By Liz, happy to welcome Alyssa Maxwell back to talk about the family at the center of her latest Gilded Newport Mystery, Murder at Vinland. And she’s doing a giveaway! Take it away, Alyssa!
Twombly—That’s a Funny Name!
Apparently, it’s of British origin, but the Twomblys who inhabit Murder at Vinland, my latest Gilded Newport Mystery, were American through and through. Hamilton Twombly was a businessman who worked as William Henry Vanderbilt’s financial adviser at the New York Central Railroad, and also served on the board of directors on several other railroads around the country.
But it’s not him we’re concerned with here, but his wife, Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly. Florence was William Vanderbilt’s daughter, making her the first Cornelius’s granddaughter and the sister of Cornelius II, who owned The Breakers in Newport. Now, we all know the story, played out fictionally in Julian Fellows’s The Gilded Age, of how Florence’s sister-in-law, Alva Vanderbilt, used her wits to persuade Caroline Astor to accept the Vanderbilt family into Society. But unlike Mrs. Astor, women like Alva, Mamie Fish, and Theresa Fair Oelrichs were known for their ostentation and “new money” antics and enjoyed seeing their names in the society columns.
Not so Florence Twombly. Much like Mrs. Astor and other blue-blooded, Knickerbocker wives, she abhorred publicity and turned up her nose at the press. Further reading, especially a memoir written by her French chef later in the 20th century, cemented in my mind the image of an intelligent, formidable woman who lived according to her own terms. She embodied a certain spirit that very much helped define Newport in the Gilded Age, and because of this, I chose to write Murder at Vinland with a particular focus on women—from the victims to the suspects to everyone in between. There are a couple of men here and there, but this is a story for the ladies.
Yes, men held the power when it came to the business of making money. They were the captains of industry, the robber barons, and controlled the business world from their board rooms in New York City. But money wasn’t enough for the families of the Four Hundred. They needed power, both politically and socially, and when it came to the latter, it was the women who were in charge. They determined who mattered and who didn’t, and they created powerful dynasties through the strategic marriages of their children. Vanderbilt, Astor, Wilson, Goelet, Van Alen—these are just a few society names that formed intricate connections through marriage.
Much of this strategizing and maneuvering took place in Newport during the Summer Season at balls, dinner parties, luncheons, picnics, and sporting events, etc., with women planning the social schedule and the men showing up accordingly. In short, during those six to eight weeks each year, women were the heads of their families.
Female strength is symbolized in the very house Florence Twombly lived in in Newport. Vinland was built in the 1880s by Catherine Lorillard Wolfe, an heiress (real estate and tobacco money) who never married and therefore controlled her own fate and finances. Inspired by legends of Vikings landing in Newport a millennium ago, she had imagery from Norse mythology incorporated into the design of the house. I make use of that fierce, warrior imagery when describing the relationship between Florence and my sleuth, Emma Cross. Unlike Emma’s relationship with other members of the Vanderbilt family, she and Florence aren’t close, with Florence often disapproving of Emma’s lifestyle. By the end of the book, though, they do find some common ground—that of being women in control of their lives. Not to mention Emma solving the murder that takes place at Vinland.
Readers: is there a woman whose strength inspires you? Could be someone you know, someone from history, or maybe one of the amazing athletes we saw during the Olympics. Share below to be entered for a chance to win a signed hardcover copy of Murder at Vinland! (For U.S. residents only due to shipping costs.) A winner will be chosen randomly and announced/contacted the next morning.
Alyssa Maxwell is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady & Lady’s Maid Mysteries. A former nonfiction and fiction editor, Alyssa began writing at an early age. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles drew her to the mystery genre. She and her husband live in Florida, where they enjoy bike riding, antiquing, hiking nature trails, and shopping at the farmer’s markets, but their hearts remain in Newport, RI. You can learn more about Alyssa and her books at www.alyssamaxwell.com and connect with her on social media at:
Facebook – Gilded Newport, Facebook – Alyssa Maxwell, Instagram, Goodreads, Twitter
The Wickeds 
I’m so excited to read the new Emma adventure, Alyssa! Yesterday’s Boston Globe featured a long article about Frances Glessner Lee, the woman who created the miniature crime scenes and taught the police how to do forensic investigation. She also created her life on her own terms and refused to stay in her lane. Inspiring!
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Hi Edith! I’ve got a recommendation for you! It’s Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen. It’s a cozy mystery set in the fifties featuring a sleuth based on Frances Glessner Lee.
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Cool, thanks. New Englander Frances McNamara has a new series, also with Lee as the the sleuth – the Nutshell Mysteries, I think it’s called!
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There’s so so many courageous, inspiring women! I’d like to think we all are, each in our own way! My first thought is my mom, who overcame poverty, cruelty from a stepfather, and being raised in a house with 12 other children. She left school, moved out, lived with a kind aunt, and made a living at her uncles laundromat – being a seamstress and clerk. She met my dad, married, moved away from her family altogether, got her diploma and a great federal government job. After retirement, she lived a quiet life but always always was a strong support for me and my siblings. When she diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she remained hopeful, stubborn and strong, right up til the end. Whenever I thing my troubles are too much, I think of her!
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Yes, you’re very lucky to have had such a courageous woman in your life, and such an inspiration. I’m sure you inherited her strength.
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My mother was and is my inspiration. She was born in 1930. She had a lot of ups and downs in her life. But, she was the most loving and caring woman I knew. She loved people and people loved her. She was a strong woman and would talk to anyone. ❤️
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She sounds like a wonderful person and someone who stayed positive not only for herself but for the sake of others.
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This may sound silly, but Nelly Bly. I read her biography when I was eight or nine and it was an eye-opener. She became a journalist at a time when that was a closed field for women (Emma Cross excepted), traveled around the world a la Phineas Fogg, went undercover as an investigative reporter at what were then called insane asylums. Yes, she was a huge inspiration.
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Not at all silly! She’s partly the inspiration for my Emma, and even makes an appearance in Murder at Ochre Court. Nellie was ahead of her time (except for her determination to marry a rich man, lol), who broke rules and crossed boundaries, and earned the respect of the men in her life.
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Mine is Helen Keller. I have been deaf since a baby and looked up to her as inspiration of overcoming her challenges growing up.
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She was one of my childhood heroes, too, a true inspiration who proves you really can do anything if you want it badly enough. No excuses!
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My mother was strength personified throughout her difficult life. She persevered and never complained. A devoted, loving and selfless mother and grandmother whose life I try to emulate everyday.
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How wonderful! I do think the women of “the Greatest Generation” were very strong in their own right, even if they chose to stay home and raise a family. They persevered through a lot of discrimination against women in the 20th century and paved the way for things to be better for their daughters.
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My admiration for my two grandmothers whose lives were the most challenging, and filled with trials and tribulations. Their strength and fortitude as well as their talents gave their lives meaning. insurmountable difficulties which I can only understand now that I am older. Adversity which had to be overcome with strength. My heart breaks now as I think about their lives.
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Yes, there are some many things about past generations of our families we can’t understand until we get older. You’re lucky that you know about their early lives. I wish I had talked to my grandmother more about coming to America from Italy and what it was like to work in the garment district in New York before she married.
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This book looks and sounds like it is interesting and intriguing, would love to read it.
A woman who inspires me is the late Maya Angelou when I met her in college through a class, I had to take I got to hear her speak and even got to meet her but the one thing that inspired me the most was she always said Never Give On Your Dreams Big Or Small and that has stuck with me since I heard her speak and met her.
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Oh, my goodness! You met Maya Angelou! That’s so amazing. I imagine you carry her memory close to your heart all the time.
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My mother was the strongest woman I ever knew. ckmbeg(at) gmail (dot) com
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Simply said–but a strong statement.
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Simply said–but a strong statement.
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My Mother is the strong woman I admire most. She was the oldest girl in a family of seven children. When her Mother died, Mom was 12 and had to lose her dream of going to high school to become a mother to her younger siblings, who were 7, 5, 3 and 1 years old. As an adult married woman she suffered three miscarriages and her first born died at birth. She and my Dad raised me and my brother and, in my opinion, did a great job.
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How difficult for a girl of that age! And how strong she had to have been to do what needed to be done, and then be a loving mother all over again for her own children.
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My first thought was Mary Kingsley. She was an explorer way ahead of her time. She was fearless and very intelligent.
This book fascinates me. Can’t wait to read it.
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I’ll admit I had to look her up. How had I not heard of her before! She sounds extraordinary. I just put a biography of her on my TBR list.
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Congratulations, Alyssa! I recently learned that the grandmother of a childhood friend (who passed away at the ripe age of 105), was a physicist and worked for DuPont when she was young. She was one of the team who invented cling-wrap! The family lived two doors up from my dad’s parents. I have no idea if my grandparents knew, but Dad and I were floored. She was such a quiet, unassuming woman and never talked about her achievements in public.
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Thanks, Liz! The world needs to know more about early female scientists, especially since until recently, they weren’t talked or written about. I wonder if her reluctance to talk about her achievements was a result of people basically telling her that nice women should be modest–and not as smart as men!
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I have always been inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt. She was ahead of her time and a force to be reckoned with I think.
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100%!! She basically ran the country at times when her husband wasn’t able to, but no one knew it at the time. She was the definition of a formidable woman.
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My grandmother was the strongest woman I ever knew! I admire her so very much!
Thank you for the chance!
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You’re lucky to have had such a good example in your own family!
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Beryl Markham. Have read her book “West with the Night” so many times. What always struck me about her was the many things that she did on her own initiative: training racehorses, running a coffee plantation, ferrying medical and other needed supplies via single-engine airplane to remote camps in Kenya, and being the first woman to fly West across the Atlantic.
She had support people and men in her life, but so much time in what she did was spent alone – especially the many hours in her plane.
I always wished I’d had her courage to take on new challenges in her life, and her endurance.
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I don’t have that kind of courage, either. I wish the schools would teach more about women like her. She would be such an inspiration to so many girls.
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I don’t have that kind of courage either. I wish, though, that the schools would teach more about her and women like this because it would inspire girls to be brave in life and show them what they’re capable of.
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So true. Beryl and Nellie Bly would be great examples, and also have such interesting books about them that would make great reads for the students.
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My Mother was an inspiration to me. Her father died when she was ten years old and she had two siblings to look after while my Grandmother had to work to support them. My mother also had many medical issues when we were growing up and throughout her life. I don’t know if I could have dealt with all she had to deal with.
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I’m sure you would have, because you are her daughter and part of her is in you. We find strength we never knew we had when life challenges us.
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Kamala Harris. I probably don’t have to go into detail about why, but imagine the courage it takes to reach the stage she has and to continue to strive to be elected to the top office in the United States.
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I’m sure you would because you’re her daughter and she’s part of who you are. I think when life challenges us, we find the strength to persevere.
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It would have to be my mother. She lived through the great depression and raised 5 kids.
Mom and dad lost all their savings when the banks closed. They were going to move the next day so instead of drawing the money out the day before, they thought it was safer to leave it in the bank until the next day. And the banks never opened. So basically they had no money and many mouths to feed. My mother did odd jobs for people, cleaning and sewing and my dad did electrical as he could find it. They were so poor during that time that neighbors sometimes gave my mom food like potatoes. Instead of good potatoes with a few bad spots they were bad potatoes with a few good spots. It was hard times but my mother did her best to care for us. I wasn’t born yet but this is just one of the stories I remember her telling me.
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It’s hard for most of us to even imagine. Your parents sound like very strong people.
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My mom got married when she was thirty so she had worked about 10 years. Dad was 5 years younger and babied by his mother. Mom managed the money and gave Dad an allowance. She made most of the decisions because Dad found it hard to do that. Mom worked as church secretary for a few years when we were kids and worked full time to put my brother and me through college. As soon as Bob had enough money to finish, Mom retired. She also learned to drive when Dad died. She was 65.
Her mother lost Mom’s father when he was 27. Grandma had to work as a housekeeper until she remarried when Mom and her sister were teenagers. My other Grandma and her sister worked in a cigar factory before their marriages.
Thanks for the chance. I hope Hallmark continues this series.
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She definitely sounds like a woman ahead of her time. It might still be somewhat unusual, but I do know of some wives who are the primary bread winners in their family.
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This book sounds fascinating! I am behind in the series so it will be a while until I get to it. I love all the comments and have added several books to my TBR. There are so many strong women I admire that it is difficult to choose just one. I have always admired Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. While in some ways she had an exciting and glamorous life, she also lived through great trials in the public eye with a quiet strength and humility. She was so strong through JFK’s assassination, less than 4 months after the premature birth and death of her son Patrick, which sent her into a depression. She had already lost her first child to stillbirth. And who really knows what went on in her marriage since John Kennedy apparently cheated on her with more than one woman. She reinvented herself after Onassis died (another loss) and seemed to enjoy her life as a book editor in New York.
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She’s a very interesting person who I feel was underestimated in her early life. She was thought of as a socialite, but she HAD to be strong to enter the Kennedys’ world. I think she really came into herself after being widowed for the second time – establishing her career, preservation work, etc.
