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Daughter of Joy: A Novel of Gold Rush California (A Women of the West Novel)
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Daughter of Joy: A Novel of Gold Rush California (A Women of the West Novel)
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by Joann Levy
Sales Rank : 365256
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Paperback: 318 pages
Publisher: Forge September 1999
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812540298
ISBN-13: 978-0812540291
Product Dimensions:
6.5 x 4 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
From Booklist
With her large, unbound feet, Ah Toy travels to California during the booming Gold Rush days of the late 1840s with her master, who intends to sell her when they land; however, he dies on board ship, leaving the young Chinese woman at a loss. "Who will tell me what to do?" she wonders. When Norman As-Sing, the self-titled head of San Francisco's Chinese community, assumes ownership, she balks at his lowly merchant status, a cake seller who warrants no claim to her. With few choices of support, she becomes a prostitute, or a "daughter of joy." Due to her profession and As-Sing's continual interference, Ah Toy learns firsthand about the U.S. judicial system. She believes firmly that justice prevails and tries to convince other daughters of joy that courts here are different from those in China. Levy based this fictional tale on historical characters, particularly Ah Toy, the first Asian woman to stand up for her rights in a U.S. court. Jennifer Henderson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Review
"Levy has managed to put herself in the shoes of Ah Toy and express first her confusion, then her joy at her newfound freedom. Through Ah Toy she leads the reader through the noisy, dirty opium dens of San Francisco, to the luxurious 2,000-seat Jenny Lind Theater, to the gold fields of Weaverville. Levy has the unique ability to keep the reader completely entranced as she takes them on a colorful and entertaining journey through history." -- Placerville Mountain Democrat, Jan. 1, 1998
"Levy is a recognized expert on the history of women in California, especially this time period. Her first book was "They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush." But in this second book, she lends a richness to what could be fairly dry history by embellishing it with carefully researched period detail.a compelling read." -- Colorado Springs Gazette, Jan. 18, 1998
"San Francisco's astonishing history, its growing Chinese population, and the struggle of women to survive and achieve independencecome to life in this fast-paced novelMeticulous research based on eye-witness accounts." -- Gary Kurutz, Principal Librarian, California State Library
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