The Spoilers

A lucky strike by a pair of prospectors turns into a nightmare when crooked politicians attempt to steal their claim. Loaded with action and romance, this 1906 bestseller recaptures the excitement of the Gold Rush era, when thousands of prospectors headed to Alaska in hopes of finding riches. Miners, gamblers, and fortune-hunters of every description populate these pages, chasing their dreams among the rowdy camps and boom towns of the frozen north.


Author Rex Beach, known as the Victor Hugo of the North, based this novel on a true series of events involving the theft of Yukon gold mines by corrupt politicians. Beach seasoned the dramatic tale with incidents from his own experiences prospecting for gold in Nome at the beginning of the twentieth century. Five different movie versions of The Spoilers include versions with John Wayne and Gary Cooper in the role of the rugged hero.