The Wind Leans West

In this expansive historical novel, August Derleth traces the life and career of Alexander Mitchell, whom the Scotsman George Smith in 1839 appointed to run the Wisconsin Marine & Fire Insurance Company. Arriving in the frontier town of Milwaukee, Mitchell succeeds in establishing the firm as a sound and legitimate company that aids in the development of the city. But other parties—notably Elisha Butterick, who operates an array of “wildcat” banks that unscrupulously prey upon the naïveté of the townspeople—find Mitchell’s honesty a threat, sometimes resorting to vandalism to put an end to his business. Meanwhile, some members of Wisconsin’s legislature feel that the company is operating illegally as a bank by issuing certificates of deposit. Derleth presents a compelling view of the growing city as symbolized in Mitchell’s own advancing prosperity, portraying how Milwaukee’s key geographical position and dynamic inhabitants made it a bustling metropolis in a matter of decades. Read more