"It takes two to make a kingdom"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted March 19, 2009
Romance Historical | Western
The tougher and rougher life got, the stronger Augusta
Pierce Tabor got. Starting out life as a rather fragile
petite girl who more often than not found herself faced with
one health issue or another no one would have ever guessed
how Gusta would wind up. Usually you think that a person who
lacks physical confidence and strength uses intelligence to
equal the playing field. But ironically, although Gusta's
natural practicality and organizing skills were important
skills in her life, her strength and being is what helped
her survive. And she did better than just survive -- she
managed her family, her family's holdings and businesses and
for at least a part of the time she was able to help her
husband Horace Tabor, or Haw as he was known, stay solvent. Haw was a dreamer of sorts -- his big dream was to be rich.
Wealth would certainly make him an important man and that
was his goal. The route he took was that of a wheeler dealer
and risk taking gambler. What he gambled with was Gusta's
sometimes meager earnings. Oh there were fortunes to be made
gold mining but avoiding the pitfalls was difficult. Times
were lean and fortunes were evasive but Gusta was learning
how to find happiness with what she and Haw were able to
make. She loved her husband and defended him with all her
being. But she always had doubts about what he felt for her
and as their life started taking on new dimensions she had
to rely on whatever inner strengths she had developed to
keep her family safe. Haw wasn't a bad man just not good
husband material. He preferred to be out on his own foraging
for his next prospect rather than defending and supporting
his family. Throughout their story it is quite evident that without
Gusta's business skills and determination and work ethic
this man who would like to be the gold king would have never
had the opportunity to seek his fortune. Too late Gusta
realizes that the more fortune Haw found the less he needed
of his wife and family. Coleman writes truly historical novels. Not until the very
end of the book did I realize that the characters were real
people who had lived during a time when people made
extraordinary life altering decisions moving away from
family and homes to truly undeveloped and beyond rustic
places looking for a chance to make something of themselves.
THE SILVER QUEEN covers the life of Augusta Tabor and
features her extended family and the family she made with
Horace Tabor. The book truthfully captures both the good and
not so wonderful qualities of these adventurous people.
These were certainly not perfect people and their human
frailties are what made them so interesting to read about.
Coleman did a good job in describing life during those
turbulent years.
SUMMARY
Augusta Tabor may have been the first woman in the Colorado
silver-mining camps, but she never dreamed of making the big
strike. She labored hard to support her family, while her
husband went out prospecting for months at a time and gave
away their store credit to just about anyone who asked. And
then one of his schemes finally worked out. Suddenly they
were the richest folk in Colorado Territory and Haw Tabor
was elected lieutenant governor. But untold wealth and power led them to a scandal that
shocked the country—a scandal that would push Augusta’s
strength to its limits…
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