Letters from the Corrugated Castle: A Novel of Gold Rush California, 1850-1852

Thirteen-year-old Eldora has always believed that her mother died when she was very little, and for nine years she has lived with people that she calls Aunt and Uncle. The year is 1850, and all three have exchanged their quiet lives in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for new ones in San Francisco, the rapidly growing city that is the heart of the California Gold Rush. Shortly after their arrival, they receive a letter from an unknown woman who believes she is Eldora's mother. She is eager to meet her long-lost daughter, and a visit is arranged. As Eldora deals with her conflicting feelings about this news, she must also adjust to the challenges -- and dangers -- of living in a brash and growing city. She finds herself teaching English to show more two Mexicano children and beginning to learn Spanish, and an unlikely friendship with a boy named Luke introduces her to the hard, sometimes humorous, and often violent world of the mining camps. Every day seems to bring something different and new to consider. But can Eldora discover where -- and to whom -- she belongs?
Told in letters that ring with the voice of the times, Letters from the Corrugated Castle is an intriguing adventure set in a fascinating time in California's history. show less

Although one would assume the setting for "Letters from the Corrugated Castle: A Novel of Gold Rush California 1850-1852" was the gold diggings, very little of the action in this story actually occurred at the mines. Perhaps more interestingly, this historical fiction novel allows readers to discover the effect the Gold Rush was having on other locations in California, especially San Francisco and the Salinas Valley. Author Joan W. Blos tells the story of thirteen year-old Eldora and her experiences in California entirely through letters that she herself writes, letters of others to Eldora, or fictional newspaper articles. And Eldora has a lot to write about! She has recently discovered that she is not an orphan and she has made the show more decision to leave her adoptive parents and their metal house ("corrugated castle") in San Francisco and move to her mother's house in the Salinas Valley. The descriptions of San Francisco and how its residents were trying to thrive (or merely survive) during those turbulent times should be very interesting for students who like a bit of fiction with their facts. For readers who enjoyed Blos's other books "A Gathering of Days" and "Brothers of the Heart", there is some overlapping of characters. show less

This book, while doing a good job of informing the reader about life during the gold rush, especially for children, is very slow-moving, introspective and at times dull. I almost couldn't finish it.

A series of letters and newspaper articles reveals life in California in the 1850s, especially for thirteen-year-old Eldora, who was raised in Massachusetts as an orphan only to meet her influential mother in San Francisco, and Luke, who hopes to find a fortune in gold.

Advance copy.