City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Gilded Mountain

eng

Adult

fiction

Gilded Mountain

Sylvie Pelletier recounts leaving her family's snowbound mountain cabin to work in a manor house for the Padgetts, owners of the marble-mining company that employs her father and dominates the town. Sharp-eyed Sylvie is awed by the luxury around her, fascinated by her employer. Her fairytale ideas of romance take a dark turn when she realises the Padgetts' lofty philosophical talk is at odds with the unfair labour practices that have enriched them. Their servants have long known this to be true and are making plans to form a utopian community on the Colorado prairie. Outside the manor walls, the town of Moonstone is roiling with discontent. A handsome union organiser, along with labour leader Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones, is stirring up the quarry workers. The editor of the local newspaper - a bold woman who takes Sylvie on as an apprentice - is publishing unflattering accounts of the Padgett Company. Sylvie navigates vastly different worlds and struggles to find her way amid conflicting loyalties. When the harsh winter brings tragedy, Sylvie must choose between silence and revenge

Fiction

adult