It's a winning hand!I am interested in the late hour of the dinners and receptions. Was it normal to hold such events at 10 or 11 PM?
And indeed, Leaden Skies features a couple of late night gastronomic events. I pretty slavishly adhere to what's reported in the newspapers of the day, so can assure you that yes indeed, what appears in the book is accurate. One example is the banqueet held for Ulysses S. Grant during his five-day visit to Leadville in July 1880. The newspapers covered this event in great detail—from the decorations, to the menu, to the speeches afterward (which went on. and on.). The article even includes the hour at which the feasting began (emphasis below is mine):
The dining-room was gorgeously arrayed in evergreens,So, a couple of hundred people had to file in, be seated, be served ... I'd guess the meal lasted into the wee hours of the morning (2 a.m., maybe?). And we know that the speeches went on for quite a while after that, given how this particular reporter concludes his story:
flags and flowers. On the east and west walls hung paintings
of General Grant, surrounded with wreaths and evergreens.
Two long parallel tables ranged down each side of the hall,
a third forming at right angles at the head, near the
entrance of the dining-room, capable of seating two hundred
and fifty persons. As the doors of the large dining hall were
thrown open to the guests, sometime after 11 o’clock, the
tables were revealed in all their splendor of culinary decorations—
if this term may be applied—fairly groaning under
their load of delicacies and decorating devices, formed of the
rarest of confections and by the greatest skill, while
arranged in stately order about the tables, were eighteen
waiters in charge of Mr. William McClellan.
As the guests entered the hall, with General Grant in
charge, they were assigned seats at the banquet tables.
The band occupying a position at the head of the banquet,
played an appropriate selection. The banquet was then formally
opened.
...By this time the hour had advanced close upon morning.(Of course, at this point, I wondered, "What time was sunrise?" After thrashing around on the internet a bit, I found a site where I could at least determine the sunrise time in Denver, Colorado, on July 24, 1901 (the year 1880 was outside the range of calculation)— 5:50 a.m. So, I'd guess the guests were staggering/straggling home in Leadville, July 24, 1880, sometime around 5 a.m., give or take.
The feast was over and the speech-making ceased. The General
arising from his chair at the banquet was the signal for
all to retire; and soon the hall was cleared, and the merry
feasters were wending their way homeward just as the gray
light of dawn was lining the eastern sky.
The supper-room at a ball is thrown open generally at twelve o-clock.According to the book, the sort of repast you'd be facing as the clock struck midnight would probably include the following:
The hot dishes are oysters, stewed, fried, broiled and scalloped, chicken, game, etc., and the cold dishes are such as boned turkey, boeuf a la mode, chicken salad, lobster salad and raw oysters.Ooof! The most I can handle past 11 p.m. is warm Ovaltine and toast.
I visited Black Cat Books today in Manitou ... a really great bookstore! Met Natalie, the bookstore owner. Got her to stand still for a photo (see left ... in addition to books, there is a wine bar). I'll be at Black Cat Books on Saturday, August 1, from 1 - 4 p.m., to talk about Leaden Skies and the rest of the Silver Rush series ... I'm looking forward to it!
Later, I went up Cheyenne Canyon to check out Helen Hunt Falls and Silver Cascade Falls (just a bit further up the trail). Helen Hunt Falls is to the left. This was a favorite place of 19th century author Helen Hunt Jackson. Hmmm. Looks slippery. Could be a good place for a little fictional mayhem.The streets and alleys which had come into being with the growth of the town, were the hiding places of desperadoes who waited paitently for the coming of their victims, whom a blow from the bludgeon would put in a condition to be quietly robbed.
Following in the wakes of the wealth which daily poured into the camp, were men whose trades were theft and robbery. To drug a victim, coolly rifle his pockets of every article of value, and throw him into the streets to be arrested for drunkennes, was among the most common ethhods of the thugs who infested the saloons and variety theatres... Men were robbed within the shadows of their own doors; stripped of their valuables in their own bedchambers... and no part of the city was so well guarded as to be safe...
Leadville's first town marshal lasted only a few days. The second lasted three and a half weeks before being shot. The third, Mart Duggan, was a man who, by some accounts, was no better than those he set out to bring to heel. Edward Blair, in his very readable Leadville: Colorado's Magic City, sums Duggan up nicely: "He was not overly concerned with the letter of the law or the rights of the accused. His methods were those of the 'roughs,' and his success was born out of his superior strength, determination, and absolute fearlessness."... numbered and branded with a star and turned loose. He has no instructions as to what he is to do, or how he is to do it. He is amendable to nobody nor nothing. Makes arrests when he feels like it, and sometimes tries and discharges his own prisoners. If there is one place in the city where he can find more comforts than another, that place will be well watched.In early 1880, Leadville appointed a "city collector" from the police force to collect all revenues (saloon licenses and fines of prostitutes and gamblers were the biggest sources of revenue for the city—around $3,500 a month). Some fees were collected by the city clerk and various police officers as well. Interestingly enough, however, it wasn't until October 1880 that the city council finally passed a resolution requiring that all officers collecting funds to account for them.
