Last month I was at the Paradise Chocolate Fest, on Authors’ Row, sharing a table and selling books with ANCHR. There I met another author and I liked the look of her book so much I bought a copy.

The author is Jenifer E. Rowe and the book is Madam Pantaloons: Gold Rush Pioneer. The book, written for young readers, tells the true story of an independent woman in early California.

Jeanne Marie Suize was a native of France and came to California with her brother in 1850. They went to the goldfields at Jackson, Amador County, to mine for gold.

Marie soon discovered that placer mining in a dress and petticoats was awkward. Her cumbersome garments made work in a streambed difficult, and it ruined her clothing. Trousers and boots were much more suitable. The miners started calling her “Madam Pantaloons.”

Marie didn’t care that there were laws in place that forbade women to wear men’s clothing. She was arrested and told to put on a dress, but she persisted in her independent ways. She was a woman who lived life on her own terms.

Marie Suize had a head for business. She not only engaged in mining, but also saw the potential for grape-growing and wine-making in California. In partnership with a man named Andre Douet, she developed a vineyard, winery, and shops selling their products in San Francisco and Virginia City, Nevada.

Little else is known of Madame Suize. She died on January 8, 1892 and is buried at Jackson.

Jenifer Rowe has sought out every scrap of information on Jeanne Marie Suize, but the information is scant. She fills out her short book with useful information on transportation, mining, camp life, and women’s roles in Gold Rush California.

Both young readers and adults will enjoy getting to know “Madam Pantaloons.” We need books that show the diversity of early California’s population and this is one book that fills the bill. The book is available from Barnes & Noble.