Cozy Corner Cozy Mystery Spotlights and Interviews
A Purely Public Interview with Darcie Wilde
One of my favorite authors is sitting down in the Cozy Corner this week. Darcie
Wildeβs tales of regency England enthrall readers with layers of romantic
intrigue both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Her May release, A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER,
takes us on a journey that weaves Rosalind Thorneβs past with her
future, while she unravels the secrets behind the mysterious death of a famous
actor. A literal heartthrob, Fletcher Cavendish has made his way to fame while
laughing at the haute ton who adore him. When he turns up dead, London is in
mourning and demanding justice be served, but the man in charge of the
investigation isnβt so much interested in justice, as protecting one of the main
suspects in the case.
Mistakes and misdeeds abound by all of the characters, making Rosalind question
her own choices, and how they will affect her path in life. A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER
doesnβt take readers into the typical house parties or balls. The story occurs
in the every day life of the non-peerage society of London. From libraries, to
legal dramas inside the House of Commons, to the headquarters of the Bow Street
runners, I loved the glimpse inside the reality of 1800βs England. Ms. Wildeβs
tale of deception and greed is in an insightful peak into the flaws of the
countryβs early legal system and its crime fighting techniques.
Watch out for this female Sherlock Holmes seeking the truth with the heart of
Jane Austin on her sleeve.
Darcie Wilde writes her classically styled (not to mention stylish) mysteries
as well as adventurous romances from a university town in a certain
northern-midwestern state that has been known to bear some passing resemblance
to a mitten. When not writing, sheβs reading, cooking, hiking, swimming,
climbing things, raising her rapidly growing son and trying to convince her cat
β Buffy the Vermin Slayer β not to do any further damage to the furniture.
Kym: Hi Darcie! Welcome back to the Cozy Corner!Darcie:Thank you! Delighted to be here.Kym: Youβve just released your second Rosalind Thorne Mystery, A PURELY PRIVATE
MATTERβa title I adore. Can you tell us if the title came before the
book, or the title?Darcie: The original title was "A Criminal Conversation,"
because that was the legal principle that much of the plot centered around, but
it was felt that that might be a little confusing, so I changed it to A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER,
which was how marital disputes were regarded in the 19th century. Come to that,
it was the attitude toward a lot of what we'd consider "crime" before the advent
of the professional police force. Kym: In our interview last April, you said you loved βsilver fork
novels,β a genre that became popular around 1825, not only for the stories, but
the ideas they gave you. Was A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER one
of those ideas?Darcie: Only in general this time. I gleaned some of the
ideas about gambling and women from Catherine Gore's "Pin Money." But I knew I
wanted to do something around the idea of "criminal conversation," which was the
charge brought when a woman was thought to have committed adultery and the
husband wanted to start a divorce. Or so I thought. It turned out to be more
complicated, and in a number of cases, way more smarmy. Oh, 19th Century, you
never cease to surprise and delight!Kym: I love the opening of the story when Rosalind sneaks into a
Gentlemanβs Club, not only uninvited, but without a male escort. Have you ever
snuck in where you werenβt invited?Darcie: No. Of course not. What on EARTH would make you ask
such a question? Honestly.Kym: LOL, will stick with your right to the 5th Amendment.;) Youβve said
you based this story on the real case from 19th century poet, Caroline Norton
and the charges of βcriminal conversation.β Can you explain that charge to our
readers?Darcie: Before I'd started writing A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER,
I'd thought "criminal conversation" was just a euphemism for adultery, but that
turns out to be not quite accurate. So, here goes. Back in the day, when a woman
and man got married, they became, from a legal perspective, one body. His, of
course. Therefore, legally, if somebody had intercourse with the wife, and the
husband didn't approve, it became, legally, assault. Of him. Cuz she was part of
his body. Got it? To add more fun, the wife's lover was regarded as depriving
the husband of his wife's services, not just sexually, but by monopolizing the
time she should have been doing things like taking care of the husband's home
and children. And, of course, he was wearing her out, so there was property
damage to be considered. So, criminal conversation was a civil infraction
designed to allow the husband to recoup monetary damages from the lover for
damage to the husband's property. No, I am not making this up. Did the wife want
to have the affair? Didn't enter into it. She was not party to the suit.
Criminal conversation was a charge brought by the husband against the purported
(male) lover/assailant. She couldn't even appear in court to speak on her own
behalf. And, on top of that, husbands were known to sue famous, rich, or
prominent men for criminal conversation just in the hopes that they'd pay out to
make the suit go away rather than be dragged through court.Kym: Spooky times for women! Your novels are often layered with a main
mystery plot and then a mystery near and dear to main characterβs heart. In this
case, Rosalindβs missing sister. Whatβs the hardest part about your
layering?Darcie: Timing. With a layered story, there are multiple
storylines that have to rise and fall in a way that keeps them in sync with each
other and the needs of the overall story and plot.Kym: With her disguises, Rosalind reminds me of a fearless female
Sherlock Holmes with her nose to the grindstone in search of the truth. Do you
see any comparison between the characters?Darcie: Actually, when people ask what the book's about, I
say "It's what you'd get if Jane Austen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a
mystery together." I am an old school Sherlockian, as well as a Janeite, so of
course I love to trot out the comparison (not that I think I'm in the same class
as either author!). I knew from the beginning Rosalind would be a sleuth who
worked from visible evidence, and made her deductions based on her experience,
with people and with society as well as with traditional clues. Also, I admit, I
did consciously decide that her profession of "a useful woman," would look like
an early (and female) consulting detective. Fortunately, the history of the time
reinforced the possibility of such a person. Before the Metropolitan Police, the
only "detectives" were people hired to investigate, sometimes that meant one of
the Bow Street "runners," but frequently it meant a thief-taker or other private
person offering a particular service, usually returning stolen property.Kym: In todayβs society, people have been known to thrive from scandal.
