Synopses & Reviews
Tarnished Gold is the captivating prequel to the bestselling V. C. Andrews© Landry series that began with
Ruby and continued with
Pearl in the Mist, All That Glitters, and Hidden Jewel. This thrilling new novel takes us back to the Louisiana bayou in the time before
Ruby. In a world of wondrous natural beauty, a world of tantalizing dreams and inescapable sorrow, we meet Gabriel Landry, daughter of Catherine and Jack.
Growing up in her beloved swamp, Gabriel is supremely happy, despite the ever-widening rift between her Mama and her conniving, whiskey-drinking Daddy. Her classmates tease her, calling her "La Femme Au Naturel," the Nature Girl, because she seems more interested in poling her pirogue through the canals than she is in romance. But Gabriel nurtures her own secret dreams. Then, days before her high school graduation, rich cannery owner Octavious Tate surprises her in a secluded pond and shatters her innocence.
Pregnant and desolate, wishing to spare her dear Mama the scandal, Gabriel agrees to a shocking plan that will allow Octavious's frigid wife Gladys to claim the baby as her own and will net Gabriel's furious Daddy a huge payoff. Hiding in a tiny abandoned playroom in the Tate mansion, Gabriel is miserable. Her only visitor is Mama, whose mission as a Traiteur, a Cajun healer, gives her an excuse to treat Gladys Tate's "pregnancy." But nothing is more wrenching than the moment Gladys takes baby Paul away forever.
Returning home to the swamp, Gabriel drifts in a world of twilight gloom, brightened only by chance glimpses of her son. But as Jack Landry's reputation as a swamp guide grows, a hunting party brings handsome, gentle Creole millionaire Pierre Dumas to the bayou. Falling desperately in love, Gabriel will not heed the voice warning that their joy may bring her more grief than she can bear....
Synopsis
In this captivating prequel to the mesmerizing Landry series, travel to the sultry Louisiana bayou and discover the twisted beginnings of the Landry family. Growing up in Louisiana, Gabriel's young life is a happy one, despite the growing rift between her mother and her conniving, whiskey-drinking Daddy. Her dreams for a bright future as an artist are cut short, however, when her innocence is shattered by the rich cannery owner Octavious Tate.
Pregnant and desperate to spare her mother the scandal, Gabriel agrees to a shocking plan that will allow Octavious's wife Gladys to claim the baby as her own and will net Gabriel's father a huge payoff. Hiding in a tiny abandoned playroom in the Tate mansion, Gabriel is miserable. Her only visitor is her mother, whose mission as a Cajun healer gives her an excuse to treat Gladys Tate's supposed pregnancy. But nothing prepares Gabriel for the wrenching moment when her baby is taken away forever.
Returning home to the swamp, Gabriel drifts in a world of gloom, brightened only by chance glimpses of her son. But as her father's reputation as a swamp guide grows, a hunting party brings handsome, gentle Creole millionaire Pierre Dumas to the bayou. Falling desperately in love, Gabriel will not heed the voice warning that her new joy may bring her more grief than she can bear.
About the Author
One of the most popular authors of all time, V.C. Andrews has been a bestselling phenomenon since the publication of the spellbinding classic Flowers in the Attic. That blockbuster novel began the renowned Dollanganger family saga, which includes Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. Since then, readers have been captivated by more than sixty novels in nearly twenty bestselling series. V.C. Andrews’s novels have sold more than 106 million copies and have been translated into twenty-two foreign languages.