Mystery Monday: Fergus Hume

Mystery Monday: Fergus Hume

WikiImages

Despite publishing over one hundred and thirty novels, Ferguson (or Fergusson) Wright Hume, writing as Fergus Hume, has long been forgotten. He was born in Powick, Worcestershire, England, but when he was three years old the family emigrated to Dunedin, New Zealand where his father founded the first private mental hospital. After graduation with a law degree from the University of Otago, he was admitted to the bar in 1885 and went to work as a barrister’s clerk in Melbourne.

In his off hours, he wrote plays, but couldn’t find anyone among the theaters to accept, let alone read his scripts. He was given the advice to write novels to grab the attention of theater managers. Knowing how popular French mystery author Emile Gaboriau was in Melbourne, Hume decided to pursue detective fiction. He purchased a set of Gaboriau’s novels to read and study after which he wrote The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.

Said Hume: “Having completed the book, I tried to get it published, but everyone to whom I offered it

refused to even look at the manuscript on the grounds that no Colonial (referring to his New Zealand upbringing) could write anything worth reading.” He self-published 5,000 copies of the book in 1886, which reportedly sold out in three weeks. However, he saw little of the profits because of having sold the British and American rights. (Guess it seemed like a good idea at the time!) Fortunately, he retained the dramatic rights, and the play version saw long Australian and London theater runs.

The plot seems simple: a man is found dead in a hansom cab and one of Melbourne’s leading citizens is accused of the crime. He claims to be innocent, yet refuses to provide an alibi. Then the author adds a determined lawyer and equally determined detective who unearth long-kept secrets, and the riddles and complexities begin. The book is the first of the Melbourne Trilogy, but the first story was the most popular. When asked what he thought about the book, Arthur Conan Doyle commented, “Hansom Cab was a slight tale, mostly sold by ‘puffing.’” Jealous, perhaps? His Study in Scarlet came out the following year.

Pixabay/
PublicDomainPictures

In 1888, Hume returned to England where he lived for almost thirty years at Church Cottage in Thundersley, Essex. He never married and traveled extensively. Several reports say he was a “deeply religious” man and tended to avoid publicity. He was a prolific writer, but he never saw the same success that he’d had with his debut novel. Toward the end of his life, he often lectured at young people’s clubs and debating societies.

He died of a heart attack in July 1932 and left an estate valued at £201. Many of his works can be found in Project Gutenberg for no cost. Check one of them out!

___________________

Under Fire

Set in April 1942, Under Fire, the first book in the Ruth Brown Mystery Series, tells the story of Ruth Brown whose missing sister jane is declared dead. Convinced her sister is still alive, Ruth follows clues from her small New Hampshire town to war-torn London trying to find her. Discovering that Jane has been murdered results in a faith crisis for Ruth, and she decides she must find Jane’s killer. During her search for the culprit, she runs into smugglers, resistance fighters, and the IRA, all of whom want her dead for what she knows.

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0743MS95H

Traveling Tuesday: Baltimore in the 1800s

Traveling Tuesday: Baltimore in the 1800s

I was born in Baltimore, but my family relocated to New Jersey when I was still a young child. However, my father’s family members are long-time residents, so I continue to have close ties with the city. While brainstorming ideas for my story Dinah’s Dilemma, I was researching U.S. cities that had a gang presence during the mid- to late-1800s. Unfortunately for Baltimore, “Charm City” was near the top of the list. I was unfamiliar with this seamy side of my hometown and began to research with gusto in order to find a group for my protagonist’s brother.

About eighty years before the moniker Charm City surfaced, Baltimore was often referred to as Mobtown, first for the riots that occurred leading up to the War of 1812, then later for the violence that stalked its streets. By 1870, the city was home to more than a quarter million people, falling behind New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, St. Louis, and Chicago. An influx of Irish and German immigrants escaping famine and social unrest in Europe flooded the city tipping the percentage of foreign-born residents to nearly twenty-five percent. African-Americans also flocked to Baltimore creating competition for jobs.

