LUCY BURDETTE: When I spotted the cover of MA McLaughlin’s new book and then realized she’s a Crooked Lane author, I knew I had to get her on the blog. Read on for a wonderful backstory…
M. A. MCLAUGHLIN: Poetry and fashion may seem unlikely bedfellows, but au contraire—they have more in common than you might think.
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I became immersed in poetry when I was in fifth grade, and my teacher read Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabelle Lee” to the class; her resonant voice sang out with the long vowels and flowing lines. I was enchanted. The verse sounded like music to me (later I discovered how deeply Poe focused on the sound of poetry, often more than the content), and it set me on the path of delving into every poet I could find as I moved into high school, especially the beautiful work of nineteenth-century poet, Christina Rossetti. She became not only an inspiration for me but a source of curiosity because she wrote both delicate lyrics typical of a Victorian female poet and erotically-charged sonnets not-so-typical of a woman of her era.
But more on that later.
While I was indulging my inner poetry nerd, I also developed my other obsession: antique clothing. And it began from an unlikely episode when I was eighteen. My mother’s Aunt Lily passed away in her late seventies—unmarried and still living in her downtown home that was full of musty old furniture, tons of glassware, and hand-painted figurines. Outdated and unappealing stuff. Then, when Mom and I were sorting through my great-aunt’s things, I spied a black and white picture of her in a lace dress when she was young, posed holding a rose with her waist-length blond hair partially covering her face. Definitely more interesting. At the end of the day, we opened her cedar trunk where we found carefully-preserved, antique clothing and hand-embroidered lace handkerchiefs, along with . . . a wedding certificate!
It turned out my great-aunt had a secret marriage, and the truth had been hidden away for years—with her dresses.
Needless to say, we were intrigued—and curious. Why did my great-aunt hide her marriage and what caused her to put those other items in the trunk? Mom questioned relatives to dig around for the facts about the marriage, even as I turned to the textile pieces with my speculations, examining the fabric and hand-stitched seams. Did those things in the trunk hold some particular significance? Had her husband given them to her? Had she ever worn the clothing?
Unfortunately, I never found the answer as to why my great aunt kept her marriage secret (my mom and I did learn that some of the family knew about it), or why she had chosen to place those particular items in her trunk. It all remained a mystery, but I kept the clothing as the beginning of my vintage collection—and filed the incident away.
Fast forward to 2021 when I started conceptualizing a novel with Christina Rossetti as a character. In spite of studying and teaching her poetry for decades, I found something tantalizingly elusive about her. Although she was a prominent poet during the nineteenth-century and part of a very famous family that included an Italian revolutionary father and charismatic painter/poet brother, Dante Gabriel, Christina remained a private figure in her personal life. However, one incident in her life seemed notably unusual: in 1865, she took a three-week trip to northern Italy and, afterwards, returned to London, broke off relations with her suitor, and wrote a passionate sonnet sequence called the Monna Innominata—the “hidden woman.” She never married.
I had always wondered if something happened on that fateful journey which changed the course of Christina’s life and decided to create a historical mystery about what might have occurred.
As I plotted out my book, I wanted to add a second narrative in post-WWII Verona—the character who would delve into Christina Rossetti’s secrets. But how? That’s when the long-ago discovery of my great-aunt’s trunk popped up in my mind, prompting me to conjecture what if Christina had left behind Victorian dresses with the clues to her puzzling time in Italy? Textiles are historical artifacts, too. All I needed to add was a costume curator heroine with an obsession for Victorian poets and antique clothing. Just like me.
Thus, fashion and poetry melded into an amazingly creative project. And it all started when my mom and I opened my great-aunt’s trunk that, like a Pandora’s box, whispered with echoes from the past.
What an incredible find.
How about you? Have you ever stumbled upon something from an ancestor that set your imagination on fire?
LUCY: Leave a comment on our Reds and Readers Facebook page to be entered in the drawing for this book!
