Through A Golden Eagle
Summary:
The year is 1859. The nation is divided over slavery, with abolitionists spearheading a relentless – and violent – plan of attack. And in Seneca Falls, New York, the federal crime of counterfeiting adds up to a deadly account of deceit, injustice, and murder. After a year in Springfield, Illinois, Glynis returns home with Emma, her shy, seventeen-year-old niece. Emma’s only joy comes from sewing and playing the dulcimer – and little else since her mother died. Glynis hopes that a change of scene will help young Emma’s spirits. But as their train journeys from Rochester to Seneca Falls, a passenger is fatally stabbed right before their eyes. Before he dies, the victim hands Glynis a pouch containing a signet ring, a crumpled bank note, and a twenty dollar gold eagle coin. [from Google Books https://books.google.com/books/about/Through_a_Gold_Eagle.html?id=SxqtVRFEFrUC]
Group Review:
5 thumbs up
2 thumbs down
I didn’t get a chance to read this book before group, so I hope that my portrayal of the comments and sentiments of the readers is accurate.
Although the book got more thumbs up than down, the general sense was that the story and writing were “just ok,” and the thumbs up were very tempered.
Everyone liked the sense of place, and those with a connection to Seneca Falls or upstate NY particularly liked reading about the area. [note: I recommended the Hemlock Falls series by Claudia Bishop for anyone who wants more of the locale]
Through A Golden Eagle was set in the past, and pretty much everyone felt that it was historically inaccurate. And-the history felt “crammed in.” The group understands that historical fiction, at times, needs to take liberties for the story to be relateable but the main character was anachronistic and the idea that Kansas was a slave state strongly bothered one reader.
The mystery was deemed weak at best, and at times the writing got bogged down with the story of one character that had nothing to do with the mystery. Most felt like a lot of the text could have been cut.
People did like the theme of banking and counter-fitting and readers also felt it was a good introduction to the history of women’s rights.
