Synopses & Reviews
"There had never been a place like the Comstock or a city like Virginia or a gathering of brilliant men such as those who assembled there." So writes Henry Stoddard in Richard Wheeler's unforgettable novel-as-memoir of Virginia City, the most spectacular boomtown ever seen in the West.
Drawn to fabled Virginia City and its Comstock Lode in the early 1860s, journalist Henry Stoddard brushed shoulders with mining titans, speculators, and bankers -the people who built fortunes from the amazing mines--as well as the men who went down into the bowels of the earth to wrest the riches from it, working in the hellish heat for $4 a week
Also among Stoddard's acquaintances was a young Missourian named Sam Clemens, who prospered in Virginia City as a reporter for the Enterprise and would later transform himself into Mark Twain
Henry Stoddard is fictional; the story, however, is true, perhaps the most astonishing true story of the American West.
Review
"[Wheeler] tells a crisp story that packs an undeniable punch."--
Kirkus Reviews "Wheeler is the author of some 30 works of fiction set in the American West. Yet it is in his books about the hard-rock mines when he is clearly in his element. Sun Mountain [is] an excellent read."--The Denver Post
"Leave[s] one feeling that good kind of sadness that only great writers can evoke."--Amarillo Globe-News
Synopsis
Drawn to Virginia City, Nevada, and its Comstock Lode in the early 1860s, journalist Henry Stoddard mingles with mining titans, speculators, and bankers as well as the men who descend into the dark earth to wrest the gold riches from it. Among those he meets are a young Missourian named Sam Clemens, a reporter for the "Territorial Enterprise" who would transform himself into Mark Twain. (August)
About the Author
Richard S. Wheeler has written over fifty novels and several short stories. He has won four Spur Awards and the Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement in the field of western literature.
He lives in the literary and film community of Livingston, Montana, and is married to Professor Sue Hart, of Montana State University-Billings. Before turning to fiction he was a newsman and book editor. He has raised horses and been a wrangler at an Arizona dude ranch.