Bret Harte's Gold Rush: "Outcasts of Poker Flat," "The Luck of Roaring Camp," "Tennessee's Partner," and Other Favorites - Softcover

These fifteen stories bring the California Gold Rush to life with their boisterous assemblage of rough-clad miners, pistol-packing preachers, iron-willed women, and philosophical gamblers. Theirs was an unpredictable world, filled with gold strikes and freak tragedies, when the wisdom of the gambler sometimes counted for more than that of the preacher. A master storyteller, Harte weaves tales that seem to come directly from the campfire, where the spinning of yarns and swapping of lies were the highest form of entertainment.

Francis Bret Harte (August 25, 1836-May 5, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. His first collection of stories was published in 1867, and the following year he contributed "The Luck of Roaring Camp" to the Overland Monthly. The first western writer to become popular on an international scale, his writings helped shape the world's perception of the Old West.