Bound for Gold, by William Martin, is this summer’s greatest hit. Martin writes historical fiction novels covering the most important and fascinating periods of time, from Washington, D.C., during Lincoln to Boston after the Revolutionary War to, in this case, the Gold Rush.
The manner in which he situates a fictional and compelling mystery into real historical conflicts and events makes not only for a great read but an educated reader. Yet Bound for Gold, like so many of his other books, has left me a bit frustrated — I am astonished by these midlife history lessons I gain from Martin’s books, details about periods of time that I, that we all, should already know in great detail. As we know, dating back to the 1983 bombshell report “A Nation at Risk” to ongoing surveys and assessments today, the disappointing reality is that kids and adults don’t know much about U.S. history.
It is hard to fathom that such important periods of time and what they mean for us as a country were somehow missing and are still missing from most of our schools and educational institutions. As Martin takes us through 19th-century Boston to brand-new San Francisco and Northern California, we learn of the decisions made and the struggles of our ancestors who had to decide whether joining the quest for new land, new riches in the West was worthy of their aristocratic colonial roots in Boston.
History, as famed historian David McCullough tells us, reminds us who we are.
It’s this last part that is particularly appealing about reading historical fiction. You can learn what will compel you to know what McCullough and I both believe is critical to leading a productive life as an American, but Martin will help you do so while you are entertained.
Often graphic, sometimes spellbinding, and always interesting, Bound for Gold exposes the reader to a period of time that eventually created the state which most of us rush to visit or work in when given the chance. Frivolous as it may seem, but nonetheless fascinating. Who knew, for example, that the very land under some of California’s wine country today is situated on the precise location where the Gold Rush started? Or that, thanks in part to the creation of water wheels and irrigation needed to sluice the gold, the very roads and river beds we see there have their origins in the Gold Rush? Martin even treats us to an intensive view of the role of the Chinese people who figured so prominently then, and as a result, now, in San Francisco society.
This and so many other parts of history that took place in a relatively short period of time should be on everyone’s reading lists starting from a very early age.
Martin’s very cool books teach about the earliest industries, transportation, governing before there were governments, business and commerce and where it started. My first and favorite Martin novel called Cape Cod revealed that one of the very first official business transactions in the New World was a fur trade between new settlers and American Indians (it was gentle and civilized as were many of the early transactions, despite what you might read from revisionist history). Oysters were part of it, too.
In a day and age of financial uncertainty as well as progress, the Gold Rush reminds us where it is that our monetary policy really took on new life. Then there are the fun little discoveries, such as the fact that the famous Nob Hill hotel, the Mark Hopkins, is named after an early (and very successful) gold prospector.
There are some parallels to today, too, from amid the activities of 1850s explorers, perhaps intentionally. Divisions were created with “foreigners” who also had come to the land to find gold. Led by the fictitious Boston businessman Samuel Hodges, the Boston transplants link up with the local folk who agree to create a new city council. He becomes the leader, and together the new council penalizes nonwhites (including Irish) to pay or get out. Meanwhile, the more gentile James Spencer, the story’s central figure as historian and journalist, is aghast at the language and sentiment toward the Chinese and Mexican peoples who he has befriended. It is his journals that are the central theme of this book. Indeed, such journals documenting our history is the origin of the word journalist (but you probably knew that!).
Despite some unusually filthy passages that he could have done without, Martins’ Bound for Gold is a jewel. I can’t wait to see which time period makes up his next creation.
Jeanne Allen (@JeanneAllen) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential blog. She is CEO and founder of the Center for Education Reform.
