Saturday, November 2, 2019

Ellen Crosby--The Angel's Share



DEBORAH CROMBIE: I am such a fan of Ellen Crosby's books that it's always an exciting day for me when there is a new one, and her 10th Wine Country Mystery is out this coming Tuesday! I love reading about Lucie Montgomery and her Virginia vineyard, and I especially love the title of this book, THE ANGEL'S SHARE. The "angel's share" is what is lost to evaporation as spirits age, and the term is also used in making scotch whisky.

Give me vineyards, a good crime, and history threaded through a contemporary story, and I am a happy reader!




ELLEN CROSBY:                                      
          
 I love Virginia, my adopted home state. Especially as a writer.
          My wine country mysteries take place in a picturesque, idyllic region of the Old Dominion known as horse and hunt country where rolling hills, checkerboard fields, country lanes, and pretty villages are set against the backdrop of the dowager-humped Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a tradition-steeped, tweeds-and-jodhpurs kind of place where foxhunts, twilight summer polo, steeplechase races and hunt balls are important events marked on calendars. And there are vineyards—situated next to gated estates or abutting horse farms that raise Thoroughbreds bound for the Derby or the Olympics.
          Though my series is set in the invented town of Atoka (population 64), I have located it next door to the charming village of Middleburg where streets are named for the signers of the Declaration of Independence because they were friends of the man who founded the town in 1787. Washington Street (named for George) is the main street, but once you leave town, it becomes Mosby’s Highway for the region’s most famous Civil War hero, Colonel John Singleton Mosby. Romantically known as the Gray Ghost for his success hiding from Union soldiers, Mosby and his Partisan Rangers crouched behind stacked stonewalls that crisscrossed fields and lined roads, tucked into hidey-holes under homes, or roosted up in trees. To this day folks swear that on moonless nights they see the Ghost riding across a field searching for Yankees.
          So in addition to a picture-postcard setting, my little corner of Virginia has something else: history that is often more fascinating than anything I could invent. And sometimes the perfect historical nugget for the plot of a future book falls into my lap. In the case of THE ANGELS’ SHARE, the tenth Virginia wine country mystery, I had just finished giving a talk organized by a library at a local vineyard when a man came up to me and said, “Have you ever written a book about the Freemasons?” I told him I hadn’t and he slipped me his business card.
          “You should,” he said.
          Intrigued, I began to look into the Masons, knowing nothing except that they were a secretive male-only organization that sometimes wore unusual costumes and were supposedly tied to the founding of Washington, D.C. Before long my research led to the Jamestown Colony and stories of a cache of documents brought from London to Virginia by a relative of Sir Francis Bacon, who happened to be a famous Freemason. 


          Hidden under the bell tower of the Jamestown church, these documents were—again, supposedly—later moved to a vault under Bruton Parish Church, a still-functioning church in nearby Williamsburg. To allay claims of a cover-up and prove once and for all that there was no Bruton Vault, representatives of the church and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation dug up the churchyard—twice, in 1938 and 1992—looking for the documents. They never found anything. Detractors claim they dug in the wrong place. Or that John D. Rockefeller, the multimillionaire philanthropist who financed the restoration of Williamsburg in 1926, removed them himself.


          Soon I was deep down a rabbit hole, finding websites asserting that everything from the Ark of the Covenant to a never-before-seen novel written by Francis Bacon containing Masonic principles incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were among the hidden trove of items. Even more intriguing were claims Bacon was the real author of Shakespeare’s plays: the proof—pages in his handwriting—was also part of the secret cache. The last person to view the contents of Bruton Vault was Thomas Jefferson, who ordered it sealed permanently. Oh, yes, and the Ark of the Covenant may now be buried under National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
          Or so they say.
          The story of Bruton Vault—a fantastical, National Treasure-type tale—was too irresistible not to write about. I gave it my own spin and in THE ANGELS’ SHARE Lucie Montgomery, my protagonist, searches for the killer of someone she believes discovered what really happened to the contents of the vault. The toughest part of writing this book—as you might imagine—was figuring out a believable and hopefully satisfying ending to a real-life mystery.
          Which, of course, involved more research. So last fall, my husband and I spent a morning at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. where the former head of reference and two other librarians showed us First Folios and explained that almost nothing in Shakespeare’s handwriting exists anywhere. Though the Folger has the most extensive collection of First Folios in the world, the library owns a single document in Shakespeare’s handwriting: a real estate deed tied to one of his businesses. We were also told that at the Folger it’s universally believed that Shakespeare really did write Shakespeare. 