Any plans to carry that phenomenon back to Regency England?Darcie:No need to carry it back, it was there. The papers
were filled with it. The novels and magazines were filled with it. The drawing
rooms were certainly filled of it. You only have to look at Lord Byron and Mad,
Bad, Mary Lamb to see how scandal was then, as now, the constant talk of the
town. And of course there was the ongoing scandal of the Prince Regent and his
wife, not to mention every last one of his brothers who between them fathered at
least 50 children out of wedlock (not making that up either). And criminal
conversation trials were always reported in the news. Sometimes one side or the
other would even publish a separate pamphlet to try to make their case with the
reading public. Caroline Norton, whose life was the inspiration for some of what
happens in the book, even wrote an open letter to Queen Victoria, making the
case for changing the marriage laws to grant women more rights.Kym: Wow, Caroline was ahead of her time! In mystery series, reviewers
can be fairly vocal about their desire for a love triangle to be resolved. (I
happen to love the Duke and the bow street runner triangle) Do you feel pressure
to push Rosalindβs journey and choose one interest for her?Darcie:No pressure. Everybody's been really willing to let
the story unfold. I knew from the beginning Rosalind was going to have a choice
to make, and I was pretty sure I knew which way she was going...but characters
evolve on their own sometimes, and even the author can be surprised at the way
things go. Kym: What a tease! I love your description of the crime report
Hue & Cry and bow street runner
Tauton's lining his jacket pockets with fishhooks to catch pickpockets in the
act. Can you tell us about your research into this crime fighting
technique?Darcie:Samuel Hercules Tauton was a real person, and yes
that was his real name. He had a long and illustrious career at Bow Street, and
was particularly famous for his memory for faces. I used three main sources for
my descriptions of Bow Street and the officers: The First English Detectives by
J.M. Beattie, which is an excellent overview of the history of Bow Street; A
Certain Share of Low Cunning, by David Cox, which deals a lot with Bow Street
activities outside London, and Chronicles of Bow Street Police-Office by Percy
Heatherington Fitzgerald (available on Google Play Books)zsa, which is
interesting because it was published in 1888, which was, obviously, a lot closer
to the actual events. I forget which book detailed the story of the fish-hooks
as a way to catch pickpockets, literally red-handed, but I knew the second I
read it, it was going into my book.Kym: Thank you for sharing your research references! What do you have
coming up next?Darcie: I am taking a short break from traditional
mysteries to work on a piece of contemporary suspense. I'm very excited to be
exploring this new territory. It's a darker place, looking at what happens
within a family when things have gone very, very wrong.Kym: Looking forward to it! Can you tell our readers where to find you
on social media?Darcie:My website is www.darciewildeauthor.com. I'm on Facebook
as well, just search for Darcie Wilde author and you'll get there. On Twitter I'm
Darcie_Wilde.Kym: Thank you so much for returning to the Cozy Corner!Darcie: Thanks so much for inviting me back. This has been great!
Look for my new release, A Reference to Murder, a
Book Barn Mystery and for my Taste of Texas contest on Fresh Fiction! A goodie bag
full of Texas delights you donβt want to miss. Comment below then stop by and
enter today!
Until next time, get cozy and read on!
Kym Roberts is a retired detective sergeant who looks for passion,
mystery and suspense in every book she reads and writes. She can be found on the
web at kymroberts.com, on Facebook at @KymRoberts911author and on Twitter @kymroberts911.
Fatal Fiction, the
first Book Barn Mystery is on sale now for 99Β’!
I'll be reading A Purely Private Matter soon. Love the era. Thank God I wasn't born back then. I feel for all those women. Thanks for the interview. It was very enlightening and interesting. Carol L Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com (Carol Luciano 2:28pm May 15, 2017)
Sounds like a fun read, definitely gpin on my TBR pile! (Angela Daffern 3:32pm May 15, 2017)
This looks like a lovely book!! Cannot wait to read. Thanks for the opportunity. (Marcia Berbeza 3:32pm May 15, 2017)
Sounds like a really good book to read, thanks for sharing with us!! (Darlene Carroll 4:25pm May 15, 2017)
what fun to get a different view of historic London (Diane Sallans 8:13pm May 15, 2017)
Fantastic book and interview. (Robyn Konopka 8:18pm May 15, 2017)
I can't wait to read your book! It sounds like so much fun. I enjoy reading historical mysteries and I have a feeling I'll enjoy reading yours! Thank you for the interview! (Sharon Shearouse 2:31pm May 17, 2017)
Interesting interview! I love historical mysteries and I am looking forward to reading your book. (Cheryl Lynne 9:56am May 21, 2017)
Love the cover! That blurb! Any book that has libraries as cameos or features, wins a place in my heart (Lisa L. 6:18pm May 21, 2017)
I am starting a blog on WordPress.com but its new. I've been only there for 2 weeks now. My goal is to interview and review authors to bring their work to a whole new audience. Maybe you could head over there and give me some pointers? Renowned unknowns.WordPress.com. Thanks. I like your interview style by the way. Not bad. Have a great day and hope to see you on my blog soon. (Aiesha Anderson 4:47am May 25, 2017)
What a nice interview. Plus, historical mysteries are right up my alley. (Dawn Anderson 12:26pm May 26, 2017)
Good books Thanks (Tamara Lawson 9:05pm May 29, 2017)
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