Books by Shirley Kennedy

The ramshackle River Queen Hotel is home to vagabonds, gamblers, and heathens-and now, to new widow Rose Peterson. The rundown Gold Rush establishment is the only thing her late husband, Emmet, left her. Despite its raucous saloon and ladies of the evening, Rose can see the hotel''s potential. Her late husband''s family claim that sheltered Rose isn''t capable of running the Sacramento inn herself. But she is determined to make a new life for herself and her young daughter, even if it means flying

Letitia Tinsley's well-ordered spinster life is thrown into chaos when she learns her beloved brother has mysteriously disappeared from his gold mining claim in California. Determined to discover the truth, Letty sets out on the treacherous journey west. But there's only one thing more perilous than a single lady traveling alone into the rugged frontier-and that is sharing the passage with Garth Morgan. The wealthy bachelor is astoundingly arrogant-and dangerously handsome. Worse, Letty is forced to lean on his strong shoulders, again and again...  Humbled by the harrowing expedition, Garth resolves to keep Letty safe-though the courageous beauty is unwilling to give an inch when it comes to trusting him. Still, despite her defiant resistance, he's ready to stand with her as she faces the truth about her missing sibling. And by the time they reach California, Garth is determined to stake his own claim on the lovely Miss Letty-if only she will let him...

In her midtwenties, Shirley was diagnosed with manic depression-now called bipolar disorder-and lithium was prescribed as the treatment. Her doctor delivered a prognosis that read like a death sentence. She did not believe it. Shirley refused to accept both the diagnosis and treatment, and for three and a half years lived symptom free. Then came the second episode. The reality of the original assessment struck her a forceful blow as she realized she had no explanation for the woman she became in these episodes. So who was she? Shirley became determined to know and understand how she developed this illness and what needed to change in order for her to enjoy soundness of mind all the time. A Rose in the Desert is based on the true-life story of a woman who believed there had to be a way to be well and when she found it would share it with others.

1850. Lucy, a pampered New Englander, is dragged by her husband and cold-hearted brother-in-law on a wagon train bound for California. The first casualty of the arduous trek is her husband. Lucy longs to return home, but that would mean abandoning her little stepson. How fortunate then that rugged Clint Palance, a former trapper and Indian scout, is watching over them both! As the journey progresses, Lucy faces deprivation, heartache, hardship, and more death. Then, with California just around the bend, Lucy must part from Clint. Will she find him again? Or must she return to a dull life in Boston, forsaking forever the beautiful West she has grown to love?

After the death of her abusive husband, Sarah Gregg is free to join her family along with thousands of others in the nation's westward march for gold. But in the middle of the hard journey, Sarah's younger sister, Florrie, disappears. Devastated by the family's failed attempts to find her missing sister, Sarah now wants only to settle into a quiet, uneventful life when she reaches California . . .But Jack McCoy, a drifter and one-time gambler riding along their wagon train, sees so much more for Sarah. In the roaring mining town of Gold Creek his attentive persistence points Sarah toward new vistas. Then unexpected news of Florrie arrives-and it's worse than anyone expected. But driven by a new hopefulness, Sarah seeks help from Jack, despite his troubled past. The two have traveled a rough road together, and only their hearts can tell them where they are headed . . .