Scorn of Women

Set in Dawson during the Klondike gold rush, this three-act play turns a frontier town of empty shelves, masked balls, and midnight departures into a fierce comedy of hunger, desire, and deception. At the Alaska Commercial Company store, miners clash over scarce flour and sugar, exposing a world where wealth means little when supplies are controlled by others. Against that harsh backdrop stand Freda Moloof, a glamorous dancer whose beauty commands attention; Floyd Vanderlip, a powerful mining king with simple emotions and secret ambitions; and Loraine Lisznayi, a worldly woman whose affection is shadowed by calculation. As secrets spread through the camp, Vanderlip and Loraine plan a covert escape by sled, while Mrs. Eppingwell and Sitka Charley pry into the truth, suspecting another woman is involved. The masked-ball scenes intensify the play's lively mix of farce and tension: identities blur, Captain Eppingwell trades disguises, Freda hunts Vanderlip, and social pretenses collapse in comic confusion. Beneath the wit and flirtation lies a sharp portrait of the North, where status, loyalty, and survival are always up for negotiation. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.