Best 1906 Adventures (7)
By:
October 28, 2016
One in a series of 10 posts identifying Josh Glenn’s favorite 1906 adventure novels. Happy 110th anniversary!
Rex Beach’s Klondike adventure The Spoilers.
On his way back to Nome, Alaska, on the first ship of the season, prospector Roy Glenister defends Helen, a beautiful young woman, from some thugs. She is the niece of Arthur Chester, newly appointed as the Alaska Territory’s first federal judge — the law is coming to the wild northern frontier. Or is it? Back in Nome, Glenister and a number of other miners are dispossessed of their claims; a crooked politician, Alexander McNamara, has Judge Chester and the federal marshal under his thumb, and he arranges to have himself appointed receiver of all the stolen mining claims. Helen’s affections are torn between McNamara and Glenister. Glenister believes that she may be in on the conspiracy against the miners… and he begins to despair.
Fun fact: Beach spent a number of years in the Klondike. The Spoilers is based on the author’s observations of corrupt politician Alexander McKenzie during the Nome Gold Rush. It was one of the year’s best-selling novels.
Let me know if I’ve missed any 1906 adventures that you particularly admire.