Gold Rush Fever: A Story of the Klondike, 1898

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

The subtitle, “A Story of the Klondike, 1898,” sets the scene for
this gripping story in which the narrative techniques of fiction are
joined to a bedrock of historical information and accuracy.

Thirteen-year-old Tim Olsen and his older brother Roy set out from
Seattle in the summer of 1897 in search of gold in what locals call
“the last frontier”—the Klondike. The voyage north is rough, the
trek over mountain paths tortuous. Hardships are vividly realized with
humor and detail. Short chapters cover Dawson City, Native people,
buying and selling, gambling, the diggings, “fool’s gold,” staking
a claim, cabin life, and winter trials. The exploits and achievements of
Jack London and Robert Service are sketched in brief epilogues.

Numerous graphite illustrations accompanying a well-documented text
make for a very attractive format that should appeal to preteens. Highly
recommended.