A dark secret. A second chance.
In mid-June of 1887, Mrs. Robert Walford, a thirty-year-old mother of two and the wife of a prominent Brooklyn ship broker, registers at the upscale Queen Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia, under an assumed name. Two weeks later, she is buried in the local cemetery. Or is she?
Bereft of family and friends, health and hope, Sadie Walford arrives at the Queen Hotel already contemplating a drastic next step. But she hasn't counted on the likes of Eleanor Sheraton, the hotel's no-nonsense bookkeeper and wife of the proprietor, or Maggie, the annoyingly helpful head maid, who both have other ideas.
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Meanwhile, Jennie, a thief and sometimes blackmailer, arrives in Halifax contemplating the handsome profit she'll make during the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Sadie's auspicious encounter with Jennie sets events in motion, resulting in opportunities - and consequences - that neither could have imagined.
An epistolary tale inspired by actual events, the story takes place in late 19th century Halifax, Manhattan, and on Long Island. Warm and mysterious, hopeful and romantic, MRS. WALFORD is a tale of found family, love delayed, redemption, and the power of friendship in turbulent times.
Enter the world of MRS. WALFORD:
- ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿From a raucous boarding house in verdant Flushing, New York, to the upscale Queen Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia...
- From the heavenly windows department of Louis C. Tiffany's glass and decorating company in Manhattan, tö 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 in New York harbour...
- 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 secrets
- ¿Forthright MAGGIE, who's undaunted by her difficult beginnings and unfazed by the oddities of the hotel's guests
- Enigmatic SARAH, who's buoyed by her new employment as an artisan, and burdened by her past
- Chatty 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 market
- Thrill-seeking JENNIE, who's never seen a pocket, or a mirror reflection, that she didn't like
- And perceptive, empathetic FRED, who's seeking atonement the only way she knows how
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If you liked the friendships and atmosphere of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and A Gentleman in Moscow, you'll love Mrs. Walford.
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