Guest Post, Mysteries

Guest Chick: Alyssa Maxwell #giveaway

Ellen here, and I’m so happy to welcome my friend Alyssa Maxwell, author of the enormously popular Gilded Newport Mysteries. As someone who grew up fascinated with the “cottages” of Newport, Rhode Island and even toured them on family vacays, I loved learning more about the inspiration behind Murder at Rosecliff, the latest edition to Alyssa’s series. And what a cool giveaway! Read on…

The Streets were Paved with Gold

How many of us are the descendants of immigrants who came here in the late 1800s and early twentieth century because they believed, if not that the streets were really paved with gold, that they would find a better life. My grandparents all came from Italy after WWI, when so much of Europe and especially Italy was gripped in a crippling depression. Italian authorities literally went from village to village telling people there was nothing for them there, and they should seek their fortunes in America.  They came expecting to find stable employment and descent places to live and make their homes, not just for themselves, but for their children and their descendants. Tragically many would find the opposite: backbreaking labor for pennies, and cramped rooms in crumbling tenements. But little by little, life did improve, if not for the first generation of immigrants, for the generations that came after them.

So how did these myths about streets pave in gold come to be? Part of the answer is that for some—those who were bold enough, shrewd enough, and yes, in many cases devious enough—the American Dream became a reality. In all of my reading, no member of Society’s Four Hundred—supposedly the number of people who could fit comfortably in Mrs. Astor’s New York ballroom—personified the American Dream more than the father of Theresa Fair Oelrichs, who became one of the richest women in America.

Alyssa at Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island

Her father, James Fair, was an Irish immigrant who came to this country with his parents when he was twelve. To make a long story short, he went from being the son of poor farmers in the mid west to one of the richest men in the country by way of the silver mines of Virginia City, Nevada. Boldness, shrewdness, and probably no shortage of deviousness paved the way for his success. He and his partners became known as the Bonanza Kings, and their main source of income, the Comstock Lode, was one of the richest veins of silver ever discovered. Theresa, or Tessie as she was called, was born and spent the first few years of her life in the mining camps of Nevada—rough, gritty places that were as far away from the grandeur of Newport, RI, as one can imagine. But she didn’t stay there long. The family joined wealthy society in San Francisco, but when it came time for Tessie and her sister to marry, they came east to make their debuts in New York and Newport.

When James died, his massive fortune was split between Tessie and her sister Birdie, and a brother. The streets of America might not have been paved with gold, but their lives were certainly lined in silver. It’s stories like this that I believe fueled rumors of the great wealth and convinced countless immigrants to try their luck across the ocean. So, are you the descendant of immigrants who came here looking for the American Dream? I think most of us are. My own grandparents were never wealthy, but they did well enough to ensure their children had stable, happy homes.

Where were your ancestors from? Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Murder at Rosecliff and a set of four coasters featuring four of my book covers.

ABOUT THE BOOK: When a troublemaking party crasher is found dead in a fountain during an elegant soiree in Newport, Rhode Island, newspaper editor Emma Cross Andrews must clear her own society reporter from suspicion of murder…

August 1903. Emma and her husband Derrick are among the men in white tie and tails and the women wearing white gowns from the House of Worth at Tessie Oelrichs’s Bal Blanc, or White Ball, at Rosecliff, her grand cottage on Bellevue Avenue. There to cover the event of the season is young Ethan Merriman, society reporter for the Newport Messenger, the newspaper owned by Emma and Derrick.

It’s an utterly charming affair until a stranger intrudes flaunting a green-striped necktie and matching vest in defiance of their hostess’s theme. But his fashion crime is a mere misdemeanor compared to his intention to blackmail Mrs. Oelrichs by producing a compromising document supposedly signed by Tessie over a decade ago.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alyssa Maxwell is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mysteries. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain and Ireland fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles of all kinds drew her to the mystery genre. She and her husband have make their home in Central California, where she is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and The California Wriers Club. You can learn more about Alyssa and her books, and find her social media links, at www.alyssamaxwell.com.

PURCHASE LINK

50 thoughts on “Guest Chick: Alyssa Maxwell #giveaway”

  1. On Mom’s side, I know her dad emigrated from Ireland as a young man (she was born in 1924 and he was late ’50s or a bit older then). Her mom had an Irish surname but died before Mom got married and I never learned much about her. Dad’s dad was of Irish descent and his mom came south from Canada after the 1918 ‘flu killed her husband and only child. So, at least 1/2 of my immediate forebears were definitely immigrants!

    Thanks for running the giveaway; print books are the absolute best prizes.

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    1. It’s a shame how little most of us learned about our ancestors. I know my great grandmother on my paternal grandmother’s side also came to this country, but other than seeing her in a couple of pictures I really know nothing about her. Such a shame.

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  2. Sadly, my parents were never into family ancestry. I’ve never been able to find much about my mother’s side. But daddy is a different story.

