The Golden Stories
There’s gold in them hills! And at the bottom of the ocean, on an airplane circling the globe and buried at a mystery location somewhere in France.
We’ve had a lot of new subscribers join the Narratively fam this month. Welcome all! Narratively editorial director and co-founder Brendan Spiegel here. I thought I’d take a minute to share three of my all-time favorite Narratively stories. I don’t know what it is about these three — I swear I’m not usually a person obsessed with money and treasure! — but this trio of my faves all revolve around 🧈🧈GOLD🧈🧈.
From a literal shipload of gold lost under the Atlantic to the “golden airline ticket” of every traveler’s dreams, these stories are all riveting longform sagas that were absolutely epic undertakings for these fantastic reporters. (And not-so-light lifts for our humble editors… maybe that’s why I love them so much!) Whether you’re a longtime subscriber or first-time reader, a princess or a pauper, these are three amazing stories you absolutely should not miss.
The Man with the Golden Airline Ticket
By Caroline Rothstein
Her dad was one of the only people with a good-for-life, go-anywhere American Airlines pass. Then they took it away. This is the true story of having—and losing—a superpower.
The Curse of the Ship of Gold
By Dylan Taylor-Lehman
How a brilliant scientist went from discovering a mother lode of treasure at the bottom of the sea to fleeing from authorities with suitcases full of cash.
The Extremely Enchanting, Totally Perplexing, Possibly Never-Ending Quest for the Golden Owl
By Phil Hoad
For 30 years, this labyrinthine treasure hunt has had thousands of players cracking codes and digging up the French countryside. After a sudden death and bitter disputes, will the prize ever be found?
P.S.: Thanks so much to all of our subscribers who shared their current creative projects in this thread we posted last week. Wow! If you haven’t had time to dive into this thread yet, it’s chock full of exciting new things to read/watch/listen to/explore. Special shout-out to Corey Stewart, who shared the exciting news that their first novel, The Wisdom of the Olive Tree, just won the Gold Award for Women’s Fiction at the 29th annual CIPA Awards! 🧈🧈😉