12 h 11 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 11 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a city of sudden fortunes, an old grudge can put far more than money at risk.
The Apple of Discord by Earle Ashley Walcott takes you into Gilded Age San Francisco, a city of new wealth, old feuds and hidden plans. Gold, silver, railways and shipping form the backdrop to an adventure where people struggle to keep their footing amid rivalry and intrigue.
The title recalls the Greek myth of a golden apple that starts a quarrel and leads to war. That image sets the mood for a tale of grudges, conspiracy and survival. At its heart is the pressure of bitter conflict, where safety, reputation and loved ones can all be at stake.
What you’ll discover
- A city of fortunes Enter a San Francisco where sudden wealth sits alongside old grudges and hidden plans.
- Trouble that takes root Explore the uneasy idea that a small dispute can grow into a lasting feud.
- Plans beneath the surface Follow the pull of conspiracy in a world where trust is thin and alliances matter.
- More than luck Consider what survival demands when a quarrel threatens safety, reputation and those held dear.
- An older adventure tradition Settle into Walcott’s period storytelling, with its mix of city intrigue, rivalry and danger.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like adventure told with humor, if you are curious about gold rush San Francisco, or if you love a villain you enjoy disliking.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An old feud sends a young lawyer spying
- A borrowed coat points toward Chinatown
- The House of Blazes shelters the Council of Nine
- Big Sam holds a court over one girl
- Moon Ying changes the Kendrick household
- Bolton's money and bribes spread through the city
- Panic on the Exchange and a mob at the door
- Money, loyalty and the price of a man
- Race, labor and the fear behind the mob
- A comic voice carries a story of danger
Who’s who
- Arthur HampdenA young, witty lawyer and the narrator, hired to spy on a rival, who finds himself defending a household and a city.
- Wharton KendrickA genial millionaire with red side-whiskers who has fought Peter Bolton since boyhood and wants to protect his fortune and his niece.
- Peter BoltonA thin, sarcastic financier who wants to ruin Kendrick and will pay agitators, spies and bribes to do it.
- Laura KendrickKendrick's quick-witted niece, newly home from school in the East, who insists on facing every danger with open eyes.
- Big SamThe polished, secretive leader of Chinatown who plays one side against another to protect his people and pursue a grand dream.
- Moon YingA young Chinese girl, wounded in her rescue, who wants a safe life and a say in her own marriage.
- ParksAn educated, fiery revolutionary who longs to rouse the workers and also to win Mercy Fillmore.
- Mercy FillmoreA gentle charity worker who cares for Moon Ying and hopes to steer Parks away from trouble.
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La mela della discordia
A young lawyer spies on a millionaire's old rival and lands in a Chinatown court, a market war and a mob siege.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with medium classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
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In short
What happens when a feud older than California boils over in a city already on edge? In The Apple of Discord, a young lawyer named Arthur Hampden ends up holding the overcoat of a man who has just tried to stab him.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An old feud sends a young lawyer spying
Colonel Wharton Kendrick and Peter Bolton have hated each other since boyhood in an Ohio village. Hampden does not know how it began. Hampden has heard a dozen versions, from a fight over a red apple to a rivalry over a village beauty. Both men are now rich, and the quarrel has grown with their fortunes.
Kendrick has heard that Bolton is preparing a surprise. Once before Bolton seized the Golden West Land and Water Company from under him. So Kendrick asks Hampden, the son of his dead friend, to watch the old man and report.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 7 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Walcott, Earle Ashley. The Apple of Discord. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-apple-of-discord.
Walcott, E. A. (2026). The apple of discord. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-apple-of-discord
Walcott, Earle Ashley. The Apple of Discord. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-apple-of-discord.
@book{walcott2026apple,
author = {Walcott, Earle Ashley},
title = {The Apple of Discord},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-apple-of-discord}
}
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What is The Apple of Discord about?
It follows a young San Francisco lawyer, Arthur Hampden, hired to spy on his client's old enemy, Peter Bolton. The task draws him into a Chinatown intrigue, a plot by radicals, a financial war and a mob siege in 1877.
Is The Apple of Discord a true story?
No, the main characters and plot are invented. The setting is real, the summer 1877 riots and the Committee of Safety, and real figures such as Denis Kearney and William T. Coleman appear, though the author admits shifting a few dates.
Who is Big Sam in The Apple of Discord?
Big Sam is the wealthy, educated leader of San Francisco's Chinatown, also called Kwan Sam Suey. He speaks perfect English, rules the tongs by cunning, and has plans for his people that Hampden only partly understands.
The author
Earle Ashley Walcott
1859–1931 · American journalist and novelist
Earle Ashley Walcott was an American writer who lived from 1859 to 1931. He worked as a journalist in San Francisco, California, and wrote novels. His books include The Apple of Discord and Blindfolded. Blindfolded was published in 1906. His writing career extended into the early twentieth century.
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