Books › The Silverado Squatters
The Silverado Squatters
First published 1883 · 428 pages
A quiet, observant travelogue that captures the rustic romance of a honeymoon spent in a California ghost town.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like taking a slow, observant journey through 19th-century California. The pace is leisurely, matching the rhythm of a honeymoon retreat into the quiet isolation of a mountain ghost town. The narrative tone is reflective and deeply descriptive, lingering on the landscapes of the Napa Valley and the fading echoes of a once-bustling silver mining camp. It is an atmospheric experience steeped in rustic nostalgia, capturing the transition from city life to the rugged simplicity of a mountain cabin. The prose is focused on observation, painting vivid portraits of local neighbors and recounting historical tales of the region's glory days. This is a perfect read for those who delight in historical travelogues, quiet romance, and the lingering charm of abandoned places.
- Mood
- rustic
- nostalgic
- tranquil
- atmospheric
- Tone
- observational
- reflective
- romantic
- descriptive
- Pace
- leisurely
- Themes
- travel and observation · honeymoon romance · local history · ghost towns · rustic living
- The writing
- Descriptive and observant, capturing the landscapes of 19th-century California and the lingering echoes of its mining past.
- The arc
- A gentle transition from the movement of travel into the quiet, reflective stillness of a mountain retreat.
- Who it's for
- Readers who enjoy historical travelogues, vivid descriptions of early California, and quiet reflections on abandoned places.
About the book
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) traveled to California in 1879 in pursuit of Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, the Oakland woman with whom he had fallen in love in France. The two were married in the spring of 1880 and honeymooned in a cabin at Silverado, a mining ghost town on Mt. St. Helena. In the next fourteen years, Mrs. Stevenson nursed her husband while he produced the verses, stories, and books of travel and adventure that made him famous. Silverado (1888) tells the story of the newlywed Stevensons' trip to Silverado. Stevenson writes of their journey from San Francisco up the Napa Valley to Calistoga and then up the mountain to their goal. He describes their neighbors, and recounts tales of the town in its glory days as a silver mining camp.
Description from Open Library.
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