Gold Diggers of the Klondike explores beyond the myths of the dance-hall girls and prostitutes of the Klondike gold rush, and uncovers the stories of the women who “mined the miners.” In chronicling prostitution in Dawson city during the height and the decline of the rush, Ryley reveals that sexuality is an important aspect of the history of the Canadian frontier.
News & Reviews
“Bay Ryley puts a refreshing spin on an old Canadian story. This sensitively written account of “vice” in the Klondike challenges the view that the gold rush was a men-only affair, and treats the dance-hall girls and prostitutes with candour and respect.” –Karen Dubinsky, Department of History, Queen’s University
“Gold Diggers of the Klondike does exactly what good history should do. It forces us to look again at events we thought we understood and to see them again from a whole new perspective.” –Daniel Francis, author of National Dreams: Myth, Memory and Canadian History
About the Author
Bay Ryley is a writer and editor from Toronto. Four summers spent in Whitehorse, Yukon, captured Ryley’s interest in the infamous can-can girls and prompted her book Gold Diggers of the Klondike.
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