“Rosenberg’s rollicking Western adventure strikes gold with a gutsy, good-hearted spitfire of a heroine and action aplenty.”
—THELMA ADAMS, bestselling author of Bittersweet Brooklyn and The Last Woman Standing
"Baby Doe's fortunes go from rags to riches and back to rags -- it is a real roller coaster ride. The author evokes the 1870s to 1890s with period details. I had no idea how rough mining conditions were for both miners and for the poor donkeys who worked in the mines. The frontier days of Colorado are vividly captured..." -Birdhouse Books
"Gold Digger tells the true story of Lizzie 'Baby Doe' Tabor, a beautiful young woman who in 1878 marries the son of a wealthy miner in order to save her family from penury. Shrewd and stubborn, Lizzie fights back-biting Victorian society, wins and loses vast fortunes, and bests conniving politicians in her larger-than-life story. A twisting tale worthy of Mark Twain, with a big-hearted heroine at the center. -—MARTHA CONWAY, author of The Underground River
"I could not. put. this. book. down. I fell hard for Baby Doe. She survived the ruination of her future dreams, the abandonment of her husband, the loss of her child through miscarriage, a divorce and the scorn of the local women. She wasn’t afraid of hard work or getting her hands dirty, and she didn’t give up on herself, for herself. This novel was such a beautiful reminder that life isn’t always a Disney movie. Sometimes, you have to walk through the mire. People might sneer at the mud on the hem of your dress, or make fun of you for having mud on your shoes. But oh, the victory when you make it through to the other side. The strength that you possess, the pride you feel for pushing yourself. And how I loved Lizzie for being the strength that I was needing in that moment." -Pursuing Stacie
"Epic love story. Fantastic depiction of late 1800s-early 1900s gold rush in Colorado. It was a wild time in history, but also opulence and riches beyond compare for the lucky few. Baby Doe experiences everything from infidelity, miscarriage, betrayal, abandonment, crooks and more and swears off men and marriage. -JAYMI COUCH, Librarian
"The Old West comes alive through Rosenberg’s descriptions of the gritty new state and its colorful inhabitants. Miners clad in sooty denim and bankers sporting pork chop sideburns cross paths and swill whiskey at the local saloons. Rosenberg’s research enables her to shine a light on lesser known aspects of Colorado’s past...Overall, she presents a sympathetic portrait of Baby Doe, despite her protagonist’s reputation as a gold digger, delivering a captivating saga based on the true story of a bold woman mining for romance and riches in the Old West. BlueInk Heads-Up: This book will particularly appeal to Colorado readers and fans of American Western historical fiction." - BlueInk Reviews
05/01/2019
Rosenberg's (The Secret Life of Mrs. London) rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of famed Baby Doe Tabor brings the Wild West to life, miners, dancehall girls, gunslingers, and all. Lizzie arrives in Colorado in 1878, newly married to Harvey Doe and willing to work his gold mine side by side with the miners, earning her the nickname "Baby Doe" for her delicate beauty. When she is abandoned by her husband, she proves an independent woman, a survivor, attracting the attention of silver mine tycoon Horace Tabor. Their love story is the focus of this historical novel, melodramatic as only real life can be and peopled by characters, famous and infamous in history—Doc Holliday, President Ulysses S. Grant, and Oscar Wilde, to name a few. A large cast of characters and plenty of drama propel a narrative with more action than deep characterization. The most memorable character is Baby Doe, a woman ahead of her time who forged a path, fueled by love and optimism. VERDICT Readers of biographical fiction, especially fans of Wild West tales, will appreciate this novel.—Barbara Clark-Greene, Westerly, RI
