Gold Rush - (Hidden Histories) by Flora Delargy (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A powerful illustrated book that tells, for the very first time, the story of the courageous women of the Klondike Gold Rush.

Written and illustrated by Northern Irish artist Flora Delargy, the award-winning illustrator of Rescuing Titanic, this exquisitely illustrated story of quiet bravery tells, in rich detail, how Shaaw Tláa (Kate Cormack), a First Nations woman, discovered the gold that led 100,000 gold diggers to descend on the region.

Set against the powerful backdrop of the Yukon valley, with forbidding mountains and rickety railway tracks cutting through the snow, this stunning book shows young children how gold was discovered and how it possessed the popular imagination. It explores the towns that popped up overnight, the treacherous journeys people made to cross the forbidding Yukon landscape, the building of epic railways, and the resilience and injustices experienced by the First Nations people whose towns became inundated by gold-diggers and the legacy of the Gold Rush.

Flora Delargy's style takes in minute and exhilarating non-fiction details, from the beautifully rendered train tickets and maps of the mountains, diagrams of railway bridges, a step-by-step look at how to pan for gold, to breathtaking illustrations of the Yukon mountains.

Review Quotes

"[An] extraordinary book [...] both fascinating and inspirational."

Book of the Year - "[An] attractively presented book [... I] found the story of the gold rush and the lives of the women involved fascinating"

"A fascinating, feminist, 7+ exploration of the Klondike gold rush [...] enthralling illustrations."

"Delargy's beautiful, illustrated non-fiction seeks to lift the lid on hidden histories - in particular women's places at the forefront of adventure."

"Delargy, the award-winning illustrator of Rescuing Titanic, turns author/illustrator for a story of quiet bravery centred on a First Nations woman who discovered the gold that led 100,000 prospectors to descend on the region."

"The ink-and-watercolor illustrations do justice to the natural beauty of the area."

"In this illustrated non-fiction title, Delargy tells the story of the Gold Rush from Shaaw Tiaa (also known as Kate), the First Nations woman who discovered the gold, to entrepreneur Belinda Mulrooney and Nellie Cashman, who led a mission to rescue standard miners. Delargy paints a rich portrait of these women, both before and after the Gold Rush, and her illustrations focus in on fascinating details about panning for gold, and the awesome beauty of the Yukon valley. For readers aged six and over."

About the Author

Flora Delargy is an author and illustrator from Belfast. She has a master's degree in Children's Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art. In 2019, she was selected for the Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Her first book Rescuing Titanic has been translated into 6 languages and was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal in 2023.