M. A. McLaughlin Bio:
Marty Ambrose-McLaughlin is an award-winning, multi-published author, including a historical mystery trilogy set around the Byron/Shelley circle in nineteenth-century Italy, which earned starred reviews in Publisher's Weekly, as well as a gold medal for historical fiction in the Florida Writers Association's Literary Palm Award. She completed her M.Phil. at the University of York (England) and teaches nineteenth-century British literature, composition, and fiction writing at Florida Southwestern State College. She has also given numerous workshops in the U.S. and abroad on all aspects of creating/publishing a novel, and is a member of The Byron Society, Historical Novel Society, Florida Writers Association, and Women's Fiction Writers Association. Her latest novel, The Lost Dresses of Italy, will be published by Alcove Press in February, 2024.
About The Lost Dresses of Italy
Grieving textile historian, Marianne Baxter, travels to post-WWII Verona, Italy, to assist with an exhibit of long-lost Victorian dresses which once belonged to Pre-Raphaelite poet, Christina Rossetti; but, as Marianne uncovers the garments’ secrets, she finds herself in the midst of a far-reaching conspiracy of lies and murder.
Congratulations, M.A., on your new book . . . what a fascinating plot. I'm looking forward to reading your story.
ReplyDeleteAlas, no mysterious/puzzling items from ancestors to spark my imagination . . . .
Hi, Joan! It was a complete surprise to learn that “secret” about my great-aunt, and I thought about it for many years, not really sure why she hid her marriage. But the fact that she left the license behind and other items meant (I guess) she wanted us to find them . . . midwest American gothic in St. Louis! Thanks for dropping in…—Marty
DeleteM.A., I love books that expand my interests, things I'm not very familiar with. The vintage clothes with Christina Rossetti's poetry and a story at what could have happened in Italy, well, those are a lot of great subjects I want to explore in your intriguing book. Congratulations on your book and a great imagination.
ReplyDeleteMy mother had kept a picture of her boyfriend before my father in which she looks so carefree and I might add happy. I know she kept it because it was important to her, and I wish I'd known to ask her about it. I think she had a special love story with this man, and I wish I knew what had happened.
I also love old photos of my parents, seeing how they looked when they were young . . . aren’t they lovely?
DeleteIt was a picture of my mother and her boyfriend before my father, not my parents. I think she had a really interesting, heartbreaking story about the man, and I wish I'd asked her about it.
DeleteI love that cover!
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous, isn't it?
DeleteI got my aunts cedar trunk after she passed away. It was full of interesting things. She and my uncle married in the 40's but never were able to have any children. Their nieces and nephews were handy substitutes, some more than others. I think I spent more time there than most. The chest contained a few new baby clothes, likely gifts or something she got early in her marriage when hoping for children. There were blankets, and a few trinkets likely dating back to around the time of her marriage. On the very bottom of the chest, under everything, was a beautiful, large Christmas card, signed with love from...not my uncle. I asked my dad if he had ever heard of the man, not telling him why. He had no idea who it was. I really doubt my aunt ever had an affair and when my uncle died, she wasn't interested in looking for another man. "I had one good husband, why would I want to take a chance on another." She enjoyed her time being single, being able to do things she wanted. I would still like to know who he was. A friend from before she married? Someone who approached her after my uncle died? Why did she keep the card and bury it in the chest? I will never know. In a different situation, we were given a trunk that belonged to a 90+ year old female veteran we helped out There is a Victorian, green, long wool dress. There are also white men's collars and several other interesting items.
ReplyDeleteWell, those are some gems, Patricia! Who sent her that Christmas card? Wow. I also have a picture of my mother with an old boyfriend (pre-my dad), and he was quite a looker. Mom must’ve thought so, too, because she kept the picture! Did you keep the green dress from the other trunk?
DeleteYes. It is hanging in a cedar floored attic. It already had some moth hoes in it and I am trying to prevent more. I really wish it would fit me, but is likely be too delicate to wear.