    My 7th great grandfather was the first generation in the country, sometime in the early 1700s. They’ve always lived in Pennsylvania. I am actually the first generation of Daddy’s family to be born outside of Pennsylvania. No, we weren’t here to get rich, we were avoiding religious persecution.

    a few odd tidbits. I have at least two instances of known for a fact bigamy, a cousin who (according to birth certificates) was conceived 6 months after the father died, and my great grandfather died falling down the stairs when he couldn’t get out of bed. Ruled “natural causes”.

    only in PA. It’s the PA water, I tell ya!

    and thank you for keeping me entertained, Alyssa!

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    1. Sounds like you have some controversy in your family! It’s tidbits like that that make ancestry so interesting – and fun! They’re a reminder that ever family has a few skeletons rattling around. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. I know a bit about who came when. My mom’s father came from Poland in 1910, as a 15 year old, by himself. Made his way across the country to the mines of Wyoming, then met and married my1 grandmother, whose parents came from another part of Poland in the late 1800’s. On dad’s side, I only know that someone came from Ireland during the mid to late 800s, prior to 1870. Either way, both sides ended up in Colorado as ranchers and railroaders, worked very hard and made sure we all had a better life.Thanks for the hours and hours of reading pleasure you have given us!

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    1. Sounds like your family were pioneers of the burgeoning West. that’s so cool! You’re lucky to know this much about your family! For some reason, earlier generations seemed not to like to talk about themselves. My grandparents didn’t, and as I result I don’t know much about their lives prior to coming or how much they struggled when they arrived.

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  7. My Dutch ancestors 1st came to America in 1630s to New York and later to Penn and Maryland. English 1st came to Jamestown and beyond right after Mayflower. Later English and Scots cams as part of Great Migration further south. But most pertinent is perhaps great-grandfather Roger Wiliams and all the family he and his wife and daughter gave me.

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  9. Love the book AND the series! As to ancestors, I’m first gen on my mom’s side. She came over from Italy when she was three. My dad’s side is from Eastern Europe. I keep getting different areas from Ancestry and 23andMe. Russia, Lithuania, even Poland came up recently. But my DNA is remarkably straightforward: 50% Italian, 50% Ashkenazi Jewish.

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    1. Hi El! Thanks for having me today! I haven’t done Ancestry or any of those because being all Italian – from Sicily and Abruzzo – I pretty much know all I need to know, at least culturally. If there’s some unexpected weirdness in the mix, I’m like, whatever, lol.

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  10. My ancestors came from Europe. On my dad’s side, my grandparents moved from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression seeking a better life, so even movement in our country can be for that reason.

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  11. Congrats, Alyssa. Quite honestly, most of my ancestors came here so long ago I have no idea where they came from. The exception is my maternal grandfather. I know his parents immigrated from Croatia, but I’m not sure why or when. I do think he was held back in kindergarten because his English was not good enough, but I think he was born in America not Croatia.

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    1. Wow! Was that a public school for your grandfather? In the early ’60s, the parochial school I attended didn’t even offer kindergarten. And, I know a lot of parents who purposely hold their sons at home an extra year before starting them in school (girls, apparently, are purportedly much better students at the beginning of their educational journeys, so it’s hoped boys a year older will be better able to hold their own).

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  15. This is a timely topic for me! A couple days ago, my husband Mark popped his head into my office with a mischievous grin on his face. He’d just received his latest 23&Me ancestor update and learned that he’s related to King Bela II of Hungary, who ruled from 1131 CE to 1141 CE. He’s a royal!!! Who knew???

    Turns out with the melting of ice fields and advances in DNA, they are uncovering more and more century old bones. And his DNA matched that of King Bela II, who interesting, ruled despite being blind.

    Of course we had to tease him about his new stature. Luckily, the local Burger King has a bin of free cardboard crowns. We covered over the Burger King symbol with his new title that we made up – King Mark-Bela MMXXVI – and ceremoniously, with much laughter, placed it on his head.

    The special treatment ended there. He still had to put his own dish in the dishwasher. I made it clear there weren’t going to be any servants to wait on him. He good-naturedly grinned and all quickly went back to the normal routine at the Klein house. Although I think he stashed his crown somewhere. Hmmm….

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      1. You’re right! I hadn’t considered I’d also get a Queen title. I will alert King Mark-Bela and my son, now the Prince, that going forward, no chores for me!! 😉

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  17. My maternal grandparents came from England and Spain. My paternal grandparents came from Germany and France. We did well. We did not have a lot of money, but each generation did better.

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  20. Congratulations on your new release, Alyssa Maxwell! Love all your book covers – they are beautiful!

    My grandparents have passed away and so have my parents. I’m from one of the Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia. I moved to US more than 20 years ago when I married my hubby. So, I’m pretty much solo here..

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  23. Alyssa, I’m sorry I’m late to the party here (traveling), but loved your post. Thanks so much for visiting us Chicks, and congrats on MURDER AT ROSECLIFF. It sounds amazing! I am entirely Irish, and all sides of my family came here through Ellis Island in the 1800s. Some went to farm in New York State. One, a woman, ran a (very strict, apparently) boarding house. Others lucked out in Oklahoma in the oil fields. One of my great-grandmothers traveled to the US alone as a teen to marry a man from her village she’d never met.

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  24. I am proud of my roots. My grandfather was born in Denmark and my grandmother was born in Canada. Otherwise, we are all Americans!

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