Alyssa Maxwell
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"Following the death of her uncle, Cornelius Vanderbilt, in September 1899, a somber Emma is in no mood for one of Newport's extravagant parties. But to keep Vanderbilt's reckless son Neily out of trouble, she agrees to accompany him to an Elizabethan fete on the lavish grounds of Wakehurst, the Ochre Point "cottage" modeled after an English palace, owned by Anglophile James Van Alen. Held in Wakehurst's English-style gardens, the festivities will...
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Eva is excited for a visit from her sister Alice, who lives in Suffolk with her husband and three children. But when Alice arrives alone, desiring a break from her family, Eva becomes concerned. Her dismay deepens as Alice starts spending time with a former beau, Keenan Ripley, who owns the nearby pear orchard. At the same time, Phoebe's sister Julia, now a widow and pregnant, is in a fretful state, and Phoebe struggles to be helpful to her. When...
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In glittering Newport, Rhode Island, at the close of the nineteenth century, status is everything. But despite being a poorer relation to the venerable Vanderbilts, Emma Cross has shaped her own identity--as a reporter and a sleuth. Fancies and Fashion reporter Emma Cross is sent by the Newport Observer to cover an elite house party at Rough Point, the "cottage" owned by her distant cousin Frederick Vanderbilt, which has been rented as a retreat for...
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In post World War I England, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady s maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls . . . Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe with the tireless assistance of Eva has organized a luncheon at the school to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging the students...
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Phoebe and her sister Julia are eager for a summer getaway at High Head Lodge, the newly purchased estate of their cousin Regina. But they are not the only houseguests. Regina's odd friend, Olive, is far from friendly, and Regina's mother and brother-bitter over the unequal distribution of her father's inheritance-have descended on the house to confront Regina. In addition to the family tension, Eva is increasingly suspicious of Lady Julia's new...
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With the dawn of the twentieth century on the horizon, the fortunes of the venerable Vanderbilt family still shine brightly in the glittering high society of Newport, Rhode Island. But when a potential scandal strikes, the Vanderbilts turn to cousin and society page reporter Emma Cross to solve a murder of a fortune teller and the disappearance of Consuelo Vanderbilt.
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"When Lady Phoebe Renshaw's sister Julia chooses to marry the much older and wealthy viscount Gilbert Townsend, it is clear the marriage is not a love match. On their wedding night, Julia and Gil have a heated argument aboard his yacht. The the next morning, Gil's body is found in the water and suspicion falls on Julia"--
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"Following the devastation of the Great War, England's noble class takes comfort in honoring tradition. To celebrate their grandparents' wedding anniversary, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her siblings travel to Staffordshire to commission a china service bearing the Wroxly coat of arms from the venerated Crown Lily Potteries, a favorite of Queen Mary. The two leading designers at the illustrious china manufacturer offer competing patterns. But when one...
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"As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder darkens a glittering affair at the Vanderbilt summer home, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the actions of the cream of society can curdle one's blood"--
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"The days are getting shorter as summer's end approaches, which means it's time for the Harvest Festival, the last big event of the season, held by Mamie Fish, wife of millionaire railroad tycoon Stuyvesant Fish, at their grand "cottage," Crossways. The neocolonial mansion is decked out in artificial autumn splendor, and an extravagant scavenger hunt will be held. But the crowning jewel of the evening will be the guest of honor, Prince Otto of Austria....
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In the late nineteenth century, Newport, Rhode Island, is home to some of America's wealthiest citizens. It's also the beat of society reporter Emma Cross, a less well-heeled cousin to the illustrious Vanderbilts, who occasionally moonlights in solving murders . . . Covering a polo match for the Observer, Emma's job is to take note of the real players off the field-Newport's well-bred elite. But the fashionable façade is breached when a woman in...
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"On a clear July day in 1899, the salty ocean breeze along Bellevue Avenue carries new smells of gasoline and exhaust as Emma, now editor-in-chief of the Newport Messenger, covers Newport's first-ever automobile parade. But the festive atmosphere soon turns to shock as young Philip King drunkenly swerves his motorcar into a wooden figure of a nanny pushing a pram on the obstacle course. That evening, at a dinner party hosted by Ella King at her magnificent...
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"As a reporter, Emma is used to covering Newport's social events. But this time she is appearing on the arm of her fiancé, Derrick Andrews, at a small but exclusive gathering of the New York Yacht Club at Beacon Rock, the Grecian-inspired summer cottage of Edwin and Elizabeth Morgan. The members -- which include cousin and Yacht Club Commodore John Pierpont Morgan and widow Lucy Carnegie, the first woman to be admitted to the Club -- are there to...
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The lean times following the Great War continue to require creative solutions for England's noble class. To make ends meet, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid, Eva Huntford, have decided to open up Foxwood Hall to guided public tours. Their first tour group consists of members of the Historical Society, a magazine writer, and a flock of students. When the widow Arvina Bell goes missing, Eva goes in search of her-- only to find her in the library,...
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Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid, Eva Huntford, investigate after a guest is found dead at a posh, but small gathering at the home of her sister, Julia, where the presence of outspoken French fashion designer Coco Chanel and her entourage adds both glamour and tension to the proceedings.
Lady Phoebe and Eva are attending when a small gathering at the home of Phoebe's sister, Julia, who has also invited her favorite French fashion designer,...
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"In post-World War I England, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid, Eva Huntford, step outside of their social roles and put their lives at risk to apprehend a vicious killer. December 1918: As a difficult year draws to a close, there is much to celebrate for nineteen-year-old Phoebe Renshaw and her three siblings at their beloved family estate of Foxwood Hall. The dreadful war is finally over; eldest daughter Julia's engagement to their houseguest,...
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"1901: Back from their honeymoon in Italy, Emma and Derrick are adapting to married life as they return to their duties at their jointly owned newspaper, the Newport Messenger. The Elms, coal baron Edward Berwind's newly completed Bellevue Avenue estate, is newsworthy for two reasons: A modern mansion for the new century, it is one of the first homes in America to be wired for electricity with no backup power system, generated by coal from Berwind's...