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Speculative wealth in undeveloped land breeds lifelong delusion

Squire Silas Hawkins sits in the impoverished settlement of Obedstown, Tennessee, fixated on seventy-five thousand acres of unimproved wilderness he purchased for a pittance. He convinces himself that this vast tract will inevitably make his children rich beyond measure, ignoring his immediate poverty. A letter from his friend Beriah Sellers arrives, urging the Hawkins family to abandon Tennessee and join him in Missouri to pursue grander commercial opportunities.

Technological progress brings both high speed and sudden destruction

Journeying westward along the Mississippi River, the Hawkins family boards the steamboat Boreas. The vessel enters a reckless, high-stakes race with a rival steamboat, the Amaranth, pushing steam boilers past safe operational limits. Disaster strikes when the Amaranth explodes in a catastrophic burst of fire and debris, devastating the ship and leaving surviving passengers scrambling amidst the wreckage.

Tragedy on the river creates new family ties

Enslaved river worker Uncle Dan'l interprets the distant, glowing steamship approaching in the darkness as an apocalyptic manifestation of divine judgment. Following the horrific wreck of the Amaranth, Silas and Nancy Hawkins discover an orphaned young girl named Laura wandering near the shore. They immediately adopt Laura into their household, combining her fate with their own children despite their fragile financial standing.

Grand economic visions can mask total material poverty

Arriving in Hawkeye, Missouri, the Hawkins family visits Colonel Beriah Sellers, who exudes unbounded enthusiasm for speculative enterprises despite owning almost nothing. Sellers hosts them in a meager home where a tallow candle burning inside a cold stove simulates warmth, and raw turnips with water are served as a feast. He speaks passionately of millions to be made in speculative railroads and city lands while living in extreme austerity.

Book

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

A biting satire of post-Civil War American greed, political corruption, and speculative schemes that ruin lives for imaginary fortunes.

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