What do you think?
Rate this book
The Golden Mountain
In the 1890s, Seattle was a raw city suspended between the modern power of the East Coast and the ancient power of China.Cassandra Thornton was a rarity among young women--unmarried, self-supporting, independent. Innocent. In one day her life changed.Jared Duran was a compelling man of intense passion, discipline, and intelligence. He told Cass that her unknown half-sister, Tea Rose, was being kept captive in a Chinatown pleasure house, and offered to help her free Tea Rose from her silk-lined slavery. Kingston Duran was Jared's brother. Like Jay, King had deep passion, but all he truly loved was the quest for gold. Yet women found the wildness in him irresistible. Both men wanted Cass.Tea Rose was a child, but she was no innocent. Trained in the arts of the "flowery battle" between Yin and Yang, woman and man, she had learned that sexuality was a weapon. And she used it well.The tangled lives of the Durans and the Thorntons led them from the gutters of Seattle to the savagery of the Klondike gold strike--and to an understanding of the many kinds of love.
544 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1990
About the author
Annalise Sun
2 books5 followersA pseudonym used by Ann Maxwell
aka Lowell Charters, Elizabeth Lowell, A.E. Maxwell with co-author/husband Evan Maxwell
aka Lowell Charters, Elizabeth Lowell, A.E. Maxwell with co-author/husband Evan Maxwell
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 10, 2012
"Tea Rose is a sing-song girl. A man’s naked body means no more to her than an unsaddled horse means to you."
After the death of her father Cassandra (Cass) Thornton leaves California's gold country to begin a new life in Seattle. A photographer like her father, Cass is commissioned to take photos of a ship owned by wealthy and oh-so-dishy businessman Jared Duran - but he's got more in mind than just courting a pretty female. Imagine her surprise when Jared tells her that her father had secretly married a famous Chineseprostitute courtesan and she bore him a daughter, and mother and daughter are the property of powerful tong leader Tan Feng. Jared is an old friend and *customer* of Lilac's, and she's asked him to get her daughter Tea Rose out of Chinatown before she's forced into the same life as her mother, and given into Cass's care. And once that dangerous plan is accomplished, just what do you do with a fourteen-year old who has been trained from day one on the sexual arts and thrown into a society that is anathema to her? Let alone keeping her hidden from a very ticked off Tan Feng who wants his property back.
The Chinese are very different from us. Not better, not worse, simply different. If you don’t know in your brain and in your belly just how different the Chinese culture is from your own, you won’t be able to do your half sister one goddamned bit of good."
Oh, but things are even more complicated because Jared's older brother Kingston (King) is back in town for a break from the gold fields and only has eyes for Cass. What's a girl to do? Pick Jason, the solid marrying kind, or devilish King who can't resist the lure of the next gold strike?
Yes, there's more to the story but I'm not telling. I really enjoyed this despite a few quibbles. There's plenty of action and a good solid love triangle, and the 1890s Seattle setting was a big plus for me (hometown and all), plus you don't find many novels taking you up to Skagway and Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush (what an auction that was!). While I enjoyed it and the Chinatown slave/prostitute angle, this might not suit every reader and I would definitely not recommended this book for younger readers. In particular, the Chinese characters discuss and participate openly in sexual activity and while the descriptions are somewhat understated compared to some of the sex we see in today's romances, much of this might offend those readers who prefer all things politically correct and sugar-coated. Those who complain about the use of the "N" word in Gone With the Wind need not apply here.
