Le Piège d'or

by James Oliver Curwood, Louis Postif (Translator), Paul Gruyer (Translator)

Pierre Bréault, le chasseur de renards, est bouleversé : il vient de rencontrer, sur les étendues glacées du cercle arctique, Bram Johnson, l'homme-loup, celui que tous croyaient mort. Johnson avait jadis commis un crime et il avait disparu depuis, fuyant le regard des hommes, se rapprochant de plus en plus de sa horde de loups. Pierre le poursuit, sans réussir à le rejoindre ; mais il découvre un piège fabriqué avec les cheveux d'or d'une femme... Un magnifique roman d'aventures qui célèbre l'immensité du Grand Nord.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, American

192 pages, Pocket Book

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Born in Owosso, Michigan he left high school without graduating but was able to pass the entrance exams to the University of Michigan where he studied journalism. In 1900, Curwood sold his first story while working for the Detroit News-Tribune. By 1909 he had saved enough money to travel to the Canadian northwest, a trip that provided the inspiration for his wilderness adventure stories. The success of his novels afforded him the opportunity to return to the Yukon and Alaska for several months each year that allowed him to write more than thirty such books.

By 1922, Curwood's writings had made him a very wealthy man and he fulfilled a childhood fantasy by building Curwood Castle in Owosso. Constructed in the style of an 18th century French chateau, the estate overlooked the Shiawassee River. In one of the home's two large turrets, Curwood set up his writing studio. Curwood also owned a camp in a remote area in Baraga County, Michigan, near the Huron Mountains.

An advocate of environmentalism, Curwood was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission in 1926. The following year, while on a Florida fishing trip, Curwood was bitten on the thigh by what was believed to have been a spider and had an immediate allergic reaction. Health problems related to the bite escalated over the next few months and infection set in that led to his death from blood poisoning.

Interred in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Owosso, his Curwood Castle is now a museum. During the first full weekend in June of each year, the city of Owosso holds the Curwood Festival to celebrate the city's heritage . Also in his honor, a mountain in L'Anse Township, Michigan was given the name Mount Curwood, and the L'Anse Township Park was renamed Curwood Park.

Reviews

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phillip is an officer with the Royal Mounted in Canada, tracking down a rumor about a murderer named Bram who is hiding in the wilds. Bram is well known to be a madman, a murderer, and the owner of a pack of ferocious wolves. Phillip meets with an eyewitness who shows him a strange rabbit snare that Bram left behind. The snare is made from a woman's golden hair. This propels Phillip to travel into the wild and barren wastelands of the north, searching for an answer to the mystery of the golden hair.

I loved this adventure so much! I could barely put it down because the pacing is so fast and every chapter is full of suspense and action. I really loved the mystery of the women with the golden hair, and how Phillip is intrigued by her wild story. I was so entranced with the action scenes that I was pumping my fists and yelling, "Shoot him! Shoot that evil guy! Punch him! Yeah!" I felt like I was watching an action movie and getting all involved in the adrenaline of the moment.

There is a really lovely romance in this book as well. I thought it was really sweet and thoughtful how Phillip falls in love and then falls deeper and deeper in love as the story progresses. Everything is enhanced when you are out in the wilderness, fighting for your life and having adventures together. All the extraneous things are stripped away, and you are able to see into the raw truth of people's character and personality. So it's natural that people would fall in love in this raw and intense way. And yet Phillip is very introspective and reflects in a quick-thinking way, as he reacts to each new situation in the adventure and his feelings develop and change.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our hero, a Royal Canadian Police Officer finds mystery, adventure, and romance as he chases a giant madman, wanted for murder, who roams across the snow covered wilderness with his pack of actual wolves for sled dogs. I listened to this beautifully read novel as a free audio download from LibriVox.org.

[Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

good adventure story.....

[Kevin Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I live not far from Curwood's hometown of Owosso, with its unique Curwood Castle, I've been interested in getting to know his books. I've tried to read several, but this is the only one that grabbed me and held my interest straight through to the end. In 'The Golden Snare', he doesn't rely upon a cute animal to hold the reader's interest ('The Country Beyond') or upon preposterous coincidence ('The River's End'). He just tells a thrilling adventure story, set in the bleak Canadian north, featuring a classic damsel in distress and a mysterious, almost mythic, mad outlaw to be hunted down. It took me several pages to tune into Curwood's antique style, but, once I did, I couldn't put this book down.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madman loose with the RCMP on his trail. Mystery romance with strange ending. Read by (Librivox) Roger Melin. Intricately crafted.

[Gregg Rosenbery · Rating 5 out of 5]

A True Classic

So glad that i decided to venture back in time to read James Oliver Curwood. These great stories of nature, the North, and human survival are amazing to read.

[Jennifer Booth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as good as

Not as good as his other books. Although it dud have action, but it lacked some wholesome elements like his other books

[Pawel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic. One of the best. Intriguing figure of Bram Johnson

[ForestGardenGal · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few frontiersman stories that stands the test of time.

Starts slowly, and in narrative style, but if you make it to Chapter 3, it really picks up fast, and it ends up being one of those short novels you absolutely can't put down until the end. Short, well written, exciting, with an unexpected twist at the end. Well worth the time.

[Fei.R]

A really entertaining book, loved it.