Project Gutenberg 2004-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 298 Hume, Fergus 1859 1932 Hume, Ferguson Wright Hume, Fergus W. (Ferguson Wright) Madame Midas Text file produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team HTML file produced by David Widger "Madame Midas" by Fergus Hume is a novel written in the late 19th century that explores themes of ambition, betrayal, and the consequences of wealth. The story opens with vivid descriptions of a desolate Australian coastline and introduces two men, one a cunning Frenchman and the other his mute companion, who have escaped from a French prison. Their arrival on this inhospitable land sets the stage for their pursuit of fortune, particularly in the context of gold mining, highlighting the desperate and often treacherous nature of their ambitions. The opening of "Madame Midas" presents a dramatic and atmospheric setting, introducing the characters in two parallel narrative arcs. Initially, we follow the escapees as they arrive at the Australian shores, driven by dreams of wealth and freedom. This is juxtaposed with the backstory of Robert Curtis’s daughter, Mrs. Villiers, who has rebuilt her life and achieved respectability as a gold mine owner after a tumultuous marriage. The stage is set for conflict as her estranged husband returns seeking to reclaim power over her, while new characters enter her life, indicating the intertwined fates driven by their aspirations and the quest for fortune that defines their existence in the gold-rush era of Australia. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.4 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Australia -- Fiction Mineral industries -- Australia -- Fiction PR Text Category: Historical Novels Category: Novels 738923 2025-07-02T12:46:40.366876 text/html 779063 2021-01-27T05:41:43 text/html 323647 2025-07-02T12:46:49.047892 application/epub+zip 335471 2025-07-02T12:46:42.500899 application/epub+zip 335470 2025-07-02T12:46:41.235888 application/epub+zip 580956 2025-07-02T12:46:54.214800 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 536143 2025-07-02T12:46:48.216880 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 504257 2022-09-03T05:03:42.069829 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 634870 2025-07-02T12:46:39.006924 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 634705 2016-11-08T11:35:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 620311 2014-01-23T08:18:26 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 9757 2013-06-30T08:33:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21567 2025-07-02T12:46:54.344807 application/rdf+xml 12048 2025-07-02T12:46:41.731880 image/jpeg 3147 2025-07-02T12:46:41.482859 image/jpeg 234897 2016-11-08T11:37:52 application/octet-stream application/zip 248131 2021-01-27T05:41:43 application/octet-stream application/zip 233035 2014-01-23T08:26:08 application/octet-stream application/zip 315039 2025-07-02T12:46:40.416941 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia