The Specter: A Gilded Age Debutante Novel (Waxwood Series: Book 1)
About this ebook
San Francisco, 1892: Vivian Alderdice is not your typical Gilded Age debutante. She prefers reading books and long walks in Golden Gate Park to ballroom dancing and flirting with eligible young men. But what’s a deb to do when she has social obligations and expectations to fulfill?
In the midst of her debutante life, her grandmother dies. The future Vivian thought was so clear is now clouded with confusion and uncertainty.
To make matters worse, a woman shows up at the funeral claiming to be an old friend from Penelope’s younger days. The woman she knew was not the Nob Hill socialite and wife of the city’s biggest shipping tycoon, but Grace Carlyle, an artist in search of adventure in a small coastal town named Waxwood.
Is the intruder a crank or, as Vivian’s mother claims, “confused”? Or is she telling the truth? Now, it’s not only Vivian’s future that is cloudy but her family’s past as well.
Vivian’s determination to find out who her grandmother was takes her into the life of the woman she thought she knew, uncovering family lies kept hidden for over forty years.
Will she find her future in her grandmother’s past?
Follow Vivian’s path to maturity and self-discovery in the first book of this dynamic series set during one of America’s most turbulent eras.
Get The Specter today and experience the life of a spirited Gilded Age belle guided by a family ghost.
What reviewers are saying:
“May's historical fiction picks apart the delicate facade of American gentility in upper-class, well-heeled families on the wild West Coast at the end of the nineteenth century.” - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud
“Gently told, and forms a good basis for the series to build upon.” - Discovering Diamonds: Historical Fiction Reviews
“Part gothic fiction, part psychological drama, “The Specter” was a deeply moving & introspective book about one of San Francisco’s powerful families set in 1892”
“An intriguing and beguiling story.”
“A fantastic story that will definitely intrigue the reader and pull you into the last page.”
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Be sure to check out the rest of the series!
False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2)
Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3)
Dandelions (Waxwood Series: Book 4)
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Writing has been Tam May’s voice since the age of fourteen. She writes stories about powerful women set in the past. Her fiction gives readers a sense of justice for women, both the living and the dead. Tam's stories are set mostly around the Bay Area because she adores sourdough bread, Ghirardelli chocolate, and San Francisco history.
Tam is the author of the Adele Gossling Mysteries which take place in the early 20th century and features sassy suffragist and epistolary expert Adele Gossling whose talent for solving crimes doesn’t sit well with the ideas of some people around her about women’s place. Tam has also written historical fiction about women breaking loose from the confinements of their era.
Although Tam left her heart in San Francisco, she lives in the Midwest because it’s cheaper. When she’s not writing, she’s devouring everything classic (books, films, art, music) and concocting yummy vegan dishes.
For more information about Tam May and her books, check out her website at www.tammayauthor.com.
