Category Archives: will Rees mysteries

The Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp

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In Death in the Great Dismal, I take a temporary break from Rees’s world; the District of Maine and the community of Shakers who live nearby, to send him and Lydia south to Virginia.

Rees is asked by his friend Tobias to rescue his wife Ruth from the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. Rees and Lydia agree, somewhat reluctantly, and travel to the swamp. (The swamp still exists, bridging 100,000 acres in Southern Virginia into northern North Carolina, and has been declared a Wildlife Refuge.)

There, Tobias guides them to a small village of fugitives, who were living hand to mouth, in the depths of the swamp. Who were these people?

Well, first of all, the existence of the Maroons is true and historically accurate. The hunger for freedom was so acute that many people fled slavery, preferring to take their chances in the hostile environment of the swamp. Daniel Sayers, an archeologist, has done excavations to identify some of the sites of the villages. The village structures were built of wood and, because of the climate in the swamp, they have all rotted. There are no stones of any kind in the swamp but Sayers found remnants of post holes and pottery shards. Why were they called Maroons. No one really knows. One theory is that the name is from the French, marronage, to flee.

Although not well known until recently, the existence of these small villages is present in the historical record. Slave takers were sent regularly into the swamp to recapture escapees – with mixed success. Some of these Maroons lived so deep within the swamp, surviving and raising families, that they could not be found. The children born here grew up in their turn, and the descendent of the original fugitives did not leave the swamp until after the Civil War. They had never seen a white person.

As I describe, male slaves were regularly hired by the Dismal Canal Company to dig the canal. The overseers turned a blind eye to the maroons who worked as shingle makers, despite knowing they were fugitives, because these shingle makers helped make the quotas.

I also based my character Quaco, on an historical account of a man who, brought to Virginia on a slave ship, escaped to the swamp as soon as he arrived. He survived by hunting, and dressed himself in the skins of the animals in killed. He never learned English.

Midwives and Midwifery

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During the course of the Will Rees mysteries, midwives have made appearances in several books. Lydia herself has had occasion to require the services of a midwife and (spoiler alert) will need her again.

Midwives have a long history. There are references to midwives in Ancient Greek and Roman texts as well as in the Bible.

In the seventeenth century, however, the reliance on midwives began to diminish. Male doctors began to claim they were the proper individuals to help women deliver their babies. The men were educated while the women were ignorant. (And that was the kindest insult. They were also accused of being lazy, dirty and drunk.)

In A Midwife’s Tale; the Life of Martha Ballard, 1785 – 1812, edited by Laura Thatcher Ulrich, the midwife’s perception was much different. Most of these women had borne children themselves (although not all) and they were very experiences. Usually a younger woman would shadow an older midwife (it was not always a formal apprenticeship) to learn the necessary skills.

The male doctors, although they believed themselves far better at this, did not have the years of practice. In the above autobiography, there is a harrowing scene in which the male doctor takes the baby in a breech birth out in pieces. He had not learned to massage the mothers abdomen to turn the baby for the birth

The male doctors were also guilty of spreading puerperal fever. They would not wash their hands after dissecting corpses, going immediately to deliver babies. This has been well documented.

The account by Martha Ballard illustrates both the difficulties and the rewards of this profession. She leaves home at all hours and during all weathers to deliver babies. But she is far better paid for her skills than she would have been at any other type of ‘women’s work’,

It was her proud claim that, during all her years of practice, she lost only three babies.

Some history of the Great Dismal Swamp

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When Rees and Lydia accompany their friend Tobias to the Great Dismal Swamp to rescue his wife, they do so as much to mend their own relationship as to help a friend.  (Marriage is challenging and Will and Rees’s relationship was tested in A Circle of Dead Girls.)

The swamp proves to be a more challenging environment, and the community in which Ruth has taken refuge, more exotic than they could ever have guessed.

            From the 1700s right up to the Civil War, fugitives from the neighboring plantations fled into the swamp to escape bondage. The swamp, which was more than a million acres at that time, (estimates range from one million to three million acres) was and is still a harsh environment. The Great Dismal has shrunk to 112 thousand acres. A Wildlife Sanctuary, it is home to deer, a large population of black bears, bobcats, more than 200 species of birds and many insects. (Insect repellent is a must.) It is a peat bog; items dropped on the thick water-soaked peat can disappear without a trace in a manner of minutes.

Suffolk Mystery Festival

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The Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival is just about my favorite. It is smaller than Bouchercon but everything is perfectly done.

This year I was on a panel with some awe-inspiring panelists. Such thoughtful responses. I look forward to meeting with them again next year.

Next up, my blog tour with Partners in crime.

Policing in Rees’s World

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I have had questions about why Rees doesn’t become a constable or a law enforcement officer himself. Well, At that time, there were few police forces. Boston was one of the first to adopt a police force and that was not until 1837.

Prior to that, the law enforcement structure was a hodgepodge of constables, sheriffs , night watchmen and justices of the peace. As the populations increased, this system was strained until it did not work anymore. Moreover, although they were paid, it was more of a stipend than a salary. All officers had to have another profession that put food on the table. In my series, Rouge runs a tavern.

Other attempts as establishing a police force were tried. The wealthy usually hired their own force to protect themselves and their possessions. A system that paid the men with rewards was also tried. But abuse was rampant. Innocent men were hanged for crimes so the ‘detective’ could collect the reward.

London was the first city to set up a trained, professional force: the Metropolitan Police. As mentioned, that was 1837. So, even if Rees wished to become a full time law enforcement officer, there was no avenue for him to do so.

Suffolk Mystery Convention

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Very excited to announce that the Suffolk Mystery Convention will be held on March 6. I will send along information in a week or so.

I will be discussing my new Novel Death in the Great Dismal.

It is an appropriate choice since Suffolk is the town nearest the swamp.

It is an amazing experience to go from the streets of Suffolk and the small peanut farms nearby to the alien environment of the swamp. It is also very buggy!

Murder on Principle – Cover

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So excited to reveal the cover for my new Will Rees mystery: Murder on Principle. I am not sure when it will be released. Death in the Great Dismal will be available Jan 5, 2021.

I am guessing sometime this summer. Stay tuned for more information!

Death in the Great Dismal -Goodreads Giveaway

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I am so excited to announce a giveaway for my new book: Death in the Great Dismal. Will and Lydia travel south, to the Great Dismal swamp, They have been asked to rescue Ruth, a woman taken from Maine and sold down south. She has escaped to a village in the heart of the swamp and is living there with other fugitives.

Of course, Will and Lydia are in the village no more than a few days when the first murder occurs.

The Giveaway ends the first week of January.

Death in the Great Dismal – Giveaway

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I am so excited to announce a giveaway for my new book: Death in the Great Dismal. Will and Lydia travel south, to the Great Dismal swamp, They have been asked to rescue Ruth, a woman taken from Maine and sold down south. She has escaped to a village in the heart of the swamp and is living there with other fugitives.

Of course, Will and Lydia are in the village no more than a few days when the first murder occurs.

The Giveaway ends the first week of January.