Luzena Stanley Wilson became a gold rush banker, storing gold dust in bread pans in her camp oven. Mary Graves survived cannibalism in the Sierras. Madame Moustache lost the love of her life, and her fortune, in a silver camp in Nevada. A storyteller wrote about the West to feed her children. With Great Hope tells the fascinating stories of twelve uncommon women, the significant events of the times, and the everyday occurrences of life in the gold camps. JoAnn Chartier is a thirty-five year resident of the Sierra foothills where so much of the Gold Rush history has been preserved. JoAnn is a writer, artist, and broadcast journalist who has presented special programs and feature stories on local history. Chris Enss is a writer and standup comic with an extensive background in radio and television. She has studied cinematography and journalism and has written more than 15 comedy screenplays and several speculative TV episodes. Chris currently lives in Nevada County where she enjoys researching and writing about the area’s history.