The time rushes ever closer to the official release of Leaden Skies. I've received my box of author copies, and my gosh, the dustjacket has quite a lovely tint of lavender (... it's just about the color you see here to the left. Somehow, that tint doesn't come through when viewing the cover online). Looking beneath the dustjacket, the bookboards are the same, with Leaden Skies on the spine in gold script. (I wonder: Am I the only one who peels off the dustcover to check the "real deal" underneath? Anyhow...) All I can say is, Wow! (In a good way, of course.)
Let's get down to history.To the southwest the Denver & South Park conveys the traveler to the weird beauties of Platte River Cañon, and up through the mountains to where the tide of humanity on its way to Leadville halts to take a fresh start, by stage or footpath...
No foolin' about that tide of humanity. And the toss-away remark about "a fresh start by stage or footpath" provides no clue to the perils and inconveniences involved. The following description of stage travel, provided by Eugene Floyd Irey in his Ph.D. dissertation, A Social History of Leadville, Colorado, During the Boom Days, 1877-1881, pretty much sums it up:At all seasons the narrow roads were crowded with teams and wagons moving in both directions In the midst of the confusion the traveler found himself in a coach carrying 12 passengers inside and eight outside, lurching either up or down a steep mountain grade. In the summer the entire road was buried in dust and in the winter the blasts from the surrounding mountains brought suffering to all and death to the unprepared."Death to the unprepared." Sounds like the title to a book. Or perhaps a short story. Hmmm.
Parker’s deft evocation of a lost era in Western American history—the life of the mining boom town—and her complex characterization make Leaden Skies an absorbing read. Her final, cliff-hanging sentence will make every reader desperate for the next installment in Inez Stannert’s epic tale. A riveting historical mystery.
—Stephanie Barron
Leaden Skies Ann Parker. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (298p) ISBN 978-1-59058-577-1I feel like I can now breathe again. I've received some early individual reader/reviewer comments (see previous post), and Publishers Weekly has weighed in, all to the good.The July 1880 visit of former president Ulysses S. Grant to the mining community of Leadville, Colo., sparks Parker's third mystery (after 2006's Iron Ties), a twisty tale of murder and ambition. Saloon co-owner Inez Stannert is preoccupied with divorcing her missing husband, her affair with the local minister and her secret business partnership with the local madam when one of the madam's prostitutes is first attacked and later killed. Eager to protect her investment, Inez begins to look into the case, confronting mine owners with personal agendas; local politicians; zealous journalists; a mapmaker with a past; a determined mother with aspirations for her wastrel son; a prostitute with family obligations and hopes for a better life; and a ruthless city tax collector, appropriately nicknamed the Hatchet. Parker is proficient in showing the crossroads between civilization and the frontier, including emerging new roles for women. A cliffhanger ending sets a promising stage for the next installment. (July)
Writers, readers, what do you think?
... Parker’s wonderful characters and excellent dialogue enhance the qualities of this book. What really sets it apart, however, is that indefinable voice which makes a particular author such a pleasure to read...I highly recommend starting at the beginning of this wonderful series. —LJ Roberts
This book is the 3rd in a series of historical myteries set in Leadville's boom days. I enjoyed this one (as well as the prior two) and think that Parker does a very good job of transporting the reader back in time.—Diane
...Filled with history, action, and emotional realism, it’s a story that will leave you feeling you’ve made contact with the folks who live in Leadville. There’s never a dull moment; somebody is always trying to take advantage of someone else. Some folks are moral, some not. All are interesting. And the book ends with a darn good cliffhanger, making sure to leave you wanting more. —C.K. Crigger
I've been told reviewers don't read them. I guess I'm wondering about readers in general, and if these notes are worth the fuss and bother of writing them. It does take a fair bit of time to plow through my old notes (e-notes and hard copy), pull together the references I've used, and then try to weave it all into a coherent essay. So, I'd love to know what you think.
Since some folks expressed interest in further excerpts of letters from Leadville, circa 1879, I thought I'd continue along that path for now. Here's a great bit that pretty much sums up the ambience of Leadville during these times, written by George Elder, a young man of about 22 and a recent arrival to town. The letter was written to his mother and is dated September 24, 1879:. . . We had several dare devil murders the last few days so that some of the inhabitants are bound to keep the excitement up. Murders occur in such a terribly reckless manner that it is uncertain who will be the next victim. Pistols are drawn so quickly and most of them are these self-cockers that are almost as dangerous to the owners as to his enemies. I have lost all fear and it seems to me that a man cannot help becoming like the country out here. I carry my revolver about me in the night time and I do not think the small amount of Quaker blood in me would be any hindrance to my swift and immediate use. No man dare flourish a revolver and threaten to shoot as it is the invariable rule to fire at once and count the cost afterwards. A murderer is safer in Leadville than a Horsethief. . . .
You see, I give away chocolate when I promote my books (if there's any left over after a signing, they often don't make it home!). So, I'm wondering what kind people like.
Hello all! Want a signed, personalized copy of my newest Silver Rush historical mystery? It can be done! Even during pandemic times. Just pl...
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