With tensions high, it’s unsurprising that gangs began to infiltrate. The Bloody Tubs, Rips Raps, and Plug Uglies all started prior to the Civil War and with the exception of the Plug Uglies, continued their activities into the late 1870s. The Baltimore Crew gang wouldn’t show up until 1900. All three gangs were used by political parties to influence and intimidate voters, wreak havoc on election day, and assassinate opponents and murder law enforcement officers. Arson, knife-fighting, and robbery were also part of the gang’s repertoire.

A full decade would pass before public outcry against the violence would become loud enough for politicians to disassociate with the gangs and begin to clamp on their crimes. The 1880s saw a growth in manufacturing and new industries sprang up such as men’s clothing, canning, tin and sheet-iron products, tobacco, and foundries. Houses were constructed adding to city’s economy.

Now ninety-two square miles, Baltimore has come a long way since its inception of sixty acres in 1729. Have you visited Charm City?

____________________ 

About Dinah's Dilemma

Will she have to run from the past for the rest of her life?

Dinah Simpkins has no chance of making a good marriage. Her outlaw brothers and her father’s gambling addiction have ruined the family’s reputation. Then the Westward Home and Hearts Matrimonial Agency provides an opportunity for a fresh start. After Dinah arrives in Nebraska, she discovers her brothers played a part in the death of her prospective groom’s first wife.

As a former Pinkerton detective Nathan Childs knows when someone is lying. The bride sent by the matrimonial agency may be beautiful, but she’s definitely hiding something, and he has no intention of marrying her until he uncovers the truth. But an easier solution may be to send her packing. Then his young daughter goes missing. He and Dinah must put aside their mutual hurt and mistrust to find her.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3fC9Xys

Victorian Twelfth Night Parties with Kelly Goshorn

Victorian Twelfth Night Parties with Kelly Goshorn

Thank you, Linda, for hosting me on your blog today. It’s such great fun to meet others who love Christian fiction as much as I do, especially historical romance.

While Linda’s wheelhouse appears to be World War II fiction, I’m going to take you back a little further in time. My debut novel, A Love Restored, is set in Virginia in 1873-74. My heroine, Ruth Ann Sutton, “can’t carry a tune with a handle on it” according to her beau, Benjamin Coulter. In one scene, I have her decorating the Christmas tree and I wanted Benjamin to stumble upon her off-key singing once again. While searching for the lines to the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” I stumbled upon something called Twelfth Night parties that were quite popular during the Victorian era. I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate such a party into the book and decided that Ruth Ann’s friend, Charlotte Peterson, would be the perfect hostess.

Traditionally the twelve days of Christmas begin on Christmas day and conclude on January 5 (or the twelfth night). The next day, January 6^th, is the Feast of the Epiphany on the church calendar and honors the day when the Three Kings brought Jesus their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Although not as popular in American, the Twelve Days have been celebrated throughout Europe since the Middle Ages.

Much debate surrounds when to actually hold Twelfth Night celebrations. According to Christmas: A Candid History by Bruce David Forbes, it depends on how the first day of Christmas is counted. If day one is counted as Christmas Day, December 25, then Twelfth Night is celebrated on the evening of January 5, the eve of the Epiphany. However, if day one is counted as the day after Christmas, December 26, then Twelfth Night is celebrated on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself. 

  

The highlight of the evening would be choosing the king and queen of the party. According to the 1923 Dennison's Christmas Book, "there should be a King and a Queen, chosen by cutting a cake..." Apparently, it was quite a large cake as one recipe I found called for a dozen eggs. Can you imagine? The Twelfth Night Cake would have both a bean and a pea baked into it. The man who finds the bean in his slice of cake becomes King for the night while the lady who finds a pea in her slice of cake becomes Queen. The new King and Queen sit on a throne and are adorned with "paper crowns, a scepter, and if possible, full regalia are given them."

Games, singing carols and dancing were a huge part of the evening’s entertainment. In A Love Restored, Charlotte and her party guests play a Victorian parlor game called Forfeits. In this game, an activity was chosen for all the guests to participate in. If the guest failed to complete the activity there was usually some kind of penalty in which you had to do what the winner asked. In ALR, the gentlemen requested the ladies sing, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” If the women made a mistake, the gentleman could ask for restitution in the form of a ‘sweet,’ either an edible treat or a kiss on the cheek. Ruth Ann’s rival for Ben’s affections, Rose Martin, intentionally messes up hoping that Ben will ask for a kiss. Being a gentleman, and one who is smitten with Ruth Ann, he passes and asks for a peppermint instead.

