoes, scurvy, dwindling food. In an afterword, Michener explains the germination of this saga, expanded from a section cut from his much longer novel Alaska. Maps. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selections.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
YA-- This book is a departure from Michener's traditional style of writing long, in-depth, historical sagas featuring one locality. Here he has taken one slice of history, the gold rush of 1897, and shown the courage of five men as they deal with adversity while trying to reach the gold. Four British aristocrats and one Irish servant start their journey in England with visions of finding gold in the wilds of Canada. It begins easily enough, but soon disaster meets them at every turn. Readers will be drawn in by the strong characterizations, the intriguing plot, and the single-minded resolve of these men to reach their dreams. A novel that gives readers a real feel for the frenzy and determination of the men associated with the gold rush--all in less than 250 pages.
- Susan Penny, St. Cecilia's School, Houston
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Susan Penny, St. Cecilia's School, Houston
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Journey,
By Val the Viking (Williams Lake, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Journey (Paperback)
This historical adventure based on fact was enjoyed by all six women in our book club. Michener captured the lure of gold very well and class distinctions of the time so well that some book club members felt very annoyed. The tale is very believable and a great read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Canadian Historical Treasure Disguised as Fiction,
By
This review is from: Journey (Hardcover)
A treasure in Canadian History. The Canadian Gold Rush makes a fascinating study and the research and history tucked into this little volume of fiction compliment fiction writers like Jack London, non-fiction writers like Farley Mowatt, and poets like Robert Service.The rather amusing antipathy for anything American belabored by Lord Evelyn Luton might not have worked coming from a Canadian Author, but Mitchener pulls it off with a unique strange humour that is integral to the characters. The story itself is a brief 200+ pages. Cut from the final manuscript of the best-selling "Alaska", this small literary gem packs a punch. An added bonus for poetry lovers is the collection of poems at the end of the book, many of which will be familiar, some few readers will have seen before. Told in the context of the gold rush, even the most familiar are somehow new. Also, of special interest to writers is the story behind the story, including the editing decisions that led to this cut from a much larger work becoming a full book of its own. I was fortunate enough to stumble on a copy at a library sale. I truly hope they had multiple copies, for mine is an uncirculated hardcover at a price to make the author weep. For the entertainment value of a well spun tale set in the Canadian north, or for the wealth of history that is anything but dry and dusty, this book is a treasure.
3.0 out of 5 stars
journey,
By A Customer
This review is from: Journey (Audio Cassette)
I can't imagine what Books On Tape had in mind when they chose their reader for James Michener's books. I don't expect every performer to be as skilled and entertaining as Frank Muller, but Larry McKeever is absolutely the worst I've come across. His narration lacks life, intonation, and everything needed to hold the reader's attention. The fact that he was chosen as a narrator is outrageous.
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