The Silver Queen

Augusta Pierce has her eyes set on Horace Tabor, a Vermont master stone mason hired by her father, from the first moment she sees him. Left behind when he goes to Kansas to shore up the abolitionist movement, Augusta misses him terribly. His letters seem formal and intent on decreasing her fears for his safety as the the abolitionist and pro-slavery forces make Kansas the political battleground. When Horace (nicknamed "Haw") returns from Kansas to marry Augusta, she moves from being a daughter to an independent woman who faces the hardships of trying to settle a home in Kansas. Determined to make a success of this new venture and her marriage, Augusta faces fear and hardship with resoluteness, thriftiness and creativity. When rumors of gold reach her husband's ears, Augusta followed him to Colorado. Alone most of the time while her husband is out prospecting, Augusta Tabor provides the stable force within the family, running a store and pinching pennies, the very pennies her husband wants to give away to all those who ask. When Horace is elected mayor of Leadville and one of his schemes hits paydirt in Colorado's Silver Boom, suddenly their life changes forever. Whereas their life had been a battle against the elements with poverty always a step away, now the Tabors are among the richest people in Colorado. Augusta is now the wife of Colorado's Lieutenant Governor. With unlimited power and wealth, Haw Tabor sets himself on a path that leads to a shocking scandal, a scandal that will test Augusta to the very depths and threaten everything she worked so hard to attain. In THE SILVER QUEEN, Jane Candia Coleman presents the life of Augusta Tabor, the First Lady of Leadville, Colorado from her early youth in Maine to her arrival in Pasadena, California in 1895. An epilogue set in Leadville, Colorado in 1935 rounds out the last details of the cast of characters. The narrative centers on the Tabor family's life in Kansas in the build-up to the Civil War, the boom and bust cycles of Colorado's gold rush and silver boom, and the Tabor family's political life in Denver as scandal and the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act bring another turn to the Tabor family's life. Winner of several Western awards and a multiple Pulitzer prize nominee, Jane Candia Coleman narrates one of Colorado's most fascinating high profile historical families through the eyes of the lesser recorded figure of Augusta Tabor, the first woman in Colorado's silver-mining camps. THE SILVER QUEEN provides an insightful look into the pioneer history in Kansas and Colorado with precise details of the era, the stages of mining exploration and development as well the interrelation between Kansas and Colorado history. Without sidetracking from her main focus, Jane Candia Coleman ties regional history into the larger picture of American history of the time. Based on the memoirs of Augusta Tabor, THE SILVER QUEEN's first person narrative draws readers into the inner thou

In the late 1850s Augusta Pierce and Horace "Haw" Tabor marry and leave Maine for the "Bleeding" Kansas Territory. Soon afterward gold is rumored to have been found in the Rockies so Haw with his wife join the "Fifty-Niners" heading to West Kansas Territory. For the next two decades the flexible Tabors make a living in various jobs amongst the silver-mining towns. When they were short cash, Augusta worked the mines alongside Haw; they were a team. When they finally become the wealthiest couple in the Colorado Territory as Western Kansas is now called, Augusta remains thrifty as she remembers the bad times. On the other hand Haw relishes his affluence flaunting his nouveau riche status and becoming a successful politician. When he meets Elizabeth "Baby Doe" McCourt, he dumps Augusta. Once their divorce is final he marries "Baby Doe". Augusta knows her soul mate dropped her, but she never quits on life; thriving without her Haw at her side. This is a superb biographical fiction that focuses on the lives of three intriguing individuals who were major regional figures in the latter half of the nineteenth century in Colorado. The prime focus is actually on THE SILVER QUEEN, Augusta; however because much of what occurs happens with Haw and later with Baby Doe, the story line provides a deep look at their triangle. Fans will appreciate this superb Americana as Jane Candia Coleman writes an insightful look at three strong obstinate people. Harriet Klausner