PRAISE:
"Utterly delightful....highly, highly recommended" -- USA Today review The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder
VERDICT Canadian author McMillan makes a terrific debut with this Edwardian mystery, mixing Sherlockian deduction with humor and a side order of romance. Her protagonists—the mischievous Merinda and the more level-headed Jem—are sure to delight readers who will also enjoy the snappy dialog and plot twists. Historical fiction fans will be intrigued by the fascinating details on Toronto’s early 20th-century theater scene. A solid choice for devotees of Rhys Bowen’s mysteries-- Library Journal, Starred Review Debut of the Month April
McMillan knows her history and takes imaginative license with it, producing period details that are accurate but still fictional; the handbooks for ladies liberally quoted from are convincing and amusing. The romance is squeaky clean. Fans of inspirational cozies will rejoice. --Publisher's Weekly
"Fresh and beguiling, the Bachelor Girls are an engaging new addition to the mystery scene. They tackle criminals with a combination of unique moxie and an irrepressible sense of adventure. I want to be friends with the Bachelor Girls!"
—Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey Mysteries
"In her fabulous debut, Rachel McMillan brings 1910 Toronto to rich and wonderful life. The intrepid Jem and Merinda make a winning detective team. Full of romance and derring-do, The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder will keep you turning pages."
—Nancy Herriman, author of No Comfort for the Lost 
"Smart, sassy, and chic. The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder is all that and more. A fabulous historical. Encore, Rachel McMillan!"
—Laura Frantz, author of The Mistress of Tall Acre
—Katherine Reay, author of The Bronte Plot
The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder April 2016
A Singular and Whimsical Problem: a Herringford and Watts novella Dec 2015
Of Dubious and Questionable Memory: a Herringford and Watts novella July 2016
A Lesson in Love and Murder September 2016
Conductor of Light: A Herringford and Watts novella Winter 2017
The White Feather Murders Winter 2017
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| Jem and Merinda's Toronto |
The Girls....
Jemima Watts: pretty, befuddled, helplessly romantic, the scent of lavender follows her everywhere. Longtime lodge-mate and associate of Merinda Herringford. Unamused when detection gets in the way of her chance at domestic bliss.
Merinda Herringford: Smart, sarcastic, steps way outside the lines of propriety and is more comfortable in trousers than ladies’ garments. Corset? Don’t mention it. Spends her Saturdays at the lab conducting odd, smelly experiments with Jasper Forth. The Morality Squad’s Prime target. Has a trunk full of nifty disguises at the ready and knows every Sherlock Holmes story by heart.
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| Sherlock Holmes Stories published during the time of Jem and Merinda's adventures |
Their Guys....
Jasper Forth: long time Toronto Police Constable, still has traces of his families’ east coast accent. Hits every door frame. Good detective demoted to traffic duty for letting Jem and Merinda to a murder scene.
Ray DeLuca: Muckraking reporter for the twice-weekly newspaper the Hogtown Herald. Dreams of being a respectable reporter for the Globe; but his exotic looks and heavy accent inspire more prejudice than opportunity amongst Toronto’s old boys' club papers. Supports his sister Viola and nephew Luca while attempting to protect them from his abusive brother-in-law.
Benfield Citrone (Books II and III): Royal Northwest Mounted Policeman in disguise. Late of the Yukon, heralding from British Columbia, trailing after the man he suspects killed his brother Jonathan. He finds Merinda instead.
Note: The Toronto Archives and the Toronto Reference Library are a hotbed of information for Edwardian Toronto. So well-documented in Photographs
Fiction:
In the Skin of the Lion, Michael Ondaatje
The Murdoch Mysteries by Maureen Jennings
Ragtime by E L Doctorow
Rilla of Ingleside by LM Montgomery
Deafening by Frances Itani
And other stuff that is helpful....
Toronto's Girl Problem, Carolyn Strange
Toronto Girls Go On Strike
Lost Toronto
Panorama of Toronto, 1910
Reporting Toronto at the Toronto Archives
BlogTo: Toronto of the 1910s
History of Italians in Toronto
Social Housing in Toronto
In the Shadows of Osgoode Hall
The Toronto Police were made up for alderman, appointed citizens The Toronto Police regulated street-level business: cab drivers, street vendors, corner grocers, tradesmen, rag men, junk dealers, laundry operators. Under public order provisions, the Toronto Police was responsible for the licensing and regulation of dance halls, pool halls, theatres, and later movie houses. It was responsible for censoring the content of not only theatrical performances and movies, but of all literature in the city ranging from books and magazines to posters and advertising.
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| Toronto Police Cyclist 1909 |
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| Immigrant men in a Flop House in the Ward |
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| The Ward |
Toronto in 1910:
Dorothea Fairfaxes Compendium to Bachelor Girlhood
MC Wheaton's Guide to the Commonplace and Criminal
The Toronto Police service regularly contracted work from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, of which MC Wheaton was a former agent
The Toronto Police service regularly contracted work from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, of which MC Wheaton was a former agent
The Ward, Corktown, Cabbagetown and Immigration
Great photos on a 2013 blogpost on the Ward
Sammy Lichtman and Toronto newsies
Italian Canadians: a History
the First Wave of Italian Immigration to Canada
Snapshot of the Ward on Rogers
Toronto Star, May 2013: Remembering the Ward
Toronto Then and Now: St John's Ward
Social Photographer Arthur Goss and the History of the Ward
Great photos on a 2013 blogpost on the Ward
Sammy Lichtman and Toronto newsies
Italian Canadians: a History
the First Wave of Italian Immigration to Canada
Snapshot of the Ward on Rogers
Toronto Star, May 2013: Remembering the Ward
Toronto Then and Now: St John's Ward
Social Photographer Arthur Goss and the History of the Ward
The Morality Squad and St Jerome's Reformatory
Toronto Police and Morality
Nostalgia Tripping: Toronto's Morality Police
Toronto Police and Morality
Nostalgia Tripping: Toronto's Morality Police
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| image www1.toronto.ca |
The Bridge of Sighs
Torontoist: The Forgotten Urban Squalor of the Ward
Toronto Savvy: the Ward
Follow rachel's board Edwardian Toronto on Pinterest.
Italian Heritage in Toronto
Italian Immigration in Toronto
The History of the Elgin Winter Garden Theatre: the oldest vaudeville double-decker still in use
TRC Crash: 1911
Merinda is on Twitter:
sometimes i wear men's suits. i have to--lest the morality police recognize me; but 15.00? too expensive! pic.twitter.com/gPjndkaFOj
— Merinda Herringford (@herringfordm) November 24, 2014
Follow rachel's board edwardian ...etc.... fashion on Pinterest.
Emma Goldman
History of the Gibson Girl
Makeup in the Edwardian era
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| Mail and Empire article, Feb 1911 |
Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Toronto's Social Upheaval
Historicist: Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
In Chicago
The 1912 Republican Convention
Miss Mary Minty: Toronto's First Female Police Officer
WWI
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| Canada at War, 1914 |
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| Kissing Day at Union Station |
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| Italian Reservists ready for war |
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| women learning military drills to protect the homefront |
12 comments:
Edwardian mystery glory!! Love all of this so much, Rachel.
YAY :) So very excited for your book release :) Love the pictures, the information, and your passionate enthusiasm!
Amazing amount of research resourcing - and fab pics. Well Done, Rachel!
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