DeleteMarty, this sounds fabulous and compelling. I would love to win a copy. I have a particular weakness for historical mystery. Even though I primarily write contemporary cozies (as Maddie Day), the books I've written set in the past are closest to my heart. I also love that you did the two timeline thing, as Rhys did in The Venice Letter and Barbara Shapiro with The Muralist.
ReplyDeleteOn the artifact? Yes! Six years after my mother died in 2012, I was finally going through a bag of photographs I'd brought home unsorted after she died. I found one of her mother, Ruth, who grew up in western Idaho and eastern Oregon, pretty much frontier territory then (she was born in 1894). Maybe twenty, my grandmother is sitting on a rock outdoors wearing a knit cap, a long sweater, and a long homespun skirt. She's reading a letter - with a rifle across her lap. I was gobsmacked. This was a side of my entirely domestic little grandma nobody had ever talked about. So (of course) I created an alternate reality for her as a private investigator in her twenties in Pasadena, California (more on that next month when A Case for the Ladies releases...).
Look forward to reading A Case for the Ladies, Edith.
DeleteDiana
I love that you used your grandmother's photo as the jumping off point for a new book, Edith. Sounds like fun!
DeleteEdith, I’m putting A Case for the Ladies on my list. Is it out in March? And I was dazed at the image of your grandmother with a shotgun across her lap . . . don’t you love that they had unexpectedly fascinating bits in their lives???
DeleteOooh, Marty, this sounds fabulous. Historicals are my favorite. I can't wait to read it. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteOn the family secrets part, my mother discovered as an adult that her "never-married" uncle actually had a secret relationship and five children. It was the deep South in the early 1930s in a small town exactly like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and the woman was black. The taboo at that time was powerful and dangerous. I always wanted to find these unacknowledged cousins of my mother, who had been an only child, but records are almost non-existent and the last name was as common as Jones.
DeleteAnonymous, have you tried the genetic DNA ancestry services ?
DeleteOhmygosh, this is amazing . . . I guess in the age of Instagram, FB, and online records today it would be difficult to hide a marriage or relationship, but it still happens. That would be so nice if you could do a DNA test to connect with your unknown relatives—how interesting.
DeleteFirst of all, that photo of your great aunt, Marty, is arresting and unique. I've never seen a similar pose, not even in a painting. The photo alone is a find! It's in a special place in your home, right? What an intriguing puzzle and find, that trunk of wonders.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were dismantling a building used by Steve's family since 1960 I found so many treasures. A brass bed/daybed frame tucked into the attic eaves, a cache of soapstone carvings from the Northwest Territory and Alaska, a hunting knife in a heavily decorated sheath that looks like it was from Morocco, and a pair of men's canvas spats, among many other finds. We're pretty sure the spats came from my father-in-law's mentor, who helped him get started in film in the late 1930's. He was the vice president of a prominent brewery in Cincinnati, and a man about town, but we haven't a clue how they came to be in that attic. Years before my father-in-law had given me some of this man's evening clothing, including dress shoes, a set of pearl buttons/tie/cummerbund, and a magnificent fine wool dress shirt--as fine as silk. I donated them to the Art Museum's costume collection, but they didn't want the spats. I know FIL inherited a set of hunting rifles, and I suspect the clothing was also part of his remembrance of his great friend.
Hi, Karen! Yes, my great-aunt’s picture is right here next to my desk! I knew her only when she was in her 70s, but she was still very fashionable (and funny—she called me “Puddinghead”). We also have an image of HER aunt on a small teacup; she died quite young, but I love that I have that, too. We lost most of our possessions in Hurricane Ian, but these items were on a high shelf, so they missed the surge. Thank goodness!
DeleteSounds like a great book. Just preordered! Thanks for the information, excited to read it.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you!
DeleteYour cover pulled me right in. Off to find it!~Emily Dame
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated!
DeleteNo great secrets here, but congratulations on the book! Did you ever discover who your aunt was married to and what happened to him?
