Poet Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa Noble feature in the third of Emily’s excellent, self-titled mystery series. The characters are so well drawn in I DIED FOR BEAUTY that once more modern author Amanda Flower has brought the lady to life. Amherst, Massachusetts endured the Cold Winter of historic proportions during 1857. We visit the prosperous and strait-laced Dickinson family, well-regarded but for their increasingly eccentric poet daughter.
In Kelley Square, home to many of the hard-working Irish community, a house fire causes the general alarm one night. Church bells ring and everyone dashes out with buckets. Only a child is saved from the smoking ruin. Signs are that the death of the Doolan couple was murder. Matthew Thomas, the police officer who would like to have an understanding with Willa, is investigating.
This episode is piled deep with snowdrifts, blocking everything from back doors to the railroad tracks. The chance of house fires was greatly increased when homes had to be heated every minute, and by now the firewood supply was running short. Willa trudges after her mistress wearing layers of cloaks, scarves, dresses and gloves. When they enter someone’s home, Willa has to remove her outer garments and hold those plus Emily’s coat and hat, and stand there, dripping. The snow and cold are major features as they draw the witnesses together in the church overnight, where heating and warm food are being provided for the poor.
A caring side of the young Emily Dickinson is shown, due to her insistence on finding a home for the orphaned daughter, Norah Rose Doolan. Emily is adored by her Newfoundland dog, Carlo, and Willa admires her greatly but recognises that Emily just doesn’t understand how much work a maid has to do around the house. We are introduced to Lucy Stone, a speaker on women’s rights, who travels wearing baggy trousers under a knee-length dress. Amherst College may not be ready for Lucy, but she was the first woman from Massachusetts to gain a degree. She adds to the lineup of persons through this series, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, who may have influenced Emily before she became a recluse.
Amanda Flower seems to suggest at the end that I DIED FOR BEAUTY will be the final book, but I am sure that Emily and Willa could continue to investigate if the need arose. Three adventures in the company of these ladies are not nearly enough.
When a blaze takes both a neighbor’s home and his life, Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa have a burning desire to crack the case in this new historical mystery from Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.
Amherst, 1857. The Dickinson family braves one of the worst winters in New England’s history. Trains are snowbound and boats are frozen in the harbor. Emily Dickinson and her maid, Willa Noble, have never witnessed anything like it. As Amherst families attempt to keep their homes warm, fears of fire abound.
These worries prove not to be unfounded as a blaze breaks out just down the street from the Dickinson in Kelley Square, the Irish community in Amherst, and a young couple is killed, leaving behind their young child. Their deaths appear to be a tragic accident, but Emily finds herself harboring suspicions there may be more to the fire than meets the eye. Emily and Willa must withstand the frigid temperatures and discover a killer lurking among the deadly frost.
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