Introduction

In the small settlement of Motherlode, a group of disparate characters have set up a community, held together by the formidable Emaline, hostess of the Wayside Inn. It is there that Alex, on the run from something and disguised as a teenage boy, finds refuge. But once she strikes gold, buried secrets are revealed and danger surrounds her.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Excerpt

Emaline searches the sky for storm clouds from the doorway
of the Victoria Inn. The man snoring at her feet grunts,
rolls over, and curls himself around an upturned bottle of
whisky. She picks up her skirt, steps over him on to the
porch. Can’t predict the weather this time of year. Fools
even the wild flowers. Mistake three days of sunshine for
the start of May when one hard freeze will snap the petals
right off and kill the early batch of mosquitoes already
swarming.
Across the road, the chapel’s canvas roof sags like wet
clothes on a line. It won’t take another snow like the last.
Klein promised to fix the damn thing, but he’s probably kneedeep
in the creek with the rest of them. It’s no wonder nobody
in these parts has struck pay dirt yet, what with their canvas
tents and frame cabins so easy to desert. Why would the earth
give up its gold just to be abandoned on rumour of another
strike? The soil is a shrewd old whore and has learned better
than to give her gold for free.
A person should have a solid foundation, Emaline always
says, some sort of permanence in her life, a place for luck to
grow. That’s why she’s insisting on having the chapel finished.
Nothing establishes a place like inviting God to stay. She imagines a tidy steeple with a sensible wooden cross, a simple
oak pulpit and rows of sober pews. No stained glass. No
gaudy ornamentation. Save that for the Baptists who mistake
the sound of their own voices for the word of God. Behind
the chapel she pictures a cemetery with graves surrounded
by white picket fences to keep souls from drifting. Emaline
is tired of drifting. That’s how she thinks of it; not pioneering,
certainly not running, but drifting. True, Motherlode isn’t
much to look at. Not yet. But she has a feeling about the
place; call it intuition.
The ravine walls stand at attention on either side of her
valley and the cedars that brush the rim are a feathered fringe
in the glare of the afternoon sun. A movement up the road
catches her eye. She squints to see better.
‘Preacher,’ she says. The man at her feet grunts but doesn’t
move. Emaline nudges him with her toe. ‘John.’ She kicks
him harder. Another grunt. ‘Goddamnit, John! Wake your
sorry ass up and look down the road.’
She reaches under him with her toe, lifts with all her might,
and John rolls sideways down the steps to land in a stupor
at the bottom. A stocky black man steps out of the building
behind her and stares in the direction of Emaline’s gaze.
‘T’ain’t no one but Randall, missus. And his mule.’
‘I can see who it is, Jed.’ But her shoulders slump and she
lets out a breath, slowly, hoping Jed won’t notice. ‘And don’t
be calling me no missus.’
Jed crosses his arms in front of him and places his hand
to his chin, a common posture for him. It’s hard to tell whether
he’s deep in thought or simply hiding a smile. Emaline sits
down, knees apart on the steps above Preacher John and
glares back at Jed.
‘Whatever you say, Miss Emaline,’ he says, retreating into
the building just as another, smaller figure appears around
the mass of manzanita marking the edge of Motherlode.
... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the publisher:

1. Although Alex is the most notable example, most of characters in Crown of Dust are in some way haunted by, and running from, their pasts. Do any of these characters succeed in escaping their pasts?

2. “Some men,” says Emaline, “Some men just need killing.” Do you believe Alex’s crime was justified? If she ever meets Jackson Hudson again, would she be justified in killing him? Do you think she would kill him?

3. Discuss the unique social order in place in Motherlode when Alex arrives. Who governs the place? How are disputes settled? How are poplar 19th century notions of religion, spirituality and morality revised to fit the needs of this community?

4. During westward expansion and the American Civil War, a surprising number of women disguised themselves as men in order to follow a son or a husband west, or into battle, or in order to live with and love another woman, or to escape a crime, as Alex does. A number of women disguised themselves simply to gain the opportunities and freedoms men enjoyed; as men they voted, drove stagecoaches, fought battles, and worked cattle drives. What freedoms does Alex enjoy while living as a boy that Emaline and Lou Ann do not? What must she sacrifice to live as a man? Do you think that Alex, upon leaving Motherlode, will choose to live as a man or as a woman, or both?

5. In what way is Emaline’s authority, and the town itself, threatened by the discovery of gold and by the quick arrival of “polite” society? Is this threat adequately illustrated by the conflict between Emaline and Mrs. Dourity? Are women, like Mrs. Dourity, to blame for perpetuating rigid gender roles in society? What attitudes and fears motivate Emaline and Mrs. Dourity’s mutual disregard?

6. “She no longer minds the fatigue, the rough calluses forming on her hands, the solid indentions developing where she never dreamt muscles lurked. With each new ache, she discovers a new, living part of herself. Filling out, the men call it, but to Alex it feels more like filling in…”
While Alex cannot physically become a boy, hard physical labor in the mine does transform her body and her mind. Describe how this transformation changes her perspective of her own worth and of her place in the town. How does this transformation change how others view her?

7. If David had not discovered Alex was a woman, do you think he would still have allowed himself to love her?

8. In spite of her love for Jed, Emaline’s treatment of the Chinese miners reveals she is not free of racial prejudice. Do her actions disappoint you? Why does she feel justified in mistreating the Chinese men? What does her behavior reveal about the complicated nature of racial prejudice?

9. What profession can you image Limpy assuming in the 21st century?

10. Before reading Crown of Dust, what did you know about the California Gold Rush? How did this novel shape your understanding of the daily life, the prevalent biases, prejudices and hardships prospectors endured during the Gold Rush? Were you aware of the role women played in shaping new gold rush communities?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Author Mary Volmer's web site

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