As hopes for the Confederacy ebb, the sheltered daughter of a wealthy Savannah merchant finds herself escorting a shipment of family gold to safety in The Bahamas. She soon faces political intrigue, shipwreck and servitude in a makeshift island hospital of embittered Yankee and Rebel soldiers. Yes, disasters and pandemics do destroy lives. They can also shatter old ways of living and unearth hidden reservoirs of courage. This is the story of how they forged one young woman anew. "A compelling adventure." - Midwest Book Review Amelia's Gold will appeal to historical thriller readers. It is set in 1864 and tells of a young woman from Savannah who finds her world changed and her beliefs challenged during the Civil War. Amelia Beach lives in a circle of Southern society that exists on the cusp of war, conflict, and political challenges. Most eligible bachelors have gone off the war, so Amelia faces the prospect of being a spinster, at age twenty-six, by the time they may return home. Amelia is defiant about her future, but her involvement in the Confederate cause, family fortunes, and the impact of war changes her in many unexpected ways, moving her already-determined personality into a lifesaving mission that allows her to survive tragedy and remain alive when a shipwreck changes everything. The contrast between her privileged upbringing and perceptions of values in life and later events which destroy and challenge everything she believes in and holds dear contributes a powerful psychological element to the suspense tale. James D. Snyder excels at weaving together the disparate lives of people from different walks of life, brought together by circumstances not of their choosing. Amelia's feisty personality helps her navigate these conditions that women in her position rarely encounter, while Snyder's descriptions of her encounters and options captures her dilemmas and the contrast between opportunity and adversity. As her journey to Portsmouth Island and her involvement in a dangerous game leads her to assume a very different role in life than she'd ever dreamed, readers will be engaged by Amelia's dilemmas; engrossed by her tragedy, recovery, and progressive strength; and educated about the changing relationships between Union and Confederate forces and ordinary people on both sides. The result is a compelling adventure that blends a young woman's evolution and coming of age with the backdrop of a war that changes everything and a battle that goes beyond a struggle to survive, on many levels. Readers of historical fiction in general and Civil War events in particular will find Amelia's Gold rooted in a blend of real history and fictional drama designed to attract and hold attention to the end. The dates, places, and major events are all factual, further enhancing a drama that celebrates the strength of women who survive and evolve beyond any imagined role in society. -- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review. "A powerful historical novel." - FIVE STARS from Reader's Favorite. Amelia Beach is a strong woman for a southerner. Already in her twenties, her younger sister, Lucy, taunts her as no longer of marriageable age. Growing up in the wealth and privilege of a Savannah home, pampered by slaves, during the Civil War, it's rather unusual that Amelia's father would ask her to do something so risky as to accompany a trove of gold bars to a safe place, Nassau, to protect the family fortune from Yankee invaders. It's also unusual for a young woman in her position to travel alone, on a ship full of men. But these were unusual times and, with her brother a prisoner of war, there was no one else to ask. Little did Amelia or her father realize that the escape would be fraught with danger, both on the voyage as the ship ran the Yankee blockade, but also in Nassau where the community suffered deadly outbreaks of malaria, yellow fever, and smallpox. Then, a society girl from a wealthy Southern family suddenly finds herself marooned in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, tending to sick and dying patients, Yankees and Rebels alike. James D. Snyder's Civil War novel...looks at this troubling period in history from another angle not often considered: the blockade runners who tried to keep trade open with the south during the war. The main character, Amelia, is surprisingly strong for a southern belle. Her talents and intelligence help her endure the trials, hardships, and threats that plague her journey. The author has provided the reader with considerable historical insight into a difficult era in American history. His knowledge of the time period is obvious. The setting is well described and the plot is well defined. There are adventure and intrigue at every turn of the story and the reader is compelled to push forward to find a satisfying resolution if there ever was one in this era. A powerful historical novel. (Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite.) "Readers will relish thi