Waltzing In Ragtime
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Award-winning young-adult novelist Eileen Charbonneau now turns her storytelling powers and lauded historical research to her first adult novel: the epic story of two people drawn together from dramatically different spheres of society.
As the turn of the century, San Francisco is a far cry from its gold rush days. The railroads have ushered in an era of rapid change and industrialization in California. In the mansions on Russian Hill, powerful men build financial empires by pillaging a landscape rich in natural resources.
The daughter of a lumber baron, Olana Whittaker is struggling to make it on her own as a journalist for the Gold Coast Chronicle. She resents having to use a male pseudonym to be read seriously.
Covering the grand opening from Sequoia National Parks, Olana meets forest ranger Matthew Hart, who speaks with passion on the need for protecting nature. Hart has little time for people, especially those who destroy forests. But when the pair are trapped in an early blizzard, Olana learns to appreciate both Hart and the land he is fighting to protect from men like her father.
Over the years that follow, Olana and Matt will part--and come together again--as they live through the turbulent early years of the new century and learn the heartbreaks and joys that come with living, loving, and pursuing their destinies.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Award-winning YA author Charbonneau (The Ghosts of Stony Clove) successfully crosses over to adult fiction with this lively historical novel spiked with steamy romance. In 1903, Olana Whittaker, the spoiled 23-year-old daughter of a timber tycoon, is covering the grand opening of Sequoia National Park for a San Francisco newspaper when she meets Matthew Hart, the park's long-haired, bearded ranger, who is determined to keep lumber interests away from the magnificent trees. After rescuing Olana during a blizzard in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Matthew brings her back to his tree house, where he uses primitive remedies to heal her severe frostbite, and the two begin a simmering romance. In fact, after he returns Olana to her wealthy family, Matt reluctantly agrees to stay in San Francisco until she fully recovers; in gratitude, Olana's father gives him the desired acreage for the park. But soon, Mark resigns his park post in the wake of disturbing disclosures about his past. Olana follows him to his mother's home in St. Pitias, where she learns some surprising secrets, experiences passionate love and has an explosive argument with Matt that leads to her marriage to Darius Moore, her father's despicable business partner. Other developments in this eventful soap opera include murder and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Charbonneau's mix of sexy romance and melodrama provides plenty of entertainment.