This book was originally published in 1990 under the author name Annalise Sun, and according to the blurb for the e-book it "has been revised and edited by Elizabeth Lowell". Without the original to compare it to, I don't know if these typos were missed from the first edition or came about during the conversion and that wasn't properly proofread. Either way, they deserve a mention:
"Hw reached out and"
"knew that knew was warning"
"With his collar open, his sleeves rolled up, and his jack swung"
"But even if she ws wrong"
There are more, but you get the drift. I can't complain as it was a freebie, but if I was paying list price I'd likely be a bit more annoyed. My final quibble was Jarod calling Chinatown by the name "International District" (at least 3-5 times by my count). The International District of Seattle is pretty much what the name implies - international. There are and were more Asian communities than just Chinatown, and just to be sure I wasn't missing the boat I contacted the nice folks at the Wing Luke Museum. I was told the name likely began in the 1950s, but it was most definitely not used in the 1890s. I tend to be more forgiving of factual errors in older books written before the days of instant information on the net, but since this book was "revised and edited" I'm sorry to see that it slipped through. Hopefully these can be fixed in later editions. Please.
Still, a good solid read and recommended for those interested in the period and subject matter - just don't say I didn't warn you about the subject matter, readers of wallpaper historicals should give this a pass. The author has also digitalized a couple more of her older historicals that look interesting: Golden Empire and Redwood Empire. But then again, you could always get the original paperback versions, it looks like there are plenty of used copies out there :)
ETA. I have been able to obtain a copy of the original paperback and the term International District is used there. If there are any further changes made to the new e-book edition, please please please fix that. Thank you.
After the death of her father Cassandra (Cass) Thornton leaves California's gold country to begin a new life in Seattle. A photographer like her father, Cass is commissioned to take photos of a ship owned by wealthy and oh-so-dishy businessman Jared Duran - but he's got more in mind than just courting a pretty female. Imagine her surprise when Jared tells her that her father had secretly married a famous Chinese
The Chinese are very different from us. Not better, not worse, simply different. If you don’t know in your brain and in your belly just how different the Chinese culture is from your own, you won’t be able to do your half sister one goddamned bit of good."
Oh, but things are even more complicated because Jared's older brother Kingston (King) is back in town for a break from the gold fields and only has eyes for Cass. What's a girl to do? Pick Jason, the solid marrying kind, or devilish King who can't resist the lure of the next gold strike?
Yes, there's more to the story but I'm not telling. I really enjoyed this despite a few quibbles. There's plenty of action and a good solid love triangle, and the 1890s Seattle setting was a big plus for me (hometown and all), plus you don't find many novels taking you up to Skagway and Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush (what an auction that was!). While I enjoyed it and the Chinatown slave/prostitute angle, this might not suit every reader and I would definitely not recommended this book for younger readers. In particular, the Chinese characters discuss and participate openly in sexual activity and while the descriptions are somewhat understated compared to some of the sex we see in today's romances, much of this might offend those readers who prefer all things politically correct and sugar-coated. Those who complain about the use of the "N" word in Gone With the Wind need not apply here.
This book was originally published in 1990 under the author name Annalise Sun, and according to the blurb for the e-book it "has been revised and edited by Elizabeth Lowell". Without the original to compare it to, I don't know if these typos were missed from the first edition or came about during the conversion and that wasn't properly proofread. Either way, they deserve a mention:
"Hw reached out and"
"knew that knew was warning"
"With his collar open, his sleeves rolled up, and his jack swung"
"But even if she ws wrong"
There are more, but you get the drift. I can't complain as it was a freebie, but if I was paying list price I'd likely be a bit more annoyed. My final quibble was Jarod calling Chinatown by the name "International District" (at least 3-5 times by my count). The International District of Seattle is pretty much what the name implies - international. There are and were more Asian communities than just Chinatown, and just to be sure I wasn't missing the boat I contacted the nice folks at the Wing Luke Museum. I was told the name likely began in the 1950s, but it was most definitely not used in the 1890s. I tend to be more forgiving of factual errors in older books written before the days of instant information on the net, but since this book was "revised and edited" I'm sorry to see that it slipped through. Hopefully these can be fixed in later editions. Please.
Still, a good solid read and recommended for those interested in the period and subject matter - just don't say I didn't warn you about the subject matter, readers of wallpaper historicals should give this a pass. The author has also digitalized a couple more of her older historicals that look interesting: Golden Empire and Redwood Empire. But then again, you could always get the original paperback versions, it looks like there are plenty of used copies out there :)
ETA. I have been able to obtain a copy of the original paperback and the term International District is used there. If there are any further changes made to the new e-book edition, please please please fix that. Thank you.