ReplyDeleteWell, here’s the scoop: We found out from my great-aunt’s brother (who was still alive then—and apparently knew) that her husband’s name was Oscar. He lived down the street from her in south St. Louis with his mother and he would come by and visit Aunt Lily and her sister quite often, but no one knew anything else. And we never discovered why she kept it secret. Very puzzling.
DeleteCongratulations on your new novel, M.A, I love how you combine fashion and poetry. I look forward to reading the LOST DRESSES OF ITALY.
ReplyDeleteQuestions about your Great Aunt's Secret Marriage. What did you know about her parents? family? White? Irish Catholic? WASP? When I think of a Secret Marriage, I think of several possibilities: Different social economic classes Or Different Religion or Interracial Marriage (in some states it was illegal at that time in history) Or your Great Aunt's parents wanted her to marry someone else?
Trying to think of a discovery about my ancestors. My great grandfather was listed in the 1910 census as a Widower, which I found strange because he married my Great Grandmother sometime between 1905 and 1909. My Grandmother was born in 1909. My Great Grandmother was listed as Arriving in America in 1911. My Question: Where were my Great Grandmother and all of the children, including my Grandmother? My best guess is that they were living in Quebec, Canada while my Great Grandfather was establishing a career and a home in America. My Grandmother's baby brother (and only son) was born in 1910. My Grandmother's baby sister once said she was the only one born in America, meaning that my Grandmother was Not Born in America nor were the other siblings including my Great Uncle. I have so many guesses here.
Diana
I love those fascinating immigration stories . . . and the “widower” label seems odd. But sometimes I think those details were written down incorrectly. With Aunt Lily’s secret marriage, I mentioned above that we found out her husband was a man named Oscar who lived down the street; this was in south St. Louis (where I grew up)—very ethnic area, German Lutheran. So, that made it even more puzzling because they shared the same religion and were middle class . . . who knows?
DeleteFamily secrets will never have answers for. We found tombstones. Every year, my mother took her mother-in-law to family cemeteries on Memorial Day - 3 or 4 of them. Years after my grandmother died, we learned her grandparents and uncles were buried in a cemetery not half an hour away - with enormous monuments - some were officers for the Union in the Civil War who lost their lives then. Grandma never mentioned this part of her family or the cemetery. A falling out? Something else? We'll never know why Grandma never spoke of it.
ReplyDeleteIt's so strange to me the things family members don't talk about. My grandmother didn't speak to her brother for 60 years - why? No idea. She died without telling us or ever speaking to him.
DeleteUmmmm—you ARE writing that book, I hope, Jenn!
Deletewow Lesa, that makes for a very big mystery...
DeleteLesa, that’s fasincating . . . and, yes, I think people were more private then. Or maybe there were more subjects “not talked about” that today seem pretty tame. I wonder why they chose that particular cemetary???
DeleteYour book sounds fascinating, M.A! Though I know very little, I am a fan of Rosetti's too.
ReplyDeleteNo big secrets in our family, but I loved going to my grandma's house when I was a child and looking at/trying on some of her old dresses and jewelry and hearing their stories.
Oh, Gillian, yes! My great aunt had one of those old white stone houses (where the trunk was located) and, while not big, she had the old-style living room with the plastic on the furniture. I never made it into that room because it was for “special” visitors!
DeletePaula here: What an absolutely delicious blog! Every word the beginning of great imaginings. Thanks for this and will absolutely be getting the book.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated—Marty
DeleteGreat fun to hear about your book, Marty, and what inspired it.
ReplyDeleteAs for stories from the past, when my father was a little boy in Northern Louisiana, he spent summers helping out and having a wonderful time on the small, isolated farm that belonged to his great-aunt Ella and great-uncle Elijah. I remember them from when I was six or seven, and my parents, my sister, and I visited their farm and stayed overnight. I was fascinated by the outhouse instead of an indoor toilet, the pump instead of running water, the hen house where Aunt Ella helped me hunt for eggs, and so much more. I know they had one son who died in the First World War, but otherwise, I don't know their story, and I wish I did. Sadly, it's too late now--there's no one left to ask.
