Nathaniel Philbrick is bringing his latest historical epic to New Bedford next month, with a talk that ties California's Gold Rush directly back to the city's own whaling past. The bestselling author will appear at Steeple Playhouse on William Street on November 18 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to discuss his new book, The Rush, as part of an evening that includes a question-and-answer session and a book signing.
The event, hosted by Spinner Publications as it marks its 45th anniversary, is being billed per Spinner as a relaxed cocktail-party atmosphere with beverages and hors d’oeuvres, according to 1420 WBSM. Copies of The Rush will be available for purchase and signing at the venue, and tickets are $40 through Spinner Publications' website. Philbrick, who lives on Nantucket, has said he feels a close connection to New Bedford, the outlet reports.
A 45th-Anniversary Author Series Comes to a Close
Philbrick's appearance caps a four-part author talk series Spinner Publications organized throughout the year to mark its 45th anniversary, according to the New Bedford Guide. The series opened in January with former New Bedford Mayor John Bullard and continued in August with author Ben Shattuck before closing out with Philbrick in November.
The venue itself carries its own story of civic reinvention. Steeple Playhouse opened in November 2023 after an 11-year, $3 million restoration that converted the historic 1830s First Baptist Church into a performing arts venue, according to One SouthCoast Chamber. Its main hall seats up to 261 guests in preserved 19th-century church pews, a feature kept intact to satisfy requirements for state historic tax credits, per the New Bedford Light. The nonprofit community theater company Your Theatre, Inc., which now manages the playhouse, had operated in the city for more than 75 years before finally securing a permanent home there in 2023, the Light notes.
Five Years of Research Behind The Rush
Philbrick describes his approach to history as narrative history, telling WBSM that story is the best way to convey what actually happened in the past. He said roughly 75 percent of his time on any book goes toward research, with only 25 percent spent writing, and that he draws his facts and figures from archives and historical journals rather than inventing scenarios or dialogue.
The Rush, published by Penguin Random House on October 6, is Philbrick's 13th book and the product of about five years of work, he told the station. It covers California gold, the Civil War, and what Philbrick calls the making of the modern world, and he said the research proved especially challenging because his own understanding of the events shifted substantially as he dug deeper — calling it, in the end, one of his most rewarding books to write.
How Gold Fever Pushed the Nation Toward Civil War
Central to Philbrick's telling is how the discovery of gold in California in 1848 helped accelerate the sectional tensions that led to the Civil War. In the book, he details how political rivals David Broderick and William Gwin clashed over California's statehood and slavery policies, according to Penguin Random House. Philbrick told WBSM that the gold rush was directly connected to the lead-up to the Civil War, coinciding with new technologies like the telegraph, trains, and steamships that were transforming the world and speeding up the pace of life.
The United States had nearly doubled in size after the Mexican-American War, and California's bid to enter the union as a free state threatened the existing balance of where slavery was legal, per WBSM's account of Philbrick's remarks. The South demanded concessions in response, including the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Philbrick is also well known for earlier works including In the Heart of the Sea: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex and The Mayflower and the Pilgrims' New World; he won the National Book Award in 2000 for In the Heart of the Sea, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006 for Mayflower, and won the George Washington Prize for Valiant Ambition, according to the Providence Athenaeum.
New Bedford's Own Stake in the Gold Rush
The subject matter is not purely a national story for New Bedford. During the 1849 Gold Rush, dozens of New Bedford whaling vessels and their crews abandoned Pacific whaling grounds to haul gold-seekers and goods to San Francisco, according to the Mariners' Museum and Park. Many of those New Bedford ships that reached San Francisco in 1849 were simply abandoned along the city's mudflats, repurposed as temporary hotels, storeships, or even prisons, the museum notes.
Readers curious to trace that maritime legacy closer to home can turn to New Bedford Pathways, a series of app-based walking tours covering the city's architecture and former residents, produced by New Bedford Preservation Society administrator Pat Daughton. The tours use mobile GPS mapping to guide visitors through historic districts and Underground Railroad sites, according to WBSM.
