Home

31 Gold Diggers

Charlotte Gray
Ontario
Charlotte Gray,  Ontario

Charlotte Gray, one of Canada’s pre-eminent biographers, has won many awards for her writing, most notably the prestigious Pierre Berton Award for a body of historical writing. She is currently the Chair of Canada’s National History Society. Her new book, Gold Diggers: Striking it Rich in the Klondike, tells the story of the legendary Yukon Gold Rush of 1896 through the lives of six extraordinary individuals and offers a colourful and entertaining journey into a world gone mad for wealth. Read more

Close
Host: Kirk LaPointe
Presenter: Charlotte Gray in conversation with Kirk LaPointe
Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Studio 1398
$17 / $8.50 for student groups

One of Canada’s leading biographers and historians tackles the Klondike Gold Rush in a new and refreshing way, following six colourful figures in a world gone mad for wealth. The six—a priest, an entrepreneur, legendary Mountie Sam Steele, struggling writer Jack London, as well as a prospector and a journalist—are only a few of the 100,000 who flocked to the Yukon from around the world to create a frontier town peopled by desperados, dance-hall girls, miners and churchmen. Charlotte Gray loves to snoop in other people’s lives, and it shows in the energy that leaps off her pages. If only all history books were written like this one!

Suitable for grades 8 to 12

Bookmark and Share

View the study guide for this event.

Gold Diggers

One of Canada’s leading biographers and historians tackles the Klondike Gold Rush in a new and refreshing way, following six colourful figures in a world gone mad for wealth. The six—a priest, an entrepreneur, legendary Mountie Sam Steele, struggling writer Jack London, as well as a prospector and a journalist—are only a few of the 100,000 who flocked to the Yukon from around the world to create a frontier town peopled by desperados, dance-hall girls, miners and churchmen. Charlotte Gray loves to snoop in other people’s lives, and it shows in the energy that leaps off her pages. If only all history books were written like this one!

Curriculum Connection:

• evaluate material from several sources.
• develop research skills.
• analyze and develop characters based on research.

Activities:

1. Have students write a magazine article describing a meeting with one of the characters in Gold Diggers. Create a name for the magazine and a title for the article. The audience should be the type of person who would read the magazine you created.

2. Have students write a magazine article chronicling an encounter with any famous historical figure. Identify whether or not the person became famous before or after the meeting.

3. Have students write a biography on a famous writer by researching biographical information and his or her works.

4. Have students write a biography of a person in the current news.

Close