What beautiful memories! I so wish some of my older family members kept a journal or something, which would have been nice for your aunt and uncle, too!
DeleteI love antique/vintage clothing & accessories and the stories and intrigue behind them. Looks like it will be a great historical fiction. Added to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, just as an aside, I do hunt around at secondhand stores for vintage clothing, as well! I love old beaded bags . . . they are so lovely.
DeleteMy mother had some fabulous evening dresses from the thirties which were made by a local dressmaker here in Atlanta. They were made of wonderful silk and silk crepe, cut on the bias . Two had matching evening capes. One was yellow and the cape was also full length and pleated like Fortuny fabric. My sisters and I donated them to the History Center here in Altanta. They didn't; take the black evening gown with the matching chiffon capelet because they already had many black dresses but it was the one my mother wore to one of FDR's inaugural balls!
ReplyDeleteomg, I would love to see those dresses.
DeleteOh, how fabulous that you have a gown worn at one of FDR’s inaugural balls. I would treasure that one. Did the History Center exhibit the other pieces? I’ve always loved seeing these types of exhibits, but I truly had no idea what went into mounting one of them until I did the research for my book. I watch a long film on the exhibit of Princess Margaret’s clothing and found out, once the curator fitted her gowns onto the mannequins, they traveled in huge crates because removing them would stress the fabric too much. It’s quite an art to preserve antique clothing...
DeleteI absolutely adore everything about this post, M.A.. I love it when life events years apart come together to form the basis of a story - like finding the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle under a couch cushion. The Lost Dresses of Italy sounds absolutely fabulous. I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much . . .
DeleteAh, the history in old trunks, or modern closets, or (as puzzled a student reading TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) in chifforobes. If those remnants could only talk. I have a few pieces my mother made long ago, and wish I'd kept more, with love in every stitch. Thanks for one more intriguing book for Mt. TBR. <3 -- Storyteller Mary
ReplyDeleteMary, if you have a chance to talk with a costume curator, you’ll be fascinated; they really do explain how every piece of clothing tells a story . . .
DeleteThis is Atlanta again. I was so caught up in my memories of my mother's dresses that I forgot to say how much I am looking forward to reading your book, MA. It sounds delightful, and a wonderful combination of poetry and fashion plus mystery!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and I was so excited to hear about your family dresses!
DeleteThis is such a fascinating post and has definitely sparked my interest. I'm not a poetry/vintage clothing sort of a gal but ... I am so looking forward to reading "The Lost Dresses of Italy." I love the cover, by the way, and the story behind the "story" adds so much to the mystery. In answer to the question, I have not stumbled upon anything from my ancestors although I have quite a few photos that have raised the question, "I wonder who that is?" Sadly, there is no one left to answer that question but that's okay. I have those lovely black and white photos and know that I'm related to some of them and maybe all of them.
ReplyDeleteOh, now photos . . . that’s another fascinating piece of history. That picture of my great aunt is really the only image I have of her when she was young, but my mother has the gold bracelet she is wearing (it’s on her left hand).
DeleteI know the perfect reader for this book and ai have noted it on my gift -buying list.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is absolutely fantastic! I am trying to imagine your eyes, widening, as you made this discovery. What a treasure she left you! And so wonderful that you were open to it as a book idea—the perfect person to find it!
ReplyDeleteHank, it was an amazing moment . . . and it’s been four decades!!!
DeleteFantastic! My mind won't let go of the secret marriage certificate. What a discovery.
ReplyDeleteMy mom still has the marriage certificate!
DeleteTHE LOST DRESSES OF ITALY sounds absolutely riveting, M.A., and holy cow, have you been blessed by the cover gods, too! Just looking at the image makes me want to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a Christina Rossetti fan (my first book was titled 'In the Bleak Midwinter'...) but I had never heard of that trip to Italy. Three weeks sounds short for the mid-19th century as well - almost as if she rushed home.
