About the Book
Book: Miss Wylde in the White City (The Heiresses of Adventure Book Two)
Author: Grace Hitchcock
Genre: Historical Romance True Crime
Release date: November 11, 2023
While attending the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, Winnifred Wylde believes she witnessed a woman being kidnapped. She tries to convince her father, an inspector with the Chicago police, to look into reports of mysterious disappearances around the White City. Inspector Wylde tries to dismiss her claims as exaggeration of an overactive imagination, but he eventually concedes to letting her go undercover as secretary to the man in question—if she takes her pistol for protection and Jude Thorpe, a policeman, for bodyguard.
Will she be able to expose H. H. Holmes’s illicit activity, or will Winnifred become his next victim?
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My Review
This
is an historical romance novel based on a true crime event in the
U.S. It is centered on a man some call the first American serial
killer, Herman Mudgett. As in the novel, he most often went by the
name of Dr. H. H. Holmes. The setting is Chicago in 1893, during the
World's Fair.
Hitchcock
did a good job of creating Miss Wylde, the daughter of a Chicago
police inspector and a very adventurous woman. She sees a woman being
abducted while she is visiting the fair. She is determined to find
the man and get evidence to see him convicted. Her father is
concerned for her welfare and assigns a policeman to watch over her.
We wonder if romance can blossom under such circumstances especially
in a time when no one would want their daughter falling for a
policeman.
Reading
the Author Afterward and doing a little research, I think Hitchcock
has done a good job in creating the setting and the social atmosphere
of the time. Holmes is a well portrayed creepy character.
I
felt the first part of the plot was a little slow. The action really
intensified, however, near the end. All in all, I enjoyed the novel
and recommend it to readers who like historical fiction based on an
actual event and including aspects of it. .
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
Note: this is a reissue of a novel released in 2019 called The White City.
About the Author
Grace Hitchcock is the award-winning author of multiple historical novels and novellas, including the American Royalty, Best Laid Plans, and Aprons & Veils series. She holds a Master’s in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives on the Northshore of New Orleans, with her husband, Dakota, sons, and daughter in a cottage that is always filled with the sounds of sweet little footsteps running at full speed. When not writing, or chasing babies, she’s baking something delightful and can usually be found with a book clutched in her fist.
More from Grace
Q&A with Grace Hitchcock:
Q: Your historical novel Miss Wylde in the White City is a historical romance set against the true crime events at the Chicago World’s Fair. How difficult was it to create a “romance” novel that includes such horrific historical details?
Grace: It was challenging, but I wrote Winnifred’s story with the thought in mind of how I would have wanted to experience it as a reader. Many of the books I’ve read about Holmes are quite dark and rightly so; however, I decided that I didn’t want my story to show the gory details and chose to focus on the romance to offer the reader a much-needed break in the dark story matter.
Q: What research did you have to do to get the details right?
Grace: I read and listened to non-fiction works on H. H. Holmes, read countless articles online, researched the different newspaper articles of the time, mostly The Chicago Tribune,
and found the newspapers’ sketches of Holmes’ “Murder Castle” along with their statements. I also read non-fiction works on the Chicago world’s fair with many, many pictures and took walk-through tours of the fair online, which gave me a unique perspective of what the white city was like.
Q: Tell us about the characters you injected into the historical events. What about them made you want to tell their story?
Grace: I’ve always loved Jane Austen’s heroine from her satire of Gothic novels, Northanger Abbey, and with Catherine Morland in mind, I created Winnifred Wylde. My heroine’s love of books often gets her into trouble, but being the daughter of a police inspector, Winnie also has picked up a few things in listening to her father’s adventures and her natural sense of curiosity was just what I needed in a heroine to uncover Holmes’ sordid crimes.
I wanted Jude Thorpe to be a protector with a heart for justice, so the role of detective fit right into the story.
Percival Valentine was one of the characters who surprised me. Originally, I just had Percy as her favorite author, but then I thought, why not let her meet him and see what happens? He is one of my favorite characters and I hope to one day give him a story of his own.
Q: Fact vs Fiction – what (if any) historical details did you have to fiddle with to make the story work?
Grace: Oddly enough, the newspapers at the time did not get the same layouts of the “Murder Castle” in their sketches, so I based the layout of Holmes’ castle mostly from The Chicago Tribune and got a little creative. The layout is mostly correct, but I took the liberty of adding a second trap door at a convenient location for the burning trunk scene. While Holmes did bring trunks up and down from attic to the basement, he never burned a trunk on the third floor because it would have left behind far too much evidence for a man who, up to this point, was experienced in covering his tracks.
Q: How does your faith impact how you approach writing fiction?
Grace: My heroines generally learn what I am learning at the time of writing the story. If I am holding on to a verse for something I am going through personally, I give it to my heroine and we walk through it together even in different situations (because obviously I’m not trapped in a burning building haha but the principle applies).
I see writing Christian fiction as an opportunity to show God’s light even in dark, difficult situations. No matter how subtle my theme or short the verses, my stories will always point the reader to the Lord.
Thank you for joining the fun for the Celebrate Lit tour! If you are a part of a book club, I have discussion questions here! Happy Reading, friends!
Blog Stops
Melissa’s Bookshelf, March 13
Pens Pages & Pulses, March 13
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 14
Allyson Jamison, March 14
Texas Book-aholic, March 15
lakesidelivingsite, March 16
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 17
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 17
Devoted To Hope, March 18
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 18
Betti Mace, March 19
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 19
Bizwings Book Blog, March 20
Blogging With Carol, March 20
Lily’s Corner, March 21
Connie’s History Classroom, March 21
For Him and My Family, March 22
Mary Hake, March 22
Inspired by fiction, March 23
Holly’s Book Corner, March 23
Pause for Tales, March 24
Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, March 24
Leslie’s Library Escape, March 25
Cover Lover Book Review, March 25
Jodie Wolfe , March 26
Lights in a Dark World, March 26
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Grace is giving away the grand prize of a $20 gift card with FREE SHIPPING to Grace’s Autographed Bookshop!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate lit.
(My
star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it,
1-I hate it.)
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