book cover of Lily Nevada
Added by 1 member
 

Lily Nevada

(1999)
(The second book in the Railroad Schemes series)
A novel by

 
 
Acclaimed as one of the finest historical novelists of our time, Cecelia Holland brings a special magic to her tales of the settlement of Old California, chronicled in such sweeping epics as The Bear Flag, Pacific Street, and An Ordinary Woman.

In her most recent novel, Railroad Schemes, Holland introduced us to one of the most compelling characters she has ever created: Lily Viner, a lovely young girl raised in the harsh mining camps of Virginia City, rescued by the legendary "King" Callahan, a wild Irish outlaw, only to lose him in a battle with the railroad barons who controlled the Western frontier.

Now, in Lily Nevada, Cecilia Holland continues the dramatic saga of this beautiful, strong-willed woman who flees her dark and violent past to make a new life, and a new name for herself, in San Francisco at the dawn of the Gilded Age. It is a time of great opportunity, and even greater peril, when fortunes are built and lost overnight, when ruthless tycoons amass great wealth, and growing labor unrest threatens to topple these newly minted empires.

Seeking a new start, Lily journeys with a traveling theatrical company to the fabled city by the bay. Soon her great beauty and even greater skill as an actress hurtle her into the limelight, bringing her both fame and notoriety. Tormented by her shattered past, Lily begins to live a strange double life. By day, she performs in velvet and lace before the fabulously wealthy rulers of San Francisco's new aristocracy. But by night, dressed in men's clothing, she roams the darkest corners of the city, searching for the mother she never knew, seeing firsthand the bitter poverty that fuels this new prosperity.

As embittered workers at last challenge the might of the railroad magnates, the city explodes in violence and turmoil. Alone in a world engulfed in flames, Lily comes face-to-face with a long-forgotten adversary who could destroy forever the new life she has won.

Powerful, passionate, and filled with heart-stopping excitement, Lily Nevada is a magnificent portrait of a remarkable woman by a master storyteller. Seamlessly interweaving richly detailed history with strikingly authentic characters and settings, Cecilia Holland has brought to life one of the most engaging and colorful chapters in the history of the American West.

Genre: Historical

Visitors also looked at these books


Used availability for Cecelia Holland's Lily Nevada


About Fantastic Fiction       Information for Authors