Thank you so much, Julia! It’s nice to meet a fellow Rossetti fan . . . as an FYI the U.K. had a huge Rossetti exhibit in London last year at the Tate Gallery, and when you walked in, there was a recording of her poetry by actor, Bill Nighy.
DeleteOh my, this sounds fascinating! Sadly, no mysteries to my knowledge. Good to know other families have them and share the inspiration, so the rest of us an enjoy!
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh, Marty, that photograph!!!! What a treasure! I've never seen a pose quite like it, and wasn't she gorgeous? What a mystery, for sure. I'm fascinated by Rossetti, and by the clothing, and I absolutely adore your cover. I can't wait to read The Lost Dresses of Italy!
ReplyDeleteDeborah, thank you! I only knew my great-aunt when she was older, so I treasured this twentysomething image of her.
DeleteMarty, your book - and the real life inspirations - sound so intriguing. As Hank said, you were the perfect person to find it.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure there are many things in generations past to ponder, but I have one for each of my parents that I wish I had asked about. My mom had a record (one of the kind you could make in a booth, I guess, during WWII) where she and her best friend were being interviewed by a DJ(?). At one point he asked her if she had a “special someone” out there she wanted to send a greeting to. She said something along the lines of “Oh, he knows what I want to say” very coyly. Well, my mom and dad didn’t meet until 1949, four years after the war ended… I don’t know why I didn’t ask her who she was referring to, but I presume the mysterious man died during the war.
My dad’s story isn’t nearly as tragic, but after he died, I was cleaning out their garage that had all kinds of things dating back decades. I found some letters to my father that I finally figured out were from his brother’s stepdaughter. His brother was 8 years older and I think his wife was a little older than he so this stepdaughter was probably a grown woman at the time of the letters. The letters weren’t hot and spicy, but she definitely seemed to think my dad was her boyfriend. As I said, my parents didn’t meet until a few years later, but I now understood why my mom never particularly liked that woman! — Pat S
Oh, Pat, that’s a little gem of a story!
DeleteNow on my TBR list! Absolutely the sort of book I adore! And your aunt’s wedding dress? So exciting
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteMy grandmother immigrated to America from the Poland/Lithuania area, learned to speak English perfectly, but never learned how to read or write. Her nine children supported her with those chores. She loved to cook and one day I noticed that she had a seventh edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1942. Several pages in the book were stuffed with either hand written recipes or flyers from newspapers, local grocery stores or companies such as Lever Brothers (Spry) and Jelke's Good Luck Vegetable Oleomargarine. Since one of her children would take her grocery shopping, I am guessing that maybe she matched up the words on the packaging, like flour, with the recipe in the cookbook. I wish that I could have asked her how she was able to use these recipes! That cookbook is one of my treasured possessions!
ReplyDeleteMy husband, Peter, is obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe. It is claimed that Poe visited Providence, RI to spend time with a woman (Sarah Helen Whitman - poet, essayist & critic) that he was in love with there. Both, at the time, were widowed. Peter graduated from Providence College and has driven by this woman's house on Benefit Street hundreds of times!
DeleteOh, that is so lovely! Have you made the recipes? I’ve never heard that story about Poe—fascinating!
DeleteSounds like an awesome book. Looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Apologies for being a bit late today. But MA what a find with a fascinating story and a secret marriage too. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall as you and your mom opened the cedar trunk. I have some antique and vintage clothes that I have collected. Now I'm looking for good homes for them as it's declutter time. MA I do love the juxtaposition of fashion and murder. The more I re ad the more I realize that just about anything we enjoy can be spiced up with some wrong doing. I shall look forward to the launch and my reading treat.I haven't read Rossetti's poetry but again a treat for the future.
ReplyDeleteReply
Hi, Celia! Thank you . . . I’m glad I was finally able to find a way to incorporate this family story into a book. And it’s funny but when I was recalling it, I had to ask my mom about some of the details (she’s 90!) because I had forgotten parts, like what else was in the trunk and what it looked like inside. My mother remembered it better than I did!
Delete