Author Biography
Robert L. Gold is a professor emeritus of history, an entertaining speaker and a prolific writer. He has contributed articles and reviews to many magazines and newspapers in the southeast and especially in Florida, where he has lived for more than 30 years. In St. Augustine, he has written the popular newspaper column, Essays from El Dorado, a script for sightseeing train guides and 'The Story of St. Augustine', a brief history of the city given to millions of visiting tourists. Extensive research in English, French and Spanish history and his book, 'Borderland Empires in Transition', have provided the historical basis for his current project, a trilogy of colonial murder mysteries. 'Dead to Rights', set in Savannah, is the first in the series and will be followed by 'Cut of the Cross', set in St. Augustine and 'Gone for Good', in New Orleans - both scheduled for future publication by Marcinson Press. In addition to the suspenseful mysteries, the trilogy offers readers a penetrating look into the cultural and political life of colonial America in the eighteenth century. Each of the novels reveals the colonists' everyday struggle for survival, their search for meaning in the world and the simplicity and shortness of their lives. The series also offers a graphic view of the lush and virtually undisturbed landscape that once existed in what is now the southeastern United States. The author has enjoyed a long professional career in Florida. He has served as state historian in St. Augustine, professor of Latin American history at the University of South Florida and executive director of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board. Dr. Gold also has been a speaker for the Florida Humanities Council, giving presentations entitled, Characters and Crooks in Florida History. A bit of a character himself, he continues to offer those talks throughout North Florida. Gold lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife, LaDonna Morris, and Baxter, his four-year-old Airedale Terrier. A devoted dog servant, he confesses to being led by the nose of the furry-faced beast, walking him at least six miles a week and spoiling him rotten. With Baxter at his feet, he writes the quarterly column, Tails from the Hood, in The American Airedale, a magazine published by the American Airedale Club of America.