July 30, 2012
Majestic, enthralling. If you want a romance where you really don't know what will happen next, if you want a sweeping historical with very real socioeconomic forces at play, but with fierce characters, full of bravery and intelligence, if you want to take a hard look at human nature - hating it, loving it and accepting it - then this is the book for you.
April 22, 2013
Spoilers!
This was a piece of trash. Simply said. I don't know how to get past the detailed sexual escapades between a 14 year old girl, Tea Rose (trained concubine and daughter to another concubine Lillac Rain) and a 50 year old man, one time including her mother in the event. Disturbing on a number of levels, even more disturbing is the fact that once the main characters Jared Duran ( a condescending narcissist), King Duran (a free spirit yet wholly irresponsible), and Cass Thornton (Tea's half sister and complete wallflower) rescue this girl they make excuses for her inappropriate behavior in the free world as, eh she was trained to be a whore. Only Cass, who is proclaimed as innocent minded, I think shes just simple minded, actually believes a 14-16 year old girl should not behave that way and should be allowed to be a child. Another creep factor is that Cass, sleeps with King then once he takes off, sleeps with Jared who incidentally also slept with Lillac, her step mother, even though Cass didn't know of her existence till right before Lillac died. King ends up marrying Tea, though he has some sexual relations with her while she is 16, he's in his 30s. They all marry in a joint ceremony and live happily ever after. Rolls eyes.
The book was boring, I skipped a lot of the overly detailed mining specifics and of course the encounters between the pimp and the two concubines. I swear if I ever hear turtle head, jade stem or secret pearl again ill scream. I didn't like the main heroine, Cass, she just lacked that strong female role. She always seemed confused and overwhelmed and needy. Her shining points were the scene where she took photographs of the women and stood up to the villain pimp and the fact that she fought tooth and nail for her sister.
King was a waste of page to me. Not sure why he was even in the book.
Jared was like able but frustrating and very condescending. He basically spoke the future in the beginning of the book but no one had the mind to listen to him.
Tea Rose, at 14 she was trained to be a man's toy and at first I thought she was going to be a brat but she turned out to have common sense, more so then Cass. I think at one point both Jared and Tea point that put in front of Cass but I was in Cantonese so she didn't understand.
Before anyone rips me apart, I know this is based on how life really was for the Chinese during the gold rush and the laws and limits. But I didn't need chapter after chapter of reading then skipping how a little girl was pleasuring a grown man. A lot of it could have been cut shorter. It didn't keep the pace going and I had to force myself to finish. This is not typical of an Elizabeth Lowell novel. I love her work but not this. I would gladly read any book of hers and many of hers I've given 5 stars. This is one I wish I would have never read.
This was a piece of trash. Simply said. I don't know how to get past the detailed sexual escapades between a 14 year old girl, Tea Rose (trained concubine and daughter to another concubine Lillac Rain) and a 50 year old man, one time including her mother in the event. Disturbing on a number of levels, even more disturbing is the fact that once the main characters Jared Duran ( a condescending narcissist), King Duran (a free spirit yet wholly irresponsible), and Cass Thornton (Tea's half sister and complete wallflower) rescue this girl they make excuses for her inappropriate behavior in the free world as, eh she was trained to be a whore. Only Cass, who is proclaimed as innocent minded, I think shes just simple minded, actually believes a 14-16 year old girl should not behave that way and should be allowed to be a child. Another creep factor is that Cass, sleeps with King then once he takes off, sleeps with Jared who incidentally also slept with Lillac, her step mother, even though Cass didn't know of her existence till right before Lillac died. King ends up marrying Tea, though he has some sexual relations with her while she is 16, he's in his 30s. They all marry in a joint ceremony and live happily ever after. Rolls eyes.
