Mrs. Walford

A dark secret. A second chance.A thirty-year-old mother of two and wife of a prominent Brooklyn ship broker registers at the Queen Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia, using a false name. Two weeks later she is buried in the local cemetery. Or is she?Without family or friends, health or hope, Sadie Walford arrives already contemplating a drastic next step. But she hasn't counted on the likes of Eleanor, the hotel's no-nonsense bookkeeper, or Maggie, the annoyingly helpful head maid, who both have other ideas.A chance encounter with a thief sets events in motion, and Sadie will be forced to choose: What is she willing to do to conceal her past, preserve her freedom, and claim the life she desires?Inspired by actual events and set in Gilded Age New York and Nova Scotia, this epistolary tale unfolds through journal entries, letters, recollections and accounts. The multi-POV, dual timeline story builds like an iridescent work of stained glass, illuminating the life of Sadie Walford, and the power of friendship in turbulent times. Enter the world of Mrs. Walford:From a raucous boarding house in Flushing, New York, to the upscale Queen Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia...From the heavenly windows department of Louis Comfort Tiffany's glass and decorating company in Manhattan, to a doctor's private practice in a quiet Brooklyn brownstone...From the moving of the Brighton Beach Hotel on Coney Island, to the dedication of the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World...From the bustling green market and waterfront of Halifax, to the tranquil shores of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island...you won't want to leave.Meet the storytellers:Discreet, unruffled ELEANOR, who keeps the Queen Hotel's books, and one or two of its secretsForthright MAGGIE, who's undaunted by her difficult beginnings and unfazed by the peculiarities of the hotel's guestsEnigmatic SARAH, who's buoyed by her employment as an artisan, and burdened by her pastChatty young MATILDA from the African Nova Scotian farming community of Preston, and her tiny observant Mi'kmaw friend HANAH from across the harbour in Turtle Grove, who together notice everything that goes on at the green marketThrill-seeking JENNIE, who's never seen a pocket, or a mirror reflection, that she didn't likeAnd perceptive, empathetic FRED, who's seeking atonement the only way she knows howIf you liked the friendships and atmosphere of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and A Gentleman in Moscow, and the mystery of The Frozen River, you'll love Mrs. Walford. Read more