Letters from the corrugated castle : a novel of gold rush California, 1850-1852

The Resource Letters from the corrugated castle : a novel of gold rush California, 1850-1852
Label
Letters from the corrugated castle : a novel of gold rush California, 1850-1852
Title remainder
a novel of gold rush California, 1850-1852
Statement of responsibility
Joan W. Blos
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
A series of letters and newspaper articles reveals life in California in the 1850s, especially for thirteen-year-old Eldora, who was raised in Massachusetts as an orphan only to meet her influential mother in San Francisco, and Luke, who hopes to find a fortune in gold
Review
  • /*Starred Review*/ Set in 1850s California, the fourth historical novel by Blos starts off with a contrivance: 13-year-old Eldora, having moved to San Francisco with her loving guardians, is rediscovered by her long-presumed-dead mother, who turns out to be a wealthy businesswoman. Their reunion strains credibility, but what Blos makes of it is so compelling that its hard to object. As in Blos Newbery Medal book, A Gathering of Days (1980), ith which this book shares a few characters, Eldora's story unfolds in dated installments, mostly correspondence, and overlaps with that of Luke, a visitor caught up in gold-rush furor. Their letters, not always to each other, flesh out Eldora's questions about her elegant new life with her kind but overextended mother and Luke's grief over the prejudice-fueled murder of a Mexican friend. Though occasionally too purposeful, details of the setting--from pastoral ranchos to the corrugated-iron «castle» of the title--will be especially welcomed by California teachers seeking engaging fiction to extend state-history units. But it is Blos' sturdy characters, whose experiences reveal the complexity of human relationships and wisdom about «the salt and the sweet of life,» who will make this last. -- Jennifer Mattson (Reviewed 04-15-2007) (Booklist, vol 103, number 16, p52)
  • Gr 5–8— Thirteen-year-old Eldora, who has recently moved to California with her adoptive aunt and uncle, has just discovered that, contrary to her belief, she is not an orphan; she has a mother residing nearby. As she awaits the woman's arrival, she writes a series of letters to her cousin Sallie in New Bedford, MA, that describe life in boomtown San Francisco, the helter-skelter development, the excitement in the mining camps, illness, and the ever-present danger of fire. When her mother finally appears, Eldora makes the decision to leave her aunt and uncle and go with her to San Pedro. Although the teen imagines that she will live like a princess with her well-to-do mother, such is not the case as more letters to her friend Luke and her aunt and uncle reveal. Eldora changes from a girl trying to live up to adult standards into a young woman who can stand up for her principles. The language is true to the times and the plot has significant twists and turns, but the pacing is sedate. By incorporating a wide range of historical facts through letters and through the articles that Luke's journalist father sends back to his newspaper in Michigan, the author has created a stately, sweeping epic novel. The book abounds in curriculum connections and is suitable for reading aloud.—Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH --Kathryn Kosiorek (Reviewed June 1, 2007) (School Library Journal, vol 53, issue 6, p140)
  • Told through a series of letters and newspaper dispatches, Newbery Medalist Blos’s (A Gathering of Days ) latest novel recounts the excitement and dangers of San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Believing herself an orphan, Eldora has lived with an adoptive family, the Holts, in New Bedford, Mass., since she was three years old. The Holts move to San Francisco to take advantage of Gold Rush prosperity, where they learn Eldora’s mother is still alive; soon after, 13-year-old Eldora and her mother, Mrs. Ramos, are reunited. (When Eldora was a girl, her mother was stricken with cholera on a sea voyage and was forced to send her daughter on without her—when her father could not be located, Eldora fell into the Holts’ care.) At her mother’s suggestion, Eldora moves to San Pedro where her mother, now a wealthy landowner, lives and runs an inn. Through the letters Eldora writes to her cousin Sallie back in New Bedford (and letters Eldora receives from Luke, whom Eldora met in San Francisco), readers will learn about the perils, dreams and daily routines that were part of these pioneers’ lives. With her mother away so often tending to business, Eldora grows lonely and yearns to return to San Francisco and to her life with the Holts. Suffused with a wealth of period details and language, this quiet, reflective tale is an appealing glimpse into the adventurous spirit that pervaded this chapter of American history. Ages 10-14. (May) --Staff (Reviewed May 28, 2007) (Publishers Weekly, vol 254, issue 22, p63)
  • Thirteen-year-old Eldora has moved to San Francisco with her aunt and uncle. In her letters to Cousin Sallie, she interweaves her story with that of the new city. The corrugated castle in the title is Eldora's new home, an iron structure built in two days from a kit. While the heart of the early letters are an anticipated meeting with her long-lost mother and the possibility that she is not an orphan after all, the story eventually incorporates a newspaper column about San Francisco and various letters, including those from her new friend Luke. Eldora's letters in this epistolary novel are a contrivance, relating much history but never sounding like real letters, and readers—beyond history buffs—may find the story slow going. However, Eldora is a likable character and readers will enjoy seeing her find her way in a new city in the process of creating a unique identity. (glossary) (Fiction. 10-14) (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2007)
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
[Fic]
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
no index present
Intended audience
1000
Intended audience source
Lexile
LC call number
PZ7.B6237
LC item number
Let 2007
Literary form
fiction
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/minGradeLevel
  • 5
  • 8
Target audience
pre adolescent

Context

Context of Letters from the corrugated castle : a novel of gold rush California, 1850-1852

Work of

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