Foul Deeds Will Rise by Elizabeth Ireland
By
1875, Lillian Nolan believes she has successfully shut off any
connection to the spirit world. That winter she is thrilled when she
wins the role of Ophelia in a new production of Hamlet in her
home town of Chicago. Everything changes when the body of the
managing director is found sprawled across the steps of the dress
circle and all the investors’ money is missing. Lillian fears, once
again, her career is over before it begins.
After her dearest
friend is arrested for murder, Lillian commits herself to discovering
the truth. Her search is complicated by a strange man who is
following her, the romantic overtures of her co-star, and a reunion
with an old nemesis. But nothing is what it seems. What she does find
puts a member of her own family at risk and leads to the unmasking of
the killer with lethal consequences for herself.
THE BACKSTAGE
MYSTERY SERIES
Tagline: Life
upon the wicked stage can be deadly.
Set against
the backdrop of the Gilded Age, the Backstage Mystery Series stars
Lillian Nolan, an unconventional member of Chicago’s upper class
who dreams of a career of fortune and fame in the theater. Talented
and ambitious, she possesses a hidden skill which she is extremely
reluctant to use—the ability to communicate with those who have
died and now live in the world of “The Beyond.”
The series
chronicles her adventures in which she continually becomes enmeshed
in solving mysteries which often require her accessing the realm of
the paranormal. Filled with an incredible cast of characters—factual,
fictional, and sometimes non-physical—who either help or hinder her
quest for the truth, the stories take place during a a period
considered to be the golden age of both acting and spiritualism in
America.
During the
winter of 1875, Lillian Nolan, actress and sleuth, is offered the
role of Ophelia in an upcoming production of Hamlet.
She
quickly notices the odd behavior of Philip Kincaid, husband of her
mentor, Regina Ellicott and managing director of Ellicott’s
Theatre.
“Follow me,” I said.
I led them down the hallway and
into the room, hardly bigger than a large closet, but with two chairs
and a desk. Regina and I sat while Phillip stood.
“Has something happened?” I
asked.
Regina smiled. “Indeed, it
has.”
Then Phillip interrupted her.
“I will tell her, my dear. I am mounting a production of Hamlet.
Regina will of course play Gertrude, and I have arranged for James
O’Neill to play the leading role.”
James O’Neill,
I thought. He was incredibly handsome, talented, and a matinee idol
to hordes of women. As an up-and-coming classical actor, it was quite
an achievement for Mr. Kincaid to retain him. Only last year he had
performed in Macbeth,
Hamlet,
and Julius
Caesar
at the McVicker’s Theatre downtown and gotten wonderful reviews.
That same season he had also performed as Romeo to Adelaide Neilson’s
Juliet.
Adelaide said about O’Neill,
“When I played with
other Romeos, I thought they would climb up the trellis into the
balcony; when I played with James O’Neill, I wanted to climb down
the trellis, into his arms."
This was wonderful news indeed.
But what did it have to do with me?
Kincaid continued, “I want
you to play Hamlet to his Ophelia.”
I was stunned. Was this a joke?
He wanted me to play Hamlet? The expression on my face must have
shown my shock. I glanced at Regina and saw a look of deep concern
flash across her eyes.
She gently said, “My dear,
I’m sure you meant to say Ophelia to his Hamlet.”
And then something equally
startling happened because Kincaid turned on her in a sudden rage.
“That’s exactly what I
said, Regina! Have you no ears? You are getting quite hard of hearing
in your old age, my dear. Or are you just stupid?”
I was appalled, and Regina
looked crushed. What for me should have been a joyous moment was
completely altered by my concern for my friend. But I didn’t have a
moment to think or react because he turned to me and asked angrily,
“Well, miss, what do you have to say?”
Startled, I could only say, “Of
course, I would be delighted to perform in your production.”
This seemed to mollify him.
“Very well, that’s more like it. Come to my office this week and
we will arrange the details. Now, where can a man get a moment’s
peace around here? I need a smoke.”
Elizabeth
Ireland discovered her passion for theater early. After receiving
undergraduate and graduate degrees in Theater, she accepted a
teaching position in a vibrant performing arts department at a
college in northern Illinois. For ten years, she taught, directed and
ran front-of-house operations. American Theater History—particularly
that of the 19th century—has always been of particular
interest to her.
She
has been a quarter-finalist and a semi-finalist for the Don and
Gee Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting sponsored by the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Two of her screenplays have been
optioned, but remain unproduced. Her nonfiction work, Women
of Vision: Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives, was
published in 2008. Her work has also been published in a collection
of paranormal short stories, Paramourtal: Tales of Undying Love
and Loving the Undead. She lives in metro Atlanta with her
ever-patient husband, and two quirky dachshunds.
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