Historical Fiction California

Duncan, Mary, and her sister are pursued by the zealot John Kimball, who believes God has directed him to take the sisters as his wives. Eventually, they find refuge in New Lovelock, Nevada. With the hope that Kimball has given up his chase, the sisters settle in and make a fresh start.

Termed the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the southwestern Indians and the first protest novel of California, Ramona is the story of 3 cultures - Indian, Mexican, and Anglo - locked in combat. The upheaval and injustice are humanized through the romance of a beautiful half-Indian orphan who grow up as the ward of Señora Moreno in privileged surroundings, then falls in love with an Indian and joins him in a life of poverty and tragedy. The Ramona Pageant in Hemet, California, based on this romance, has played each year since 1923, reenacting the transition period between Mexican traditions and the new U.S. and state governments.

Virginia Reed survived the Donner Party Werewolves only to find herself in a life and death struggle with a creature out of nightmares. When gold is discovered, California becomes flooded with miners who push Indian tribes from their lands, or kill them if they refuse to leave. But there is a creature in the mountains that won't be so easily removed, who reacts to the invasion of his territory by slaying everyone who trespasses.

Her sister gone, her roommates soon to follow, Leora Mitchell must now face the fact that she, along with the others, are mail-order brides. For years, her life revolved around Brown’s Textile Mill, her sister Lottie, and their friends. Now, as mail-order brides, they’d be scattered across the country, ready to start a new life. The only problem was Leora had no idea what that life looked like, nor did she have any idea who she was without the familiar faces she loved so much.

A wonderful period piece, set in the time of the Great Depression. This audiobook follows two youths, as they struggle to cross the now-broken country to find their estranged family in rural California. In the process, they discover their own strengths and inevitable weaknesses. In the end, there are many lessons of life, survival, and respect for their fellow brethren.

Lydia Collins and her Aunt May run a successful boarding house in New York City. One fateful August morning, Lydia reads about the discovery of gold in California. Her aunt believes that this is the perfect business opportunity for an enterprising young woman to take advantage of gold miners to the area and open up a new boarding house, but Lydia's not so sure.

On her 10th birthday, Leah receives a surprise gift from glamorous Aunt Olivia, Mama's only sister, who lives in Los Angeles. It is a red rose box. Not many people in 1958 Louisiana have seen such a beautiful traveling case, covered with red roses, filled with jewelry, silk bedclothes, expensive soaps...and train tickets to California.