King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell

Product Details

Synopsis

While awaiting trial for murder and withholding from the king the obligatory fifth of the gold found in Cibola, Esteban, a seventeen-year-old cartographer, recalls his adventures with a band of conquistadors.

Children's Literature

Scott O'Dell (1898—1989), the much-honored author of historical fiction, received a Newbery Honor for this insightful take on Spanish conquistadors in the New Spain of the 1540s. Their no-holds-barred lust for gold is seen through the eyes of fifteen-year-old cartographer Esteban de Sandoval as he joins mutineers in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. In company with the vicious Captain Mendoza, Zia—their Indian girl translator—and the well-meaning Father Francisco, Esteban maps the journey of search and warfare from the Gulf of California through the badlands and deserts of the southwest to the Grand Canyon and beyond. He tells his story in flashbacks while imprisoned and on trial for treason to the king of Spain. O'Dell does his own mapping of Esteban's character, subtly revealing the gold madness that almost destroys this basically decent young man. It's a bravura performance on O'Dell's part, and the long out-of-print book is very welcome back.

Biography

Scott O'Dell (1898-1989), one of the most respected authors of historical fiction, received the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, and the Hans Christian Andersen Author Medal, the highest international recognition for a body of work by an author of books for young readers. Some of his many books include The Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Road to Damietta, Sing Down the Moon, and The Black Pearl.