01613cam a2200325 i 4500 1164339820 TxAuBib 20141112120000.0 110326s2012||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2011923110 9781617750366 1617750360 (OCoLC)709680959 BTCTA eng BTCTA YDXCP UKMGB GZD NYP BDX LEO BWX NUI TxAuBib rda Factor, Eliza. The mercury fountain / by Eliza Factor. New York : Akashic Books, 2012. 312 p. ; 21 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier "AKB 234" -- Spine. The novel takes place at the turn of the twentieth century in a remote and beautiful stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert near the border of West Texas and Mexico. Rich with mercury, the desert attracts a visionary northeasterner, Owen Scraperton, who settles in the southern wilderness to establish a Utopian community called Pristina. Owen quickly finds in mercury the economic foundation for his new world. The metal's hypnotic beauty and fluidity are perfect emblems for his social theories, and his sincere heart and rich voice attract a heterogeneous mix of followers who join him in disregarding the metal's more harmful qualities. 20141112. Families Fiction. Texas, West History Fiction. Utopian fiction. Historical fiction. TXKIP