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Bold Women of the 19th Century #4
Peddling Paradise
Another stand-alone novel from the bestselling author of The Bold Women Series
1863-Camille Kubilay is at the center of a nightmare. Peddling wares with her grandfather in the countryside of Kansas and Missouri, she is sucked into the whirlwind of hatred that is the American Civil War. Instead of armies doing battle here, Bushwhackers and Jay Hawkers exact their hatred and revenge on ordinary citizens. Her home becomes a land where bloodshed is commonplace and violent raids are applauded.
Fleeing in a wagon train to Denver brings even more disaster as Camille finds herself alone and destitute in a savage boom town. But she refuses to lose hope, seeking beauty and opportunity amid the chaos. Selling luxury goods to bordellos, her entrepreneurial talents soar, and peddling paradise to others becomes her passion. With grit and determination, Camille builds a retail empire that rivals the country’s biggest and most fashionable department stores. However, her hard-headed determination is challenged when she becomes infatuated with a writer and activist as willful as her. When he confronts the titans of the railroads, Camille is drawn into his dangerous world of exposing monsters and the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Join Amanda Hughes as she takes you from the turbulence of Civil War Kansas and the Denver brothels to the gilded, elegant world of America’s first department stores.
1863-Camille Kubilay is at the center of a nightmare. Peddling wares with her grandfather in the countryside of Kansas and Missouri, she is sucked into the whirlwind of hatred that is the American Civil War. Instead of armies doing battle here, Bushwhackers and Jay Hawkers exact their hatred and revenge on ordinary citizens. Her home becomes a land where bloodshed is commonplace and violent raids are applauded.
Fleeing in a wagon train to Denver brings even more disaster as Camille finds herself alone and destitute in a savage boom town. But she refuses to lose hope, seeking beauty and opportunity amid the chaos. Selling luxury goods to bordellos, her entrepreneurial talents soar, and peddling paradise to others becomes her passion. With grit and determination, Camille builds a retail empire that rivals the country’s biggest and most fashionable department stores. However, her hard-headed determination is challenged when she becomes infatuated with a writer and activist as willful as her. When he confronts the titans of the railroads, Camille is drawn into his dangerous world of exposing monsters and the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Join Amanda Hughes as she takes you from the turbulence of Civil War Kansas and the Denver brothels to the gilded, elegant world of America’s first department stores.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 2, 2024
Joan813
Another good read from Amanda Hughes. The author always seems to be able to weave historical events in her tales of bold women. This time it tells the story of the young Camille,a peddler of goods during & after the Civil War, her life in Denver selling to the local women of the bordellos & her eventual rise to respectability with her own department store in St Louis.Intertwined is a love story set against the background of the coming of age of the railroad & the hardships of those who built them. Be prepared to try to remember all the characters in this novel which seems to be a theme in all the author's books which sometimes drives me crazy but still a good read.
Another good read from Amanda Hughes. The author always seems to be able to weave historical events in her tales of bold women. This time it tells the story of the young Camille,a peddler of goods during & after the Civil War, her life in Denver selling to the local women of the bordellos & her eventual rise to respectability with her own department store in St Louis.Intertwined is a love story set against the background of the coming of age of the railroad & the hardships of those who built them. Be prepared to try to remember all the characters in this novel which seems to be a theme in all the author's books which sometimes drives me crazy but still a good read.
April 9, 2026
Moving
This is a great history lesson of the hardship of life I'm and after the civil war, and heroic strength women from that time through building the railroad, including cultural and political changes
This is a great history lesson of the hardship of life I'm and after the civil war, and heroic strength women from that time through building the railroad, including cultural and political changes
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews