Forsaken Kings

Emma Spreckels is the only daughter of Claus Spreckels, "Sugar King" of San Francisco, and one of the richest men in the world. Emma is infatuated with the beauty of Hawai?i and its king, David Kalakaua. Emma is her father's favorite, but she learns there is a dark, ruthless side to his success. Claus rules with an iron fist and will destroy anyone who defies him, including the Hawaiian King and his own children. Trapped by others' expectations for her life, marriage, and her own feelings of inadequacy, Emma must choose between her duty to her parents and her personal happiness. Based on true events during the gilded age. "Beautifully rendered, and accurate" -John Briscoe Author and Director, San Francisco Historical Society on the portrayal of the city in the 1880s

"With exhaustive research and a storyteller's flair, Vincent Dicks offers a sweeping fictional narrative of one of the nation's most important and unjustly forgotten families." -Dr. Sandra Bonura author of Empire Builder: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego & California Sweet: The Life & Legacy of Claus Spreckels

"A masterful weaving of 19th-century newspaper articles and other reading into a grand story. It captures the essence of a Victorian girl becoming a woman within an almost forgotten social class system reflective of royalty." -Candace W. Lee former Archivist at Kamehameha Schools