Dreams of Gold

The author of By Blood Divided immediately pulls the reader into this steadily absorbing saga of two Jewish cousins who emigrate from London to New Orleans in 1851. Nathan and Leonora Solomon--both young, idealistic and orphaned--are fleeing lives of drudgery and the domination of their avaricious uncle. A shipboard friendship with a swaggering Irish bully leads to a fateful encounter with a New Orleans cotton merchant, who then draws the cousins into his warm, assimilated Jewish family. Nathan and Leonora plunge into a high-spirited and opulent way of life, and each conducts a deeply felt but ill-fated romance with a member of the socially prestigious but anti-Semitic Vanson clan. Prejudice dogs the cousins as they go to Atlanta, where Nathan founds a dry-goods store after surviving an incredible Civil War adventure, and where Leonora reclaims her Jewish heritage. The family thrives, but a tragedy grounded in historical events slowly develops. Orde colors the historical background with interesting details, and although he occasionally veers into bathos and melodrama, he relates the story with commendable urgency; readers will find a surprise on almost every page. (Jan.)