Green Gold

Green Gold combines meticulous research with the fictional narrative of plant hunter John Jeffrey’s lost journals, revealing an extraordinary adventure.

In 1850 young Scottish plant hunter John Jeffrey is despatched by an elite group of Victorian subscribers to seek highly-prized exotic tree species in North America. An early letter home tells of a 1,200-mile transcontinental journey on foot.

Later, tantalising botanical samples arrive from British Columbia, Oregon and California, yet early promise soon withers. Three and a half years after setting out, John Jeffrey disappears without a trace.

Was he lost to love, violence or the Gold Rush?

2nd Edition

Green Gold: The Epic True Story of Plant Hunter John Jeffrey. Published with Wood Wide Works. The 2nd Edition (2026) has been updated by the author, distributed only in ebook format (EPUB).
Available to download from my Shop.

Ist Edition

Green Gold: The Epic True Story of Victorian Plant Hunter John Jeffrey. Published with Unbound in spring 2019.  ISBN: 9781789650235. Now out of print but I have a limited stock myself, all signed.

“a wonderful book!  . . . a really remarkable combination of research, detective work, botanical expertise and imaginative writing.”

Fiona Stafford, Professor of English at Oxford University and author

“. . . a masterly told story of a noble quest against fearsome challenges . . .”

Michael Layland, for The Ormsby Review

---

Read more from my archives about GREEN GOLD