LADIES OF THE GOLDFIELD STOCK EXCHANGE BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION GUIDE The three protagonists—Meg Kendall, Tess Wallace, and Verna Bates—were an unlikely trio. What factors brought them together? How does the role of women in business today compare with women in 1906? Setting can often define a novel. Could the events of Ladies have occurred in 1906 in another section of the country? If not, why not? Why did the men of Goldfield tolerate the women's mining stock exchange? In the end the futures of the protagonists are left to speculation. What would Meg Kendall have done with her winnings? Did Jimmy earnest go on to work in the mines? Did the relationship between Tess Wallace and Vic Ajax continue? RESEARCH NOTES An article in a 1907 issue of the Los Angeles Times about a women's stock exchange established in desert town of Goldfield, Nevada at the height of that mining camp's gold rush was the basis for the novel. The gold rush was a creature of the 20th century. Automobiles competed with mule teams to haul freight. Electric lights shone next door to kerosene lamps. Telephones relayed news of the latest gold finds. Across the country, one of five women was employed outside the home. Thirteen percent of women living in the American West were professionals—doctors, lawyers, engineers. Women could buy and sell stock through a broker for a fee. But they were cut off from "making the market" (selling shares of new mining ventures). As eager to make money as men, women took the logical next step and founded their own exchange.