A popular beverage served throughout Europe on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night is wassail. Wassail comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase ‘wases hael’ which means ‘good health’. Wealthier folks, however, were known to indulge in the drink throughout the twelve days. Wassail is mixture of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar, and is often served with great fanfare and presented to those in attendance in a special Wassail bowl usually made of silver or pewter. Often people would take the wassail and present it as a gift to others. Here is a recipe for wassail.

I’ve never attended a Twelfth Night party, but after learning about the custom it’s something I’d like to do. The history lover in me thinks it would be fun to host such a gathering and have those attendance come in period costume.

To be entered in the drawing for a Kindle copy of A Love Restored, share your favorite line from the “Twelve Days of Christmas” in the comments below.

Book blurb:

She was nothing like the woman he’d envisioned for his bride, but he was everything she’d ever dreamed of—until a promise from his past threatened their future.

With pert opinions and a less-than-perfect figure, Ruth Ann Sutton doesn’t measure up to society’s vision of a perfect lady. When she accepts a position teaching in a Freedman’s School, it threatens the only marriage offer Ruth Ann is likely to receive. She’s forced to choose between life as a lonely spinster or reinventing herself to secure a respectable proposal.

Determined to rise above his meager beginnings, Benjamin Coulter's reputation as a fast learner and hard worker earn him the opportunity to apprentice with a surveyor for the railroad-a position that will garner the respect of other men. After a chance encounter with Ruth Ann Sutton, Benjamin is smitten with her pretty face, quick wit, and feisty personality.

When others ridicule his choice, will Benjamin listen to his heart or put ambition first?

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B07CPQ1ZDJ

Excerpt from A Love Restored:

Loudoun County, Virginia

August 1873

Benjamin Coulter cringed as the shrill tune hung in the air. That woman sure knew how to ruin a Sunday afternoon. Sounded like something was dying and needed to be put out of its misery.

He shook his head. All he wanted to do was rest a while longer. His decision to go around his headstrong superior and talk to Mr. Farrell directly about his boss’s inaccurate measurements had made for a nerve wracking week. That decision could have cost him his job. Thankfully, his discovery had been received well, saving the struggling railroad both time and money.

Benjamin leaned against the sycamore tree and tossed his line into the creek. A slight hint of remorse nicked his conscience. He now sat poised to guide the construction of the Washington & Ohio Railroad through the town of Catoctin Creek and over the Blue Ridge Mountains to Winchester, but he hadn’t intended to get his boss fired. If only the man hadn’t refused to admit he’d made a mistake.

Yep, it was all coming together. Just the way he’d hoped it would when he agreed to leave Texas and take this apprenticeship in Virginia. All he had to do was pass that examination next spring and...

He shuddered. The woman’s screeching escalated to a bone-grating pitch. She’d frighten the fish away for sure. Like most folks, Sunday was his day off, and he didn’t intend to spend it listening to her sing off-key.

Wedging his pole in the mud of the creek bank, he set off to investigate. Her ear-piercing slaughter of The Merry, Merry Month of May led the way. He spied his first glimpse of the lyrical assassin through the thin limbs of a dogwood tree. Perched on a large, flat rock at the edge of the creek, she swirled her bare feet in the water. Behind the rock sat a pair of woman’s boots—fancy ones. Too bad she hadn’t spent some of her shoe allowance on singing lessons. Her voice cracked. “The skies were bright, our hearts were light, in the merry, merry month of May...”

Benjamin winced. That was the fourth time in a row she’d sung that part. For the love of Pete, didn’t Miss Fancy Boots even know the words? He needed to put a stop to this so he could continue fishing—and napping. He stepped forward then stopped. The woman reached up and removed a pin from her hair, then another. Mounds of long chestnut brown ringlets spilled over her shoulders into the middle of her back.

Curls. He groaned. Why’d she have to have curls?

“The skies were bright. Our eyes were light...”

Never mind. Curls or not, the woman’s voice could haunt the dead.