The First World War occurred during the time of the massive first wave of Italian immigrants to Toronto. Many experienced severe prejudice in the first years of the war before Italy officially aligned itself with the Allied forces.
The newspapers in The White Feather Murders—as they have always been in this series—are referred to fictitiously. I encourage readers to do an Internet search for articles from the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star at the outbreak of war. Journalism in Toronto remains a fascination of mine.
Pelham Park is a figment of my imagination, though it is modeled on Casa Loma, one of Toronto’s grandest structures and home to Sir Henry Pellatt and his wife, Lady Mary. It was not yet complete during the time when war broke out, but the family was in residence. Lady Mary, like Lady Adelaide, was much involved in the women’s communities of Toronto and dedicated to a life of service. Sir Henry, like my fictional counterpart, was awarded the OBE and was a hero of the Boer War. That is where the similarities end. I wanted to include Casa Loma to entice readers to consider a visit to Toronto. It’s a magnificent place, and I am so fortunate to be able to include it in the Herringford and Watts series.
The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres will be familiar to those who read The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder and Conductor of Light, and I have taken some liberties with their construction.
Toronto’s police and political structures are, again, elements of my imagination but borne of my research of a city that experienced tumultuous change during the war years.
Toronto would be nothing without its immigrant community and the cultural mosaic that loans it its distinctive and unique flavor. In a time in our present history when so many people are in need of sanctuary and the opportunity to find a new life, I am prouder than ever of my city, which remains truly multicultural. Our current world shows many parallels to the world on the brink experienced by Jasper, Ray, Merinda, and Jem, and the verse that inspired my creation of this series, Proverbs 31:8, is as relevant now as it has ever been.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Proverbs 31:8
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.
You can connect with Rachel at:
http://www.a-fair-substitute-for-heaven.blogspot.com
And also…
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/rachkmc1
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http://www.twitter.com/rachkmc
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HERRINGFORD AND WATTS MYSTERIES
Can’t wait to read more of Merinda and Jem’s adventures?
Discover other delightful stories involving the intrepid detectives in the Herringford and Watts Mysteries.
A Singular and Whimsical Problem
(free e-only novella)
Christmas 1910. Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts would be enjoying the season a lot more if they weren’t forced to do their own laundry and cooking. Just as they are adapting to their trusty housekeeper’s ill-timed vacation, they are confronted by the strangest mystery they have encountered since they started their private investigation firm.
In this bonus e-only novella, what begins as the search for a missing cat leads to a rabble-rousing suffragette and the disappearance of several young women from St. Jerome’s Reformatory for Incorrigible Females. From the women’s courts of City Hall to Toronto’s seedy docks and into the cold heart of the underground shipping industry, this will be the most exciting Christmas the girls have had yet—if they can stay alive long enough to enjoy it.
The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder
In 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer.
Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city’s underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor.
While searching for answers, donning disguises, and sneaking around where no proper ladies would ever go, they pair with Jasper Forth, a police constable, and Ray DeLuca, a reporter in whom Jem takes a more than professional interest. Merinda could well be Toronto’s premiere consulting detective, and Jem may just find a way to put her bachelor girlhood behind her forever—if they can stay alive long enough to do so.
Of Dubious and Questionable Memory
(free e-only novella)
Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts are never lacking for mysteries of the curious and commonplace, but lately business has been a little less curious and a lot more common.
With only missing jewelry and a kidnapped rooster on the case docket, Merinda is bored stiff. Jem welcomes the reprieve as she settles into married life, attempting to learn the domestic skills that have cunningly evaded her as a bachelor girl detective.
The lull in business is short lived when a telegram arrives from the detective duo’s suffragette friend Martha Kingston, detailing the mysterious disappearance of a school chum’s sister in Concord, Massachusetts.
No sooner do Jem and Merinda arrive in the States to investigate than they find themselves embroiled in a world of strange affairs, purloined letters, and a baffling mystery, whose clues lead directly to Orchard House, the homestead made famous by its longtime resident, Louisa May Alcott.
A Lesson in Love and Murder
The city of Toronto has been thrown into upheaval by the arrival of radical anarchist Emma Goldman. Amid this political chaos, Benny Citrone of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police arrives at Merinda’s flat, requesting assistance in locating his runaway cousin—a man with a deadly talent.
While Merinda eagerly accepts the case, she finds herself constantly butting heads—and hearts—with Benny. Meanwhile, Jem has her hands full with a husband who is determined to keep her out of harm’s way.
As Merinda and Jem close in on the danger they’ve tracked from Toronto to Chicago, they uncover a sinister plot to assassinate presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt. Will they be able to save the day and resolve the troubles threatening their future happiness before it’s too late?
Conductor of Light
(free e-only novella)
Toronto, 1912. A seemingly forgettable evening of second-rate vaudeville entertainment proves lethal when Constable Jasper Forth and reporter Ray DeLuca witness the onstage death of the Great Stephano. Was this the performance of a lifetime or merely opening night of the next intriguing case for Jem DeLuca and Merinda Herringford?
Hiding from Toronto’s dreaded Morality Squad in the back alleyway of the theatre, Jem and Merinda encounter a mysterious musician who steps out of the shadow and gives them grim news.
The detective duo join Jasper and Ray backstage and begin to interview the rest of the troupe, a veritable casting call of possible suspects, every one of them with more motives than talent. Can Jem and Merinda foil this plot before a fatal encore ensues?
This Herringford and Watts adventure in four acts will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final curtain closes on yet another enthralling whodunit.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
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To learn more about Harvest House books and to read sample chapters, visit our website:
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
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White Feather Murders
The White Feather Murders Page 23