          The next day we drove down to Jamestown to meet with the senior historian at Historic Jamestowne, the archeological site of the settlement. As it happened, that day Hurricane Florence was making its way up the East Coast. Though the weather reports became progressively bleaker urging people to evacuate low-lying coastal areas (like Jamestown), our host was still game to give us a tour. For three hours, the three of us sat alone on benches where the original church had been located and walked through a deserted museum—everyone else had left—talking of hardships, starvation, and cannibalism as the sky grew blacker across the James River. We barely made it to the car when the rain started pelting down. The five-hour drive home to northern Virginia in a hurricane was unforgettable and harrowing. 


          The things I do for research.
          By the time I had figured out how I was going to resolve what happened to the Bruton Vault in THE ANGELS’ SHARE, I was of mixed minds whether I believed it had ever existed or not. For one thing, there was too much information out there—too many stories spanning decades, even centuries—for it to have been made up out of whole cloth. Right?
          So if it did exist, what happened to it? Where was it—or where is it?
         

   

Ellen Crosby pours up another corking mystery with The Angels' Share, an intriguing blend of secret societies, Prohibition bootleg wine, and potentially scandalous documents hidden by the Founding Fathers, all of which yield a vintage murder.

When Lucie Montgomery attends a Thanksgiving weekend party for friends and neighbors at Hawthorne Castle, an honest-to-goodness castle owned by the Avery family, the last great newspaper dynasty in America and owner of the Washington Tribune, she doesn’t expect the festive occasion to end in death.

During the party, Prescott Avery, the 95-year old family patriarch, invites Lucie to his fabulous wine cellar where he offers to pay any price for a cache of 200-year-old Madeira that her great-great-uncle, a Prohibition bootlegger, discovered hidden in the US Capitol in the 1920s. Lucie knows nothing about the valuable wine, believing her late father, a notorious gambler and spendthrift, probably sold or drank it. By the end of the party Lucie and her fiancé, winemaker Quinn Santori, discover Prescott’s body lying in his wine cellar. Is one of the guests a murderer?

As Lucie searches for the lost Madeira, which she believes links Prescott’s death to a cryptic letter her father owned, she learns about Prescott’s affiliation with the Freemasons. More investigating hints at a mysterious vault supposedly containing documents hidden by the Founding Fathers and a possible tie to William Shakespeare. If Lucie finds the long-lost documents, the explosive revelations could change history. But will she uncover a three hundred-year-old secret before a determined killer finds her?



ELLEN CROSBY is the author of the Virginia-set Wine Country Mystery series, which began with The Merlot Murders. She has also written a mystery series featuring international photojournalist Sophie Medina. Previously she worked as a freelance reporter for The Washington Post, as the Moscow correspondent for ABC News Radio, and as an economist at the United States Senate. 

     
 READERS, what do you think? Hidden wine, secret vaults, could they exist?

           
         

         

         

29 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your newest book, Ellen . . . I’m looking forward to seeing how Lucie’s search turns out.
    What a fascinating story! After reading this, I think I’ll have to vote in favor of hidden wine and secret vaults . . . after all, who really knows?

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    1. Joan, thanks for this! Let me know what you think after you've read the book!

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  2. Ellen, I can hardly wait to read this book! I love stories that combine contemporary plots with history and the freemason connection makes it even more fascinating!

    Hidden wine, secret vaults, could they exist? They could! Even if they don't, they make for good stories. :)

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    1. Cathy, it was too intriguing not to write about, as I said in the blog. Plus 2 sons and a daughter-in-law went to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg--in all my visits to W&M, I somehow never came across the story of Bruton Vault!

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  3. Uh oh, time to catch up with Lucie! This sounds like a fabulous read! Thanks, Ellen and JRW, for the intro to another great read!

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  4. Ellen is here at Bouchercon and I have her book, which is gorgeous. It's got a map--and a family tree! I hope I can track her down to sign it. I'm sure she'll be checking in here on JRW.

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    1. Debs, I am dashing off to my Bouchercon panel in half an hour, but I will definitely be checking in. Thanks so much for inviting me to JRW again. It's such a treat! xo

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  5. Shalom Reds and fans. Hello Ellen. I have a friend from grade school, who owned a boutique winery in Virginia somewhere. I think he must have sold it more than a few years back. I no longer drink wine; however, I always love a good yarn.

    There is a story about Shakespeare and the King James Version of the Bible which most biblical experts discount as hokum. Here it is. In beginning of 1611, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old. If you look at Psalm 46 in the KJV and count 46 words, starting with the first verse “God…” you come to the word “shake”. If you start from the end, discounting the word “Selah” and count 46 words, you come to the word “spear” which in 1611 was spelled “speare”. Further, if you add 4 plus 6, you get 10. Starting at verse ten, you count 6 words, you come to “I (am) and counting 4 more words from “I” you get the word “will” which makes “will I am”.

