Pale Truth

by Daniel Alef

Born into slavery in Georgia by a mother feared for being a voodoo queen, Mary Ellen is sent off to New Orleans by the plantation owners' wife to secure her education and financial future, and finds her destiny in San Francisco.

Genres: Historical Fiction

588 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Alef, the author, did ten years of research on this book. It is the story of Mary Ellen, born to a slave and with a white father, whose life eventually ended up in San Francisco during the gold rush and the days of the Barbary Coast. It is a fictional history with more truth than fiction. Most of his characters are real. Even his fictional characters are based on real people. Mary Ellen is based on Mary Ellen Pleasant. I would suggest reading the author's Afterward before reading the book. You will have a better understanding of what is true and what is fictional. Google Mary Ellen Pleasant and you will even gain a further understanding of the characters in his book.
He describes the politics of San Francisco as it was growing and became a state. I found myself getting so fascinated with the characters and the events that I would be looking them up on the computer and getting myself deeper into the history of San Francisco. This is the first in a series of three books. The second book is called Measured Swords which I have not read.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looked interesting from it's premise. Taking three differing characters and placing them in the newly founded state of California during the gold rush and follow them as they watch the city grow from a mud bog into one of Americas great cities. It's like a California book by James Michener book with a California swing. But it doesn't quite live up to it's promise. The characters are all a little too flat and are not deeply enough involved the historic events portrayed in the book to leave an impression. The premise was so well thought out and the book so well researched that it did not make the book a complete waste. In fact, I enjoyed it a great deal. But at the end of reading I felt it was too light weight and the cliff hanger did not leave me wanting to read more.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment to me. The premise sounded interesting: A mulatto slave who gets her freedom in adulthood and moves to California during the gold rush to start a new life. I liked reading about San Francisco in those days, but found the characters two dimensional; they never felt real, and the romance fell flat. I won't be reading the next two of the chronicle.......

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up on my Good Will tour as well. Sounded very interesting. Reviews are mixed but I'm always willing to try something out myself first....especially for 2.99 (hardback)

[David Vanness]

My copy is a 588 page hardback.

[Jeff Hilburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

long but interesting, good characters

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting historical fiction about San Francisco. Well researched but tedious at times.