This is a historical novel about the era of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, so while not every detail is true, it definitely gives a feeling for what it was like trying to rebuild the city with everyone out for himself of herself. It especially aimed the light of reality on what it was like at that time for women of any race and for any people who were races other than white or were racially mixed. I had no idea there was even a female architect involved in rebuilding the city but there surely was! Very interesting! I'm not sure where I picked up the recommendation for this book, though it was definitely one of the book blogs I read. I am so glad I did, however, as this was a fantastic book.The book centers on a young woman, Amelia Bradshaw, who is the second woman to graduate with an architecture degree in Paris, as she returns to her beloved San Francisco in 1906 only to find that her father has wrongfully and illegally gambled away the hotel that was her home and inheritance from her grandfather. Women's rights are still in flux, however, and a judge upholds the right of J.D. Thayer to keep the hotel that he won in a game of poker even though it wasn't Amelia's father's property to gamble. Shortly after this turn of events, the great 1906 earthquake strikes, destroying the hotel atop Nob Hill along with most of the rest of San Francisco. Amelia is hired to design and rebuild the hotel, despite her history with J.D., and the book follows the year that it takes to complete the building.The setting is marvelous, with accurate and gripping descriptions of the city both before and after the great quake. In addition to Amelia and her insistence on women's rights, there is quite a lot of detail around immigrant rights (specifically Chinese workers), corruption in city government, gambling and extortion, and how important blue blood can be. While Amelia is a fictional character, the real person of Julia Morgan is present in the story and a phenomenal person as written and in real life. There is some romance, lots of blood, and plenty of moral outrage - with just enough of a hint of change to keep the tone hopeful instead of depressing.I greatly enjoyed this book, it was absolutely fantastic. I recommend it to anyone who likes strong female characters, the city of San Francisco, or disaster recovery stories. This is one of the few books I've read this year that will make it onto my Favorites shelf.
What do You think about Race To Splendor (2011)?
Too much on the architecture and not enough on the characters and their relationships
—ashcariba
woman architect rebuilding San Francisco after 1906 earthquake
—mlawson