    The “believers” think that Shakespeare was one of the scholars who crafted the translation and placed his signature for us to find. Say, what you will. I believe it.

    I am most times a cynic but I loved the movie National Treasure.

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    1. What a fascinating story! The Folger does have a collection of items/papers/etc from folks who have "evidence" that Will didn't write his own plays. I loved National Treasure, too!

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  6. Secret vaults and hidden wine... Of course they exist. How else do you explain the broken headstone found in the basement of the rectory that predates the church itself. Hidden wine is easy - forgotten caves, lost to the generations due overgrowth or epidemic or, in my part the country, earthquake. Secret vaults? Sure but I have to ask, what happens to the contains when exposed to air for the first time in generations? And now, Ellen, I have a new author to add to my list. Of course, I have to begin at the beginning, it's just the way I'm put together, but this one sounds very intriguing, I history.

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    1. I hope you enjoy the series, Deana!! And I'm glad you're a believer. :)

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  7. Ever since Nancy Drew--The Hidden Staircase, and The Secret of the Old Clock--I've been intrigued with the idea of secret passageways and hidden rooms. Who isn't? This fascination was only enhanced by learning about secret hidey holes in mansions in my hometown, a stop on the Underground Railroad. A grade school friend's family had one under their first floor closet, ingeniously camouflaged.

    Growing up Catholic, I was always told that the Freemasons were wicked, the Masonic Temple was a shady and mysterious place. Who knew, there was devil worship, maybe human sacrifice. My mother would never say this, just hint of sinful motives for what seemed to be a cult. Then my mother's second husband, an electrician of Scottish descent, turned out to be a Mason, and we got a glimpse of his sacred apron, etc. Come to find out, my favorite uncle, electrician and devout Catholic, was also a Freemason. Shocking.

    In other words, I willingly suspend disbelief for yarns like this, Ellen!

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    1. Karen, what a great story! We did visit the Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia; it's a fascinating place. I wanted to write about it in THE ANGELS' SHARE but it just didn't fit into the plot. Definitely worth a visit, though, if you're in the DC area.

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    2. My daughter lives near Dulles, and I try to visit at least one historical site or museum when we are there. Thanks for the idea.

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  8. Loved the book, Ellen! We’ve been on a couple of househunting trips to the Lexington area. Virginia is beautiful. Your books have a very murderous bunch of rich folks for such a small area!

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    1. Pat, thank you so much. Virginia is, indeed, very beautiful. Plus I like our slogan: Virginia is for lovers. :)

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  9. Hi Ellen! I’m a huge fan ... can’t wait to read the new book!! And secret vaults and hidden wine?? I would certainly hope so!!!

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    1. Thanks, Hallie. It has been good to see you here in Dallas at Bouchercon! xo

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  10. Hi Ellen! Welcome to Jungle Reds! I remember you from the mystery conferences. Yes, I think that secret vaults can exist. Speaking of Virginia, in another lifetime ago, I lived in Washington, DC. We would take road trips through the Blue Ridge Mountains to visit Charlottesville, VA. We visited University of Virginia and Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Before living in DC, I visited a friend who worked as a character interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg and that was where I tasted Virginia ham. Yum! That was the only time I liked ham. LOL. Colonial Williamsburg was beautiful. I felt as if I travelled back in time to a different time in history. No phones. No cars. No electricity.

    Congratulations on your new book. Now that is a book I would love to read!

    Diana

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    1. Diana, you have been to some of the beautiful places in Virginia. Skyline Drive, through the Blue Ridge Mountains, is gorgeous--especially in autumn. When we used to visit our sons at William & Mary in Williamsburg I always found it amusing to catch one of the character actors dressed in colonial clothing on a break doing something very 21st century.

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  11. Congrats on the new one! You're really taking advantage of all that Virginia (and wider!) History. Can't wait to see it!

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    1. Thanks, Jim! There is so much history in Virginia . . . I'm already working on the next book.

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  12. Ohhhh, this is a series that I have been considering. This latest plot is so intriguing. I loved the National Treasure movies also and love visiting Virginia and Williamsburg/Jamestown area. I am going to go broke reading this blog!

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  13. Already downloaded my Kindle copies👍🏼👏🤭

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  14. My day job had me so tied up I am just getting to Jungle Reds now. Thank goodness I did! I have enjoyed the Wine Country Mysteries for years, and I think this one with its National Treasure style quest sounds fascinating. Can't wait to read it!

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