317:. During the storm, Ellen attempted to remove the contents of the safe herself, but was trapped under the house and drowned. Little Henry decides that he will return to St. Thomas to once again attempt to open the safe but determines that his mother's remains will stay in St. Thomas, along with the remains of many other family members.
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Ellis visited St. Thomas for the first time in 2012 and was intrigued by the remains of the Fenton
Whitney home. Entering the crawl space beneath the elevated concrete foundation, he wondered what it would have been like for someone who left St. Thomas as a child to return more than 60 years later,
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Unfortunately, the safe is impossible to open. In frustration, Little Henry strikes the safe with a crowbar, inadvertently digging a small hole in the silt and knocking over his bottle of water, which spills into the hole. In the hole he finds a white object, which appears to be a large shell. He
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called it "a thrilling story where readers measure how much they value their rights and how far they're willing to fight for them. Ellis does a compelling job of showing the Lord family's nearly noble hopelessness in their fight to change a fait accompli, without capitulating to sentimentality."
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Further inspiration was provided by the story of Hugh Lord. Lord refused to leave St. Thomas until June 11, 1938, when the water was high enough for him to step out his front door into his boat. Then he set fire to his house and watched it burn. He was the last resident of St. Thomas to leave.
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In
Overton, Henry opens a new auto garage near his new home. His grandson continues to attend school and develops into a fine athlete, as well as an apt mechanic. Henry plans to give his business to his grandson, but Little Henry wishes to attend college in
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explains that drought has exposed the ruins of St. Thomas, underwater for six decades. Accompanying the story is a photo of the elevated concrete foundation of the Lord homestead. Little Henry sets off to find his father's safe.
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where he keeps his valuables, and makes Little Henry promise to safeguard the contents should anything ever happen to him. On July 6, 1935, Thomas falls to his death at the dam.
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is the story of tragedies leading to subsequent tragedies a thoughtful portrayal of the human consequences of major environmental changes," while Margot
Harrison of
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The elder Henry believes that water will never reach his home, and refuses the government's attempts to buy his land. However, Thomas takes a job with
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and remained underwater for 64 years. Due to ongoing drought, the ruins of the town permanently resurfaced in 2002. It is now located within
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masterfully couples a historic event with a classic coming of age story... a glimpse into the past and a glimmer of hope for the future."
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is both a terrific coming-of-age story and an exact and haunting evocation of a bygone time and place. What's more, it's a great read."
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Author Howard Frank Mosher, who selected the novel to be the inaugural winner of the book prize named in his honor, stated that "
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Two days later, on June 11, 1938, Henry sets his house on fire and leaves St. Thomas with Little Henry in the rowboat.
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It is now
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begins, flooding their house. Little Henry realizes he cannot reach the safe; worse, his mother has vanished.
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and what they might have left behind as a child that could be retrieved after six decades underwater.
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In 1933, six-year-old "Little" Henry Lord lives in the village of St. Thomas,
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entirely by Lake Mead following construction of the
Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
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necklace. He realizes that the white object is actually a part of her
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450:"St. Thomas Nevada, A - Sometimes - Underwater Ghost Town"
501:"St. Thomas residents knew progress doomed their town"
424:"Howard Frank Mosher Book Prize win a story in itself"
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452:. Lake Mead NRA - SunsetCities.com. Archived from
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250:below the family home. Here, he shows his son a
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309:begins to dig it out and uncovers his mother's
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679:Novels set in the Las Vegas Valley
344:Louis, the waiter at Sahara Saloon
202:Lake Mead National Recreation Area
176:The novel is set in the real-life
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192:. It was flooded in June 1938 by
329:Ellen Lord, his daughter-in-law
196:following construction of the
162:Howard Frank Mosher Book Prize
160:. The novel won the inaugural
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527:"Facing Down the Floodwaters"
396:wrote, "Beautifully written,
326:Henry Lord, an auto mechanic
265:becomes a favorite pastime.
552:"MBR: Reviewer's Bookwatch"
531:New England Review of Books
374:New England Review of Books
16:2018 novel by Jackson Ellis
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664:American historical novels
338:Mr. Whitmore, the postman
289:Yellowstone National Park
206:Valley of Fire State Park
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581:Historical Novel Society
505:Las Vegas Review-Journal
394:Historical Novel Society
301:Las Vegas Review-Journal
674:Novels set in Las Vegas
242:Living and working in
228:. St. Thomas is to be
689:Novels set in Montana
684:Novels set in Wyoming
164:in 2017, selected by
669:Novels set in Nevada
659:2018 American novels
507:. September 26, 2010
332:Thomas Lord, his son
22:Lords of St. Thomas
645:at jacksonellis.net
642:Lords of St. Thomas
631:Lords of St. Thomas
556:Midwest Book Review
480:With Love For Books
398:Lords of St. Thomas
392:Pam Ferrell of the
387:Lords of St. Thomas
382:Midwest Book Review
368:Lords of St. Thomas
166:Howard Frank Mosher
156:by American writer
149:Lords of St. Thomas
87:Green Writers Press
33:First edition cover
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182:St. Thomas, Nevada
694:2018 debut novels
456:on April 15, 2012
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106:Publication place
52:Nathaniel Pollard
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602:"Quick Lit"
263:Muddy River
248:crawl space
222:grandfather
198:Boulder Dam
98:April 10,
653:Categories
606:Seven Days
410:References
403:Seven Days
349:Background
321:Characters
178:ghost town
152:is a 2018
73:historical
636:Goodreads
385:stated, "
362:Reception
194:Lake Mead
190:Las Vegas
119:paperback
83:Publisher
611:June 19,
586:June 19,
561:June 18,
536:June 18,
511:June 18,
485:June 18,
460:June 18,
434:June 18,
428:VTDigger
315:skeleton
69:Literary
57:Language
285:Montana
261:on the
259:Fishing
230:flooded
172:Setting
117:Print (
60:English
218:Nevada
39:Author
184:, in
126:Pages
65:Genre
613:2019
588:2019
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311:gold
252:safe
212:Plot
135:ISBN
100:2018
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