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My Mom. She was such a strong person. She grew up going to a one room school until she went to high school. After she graduated, my Grandmother and Mom moved from West Virginia to Ohio. My Grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. My Mom would give her morphine shots. My Dad was in the military. He had a some time off when they were married. He went back to Texas as she stayed and took care of my Grandmother until she passed.
She was never afraid to stand up for what was right. She was strong in all she did. Thank you for letting me share a bit about my Mom. God bless you. dpruss@prodigy.net
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Thank you for sharing about her! Strong women are an inspiration to all of us.
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My mother inspired me. She was there through my childhood despite being told to never have children due to a back injury in her youth. She had four of us. Two girls and two boys. Unfortunately, the two boys did not survive. One died at childbirth and the other died at three months old with a hole in his heart that in 1952 could not be operated on. I had asthma so bad the first two years of my life that they had to walk me nightly. She stayed at home to take care of my sister and I but helped Daddy by having a Party Bazaar in our house to plan parties for people. Then when I was in Junior high and my sister was getting ready to graduate, she went back to college to finish her degree that she started but never finished from 1936 to 1939. After that she got her master’s degree and got a great job working at the Region One Education agency in Spanish and early childhood education. She was awarded a Fulbright Hayes grant to study Spanish at the university of Costa Rica in 1965. She was awarded grants to go to Russia twice to see their early childhood education. All of this was done after she had two back operations and a bone graft and had to learn to walk again after the 2nd child died. She wore a brace most of her adult years. She retired early to take care of our Daddy who had heart issues. She showed me that I could make it in this world and persevere.
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What extraordinary achievements, after facing so much hardship and tragedy. An inspiration!
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I’m inspired by my daughter. She worked very hard to become a Naval Officer, and the hard work continues! I was introduced to both the Gilded mansions and your books while she was at Dept. Head school a few years ago in Newport and I’ve been in love with the area (and your books) since.
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Thank you! What a happy coincidence about your daughter spending that time in Newport. Sounds like you have a lot to be proud of. I also admire and am inspired by my daughter.
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The women I admire most are those of the older generation. Since I am now a senior myself, most of them have passed on, but it’s their strengths that have guided me through my life. An example is my own mom. She by most was thought only as a homemaker, but she was much more than that. She was the glue to the family, the one that could squeeze coins and stretch them to accomplish what most can’t do with a hundred dollars now. She made from scratch, sewed our clothes and saw that we lacked for nothing we needed and had more of what we wanted than we might should have gotten. She made birthdays and holidays special while staying in the background looking for no recognition. She taught us common sense and how to respect our elders and how not to judge others unless we also wanted to be done so with the same foggy insight all more valuable than a sheep skin from some college. I’ve had many other woman in my life that have taught me lessons that were invaluable because of the lesson my mom taught me about to keep one’s mouth shut more and ears open. My wish is that I might have given some smidgen of a lesson to someone behind me that will one day be thought of as something special they learned from that person much older than themselves.
Since I have the great honor or winning a copy of MURDER AT VINLAND through Goodreads, I’m not entering the contest so that someone else may also have the great honor of reading it. I know I’m thrilled with the honor of getting to read it, I will gladly review and promote it once it arrives and I’ve read it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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I truly believe the women of that generation, my mother included, were so much more than housewives. They were vibrant, creative, determined, and strong. The true head of the family. P.S. congrats on winning a Goodreads copy!
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I suppose that I would have to pick Mother Theresa as a woman to be admired. Not only did she dedicate her life to serving others, but she also gave up so much else. By going to another country, learning to eat that country’s foods, learning another language, she accomplished so much. I enjoy my creature comforts and would have a terrible time making those sacrifices!
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That kind of strength is rare, I think. She was an extraordinary person.
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Ida Wells, the black reporter who devoted much of her career to exposing the horrors of lynching a century ago.
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Congratulations on the new book! I love that you focus on Newport, and the era you highlight. Such a great series.
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Thank you, Julie!
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I admire my mom who is a survivor. She has been through so much and yet she keeps going. She is so strong!
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Moms are really amazing people!
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Thank you all so much for your wonderful replies. You’ve all inspired me! The winner of the signed copy of Murder at Vinland is Celie Roberts! You’ll be contacted privately, too.
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For me it is my mom who is trying to make it to her 90th birthday. (It’s a month away!)
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Simone Biles who won medals in the Olympics.
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