The book was boring, I skipped a lot of the overly detailed mining specifics and of course the encounters between the pimp and the two concubines. I swear if I ever hear turtle head, jade stem or secret pearl again ill scream. I didn't like the main heroine, Cass, she just lacked that strong female role. She always seemed confused and overwhelmed and needy. Her shining points were the scene where she took photographs of the women and stood up to the villain pimp and the fact that she fought tooth and nail for her sister.
King was a waste of page to me. Not sure why he was even in the book.
Jared was like able but frustrating and very condescending. He basically spoke the future in the beginning of the book but no one had the mind to listen to him.
Tea Rose, at 14 she was trained to be a man's toy and at first I thought she was going to be a brat but she turned out to have common sense, more so then Cass. I think at one point both Jared and Tea point that put in front of Cass but I was in Cantonese so she didn't understand.
Before anyone rips me apart, I know this is based on how life really was for the Chinese during the gold rush and the laws and limits. But I didn't need chapter after chapter of reading then skipping how a little girl was pleasuring a grown man. A lot of it could have been cut shorter. It didn't keep the pace going and I had to force myself to finish. This is not typical of an Elizabeth Lowell novel. I love her work but not this. I would gladly read any book of hers and many of hers I've given 5 stars. This is one I wish I would have never read.
June 12, 2018
2 stars.
One of Elizabeth Lowell's earlier works. A bit too long and descriptive for my taste. The story involves two brothers who'd gotten rich from the gold rushes. King is the free-spirited and free-spending brother who's forever chasing the next gold discovery whilst Jared is the responsible one who used his gold to build an empire of railways, steamboats and factories.
Then we have the heroine Cassie, trained as a photographer by her dead father. She gets the surprise of her life when she's told she has a half-Chinese 14 yo sister Tea Rose by the well-known Chinese courtesan Lilac Rain. Lilac wants Cassie to free Tea Rose from brothel master Tan before Tea Rose is sold for her virginity.
The relationships between King, Jared, Cassie and Tea Rose are almost incestuous with both brothers having a romantic relationship with Cassie at different times and Tea Rose trying to seduce both brothers. Then there's the weirdly manipulative & sexual relationship between Tan with Lilac and the 14 yo Tea Rose.
There is a resolution of some sort but it's quite abrupt and unsatisfactory. You can see quite a bit of research has been made to bring to life San Francisco's Chinatown and the Alaskan Gold Rush during that period, but all in all, it's one of those books that you just don't feel it was entertaining.
One of Elizabeth Lowell's earlier works. A bit too long and descriptive for my taste. The story involves two brothers who'd gotten rich from the gold rushes. King is the free-spirited and free-spending brother who's forever chasing the next gold discovery whilst Jared is the responsible one who used his gold to build an empire of railways, steamboats and factories.
Then we have the heroine Cassie, trained as a photographer by her dead father. She gets the surprise of her life when she's told she has a half-Chinese 14 yo sister Tea Rose by the well-known Chinese courtesan Lilac Rain. Lilac wants Cassie to free Tea Rose from brothel master Tan before Tea Rose is sold for her virginity.
The relationships between King, Jared, Cassie and Tea Rose are almost incestuous with both brothers having a romantic relationship with Cassie at different times and Tea Rose trying to seduce both brothers. Then there's the weirdly manipulative & sexual relationship between Tan with Lilac and the 14 yo Tea Rose.
There is a resolution of some sort but it's quite abrupt and unsatisfactory. You can see quite a bit of research has been made to bring to life San Francisco's Chinatown and the Alaskan Gold Rush during that period, but all in all, it's one of those books that you just don't feel it was entertaining.
November 5, 2014
The detail to research done by this author is one of the things that draws me to her. She has a way of wishing you were there and not just visualizing it. Classic historical romance that I would recommend. If you've ever read a book that made you sigh out loud when you finished from satisfaction and sadness, because you didn't want it to end, this is it!
June 25, 2012
Good easy read.
January 24, 2014
I remember reading this book as a teen and falling in love with it! I have been looking for a copy to add to my library ever since.
Want to Read
March 17, 2012Free today
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews