A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama [Paperback]

"People throw the word 'classic' about a lot, butA Drowned Maiden's Hairgenuinely deserves to become one." —Wall Street Journal

Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence, so when the charming Miss Hyacinth and her sister choose Maud to take home with them, the girl is as baffled as anyone. It seems the sisters need Maud to help stage elaborate séances for bereaved, wealthy patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience – until a shocking betrayal makes clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with tantalizing details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively historical novel features a winning heroine whom readers will not soon forget.Laura Amy Schlitz, the author of the Newbery Medal winner, GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!: VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE, has spent most of her life working as a librarian and professional storyteller. She has also written plays for young people that have been performed in professional theaters all over the country. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.It was not until the Misses Hawthorne boarded the train that Maud was able to open her book. She had ridden in a train once before, when she left St. Anne's Children's Home for the Barbary Asylum, and she was glad of it, because it allowed her to assume the nonchalance of a world traveler. She sat down primly, back straight.

"You mustn't read in the train," said Judith Hawthorne. "You'll be sick."

Maud was sure she would not be sick. She opened her mouth to argue and then remembered that she had made up her mind to be perfectly good. She shut her book, folded her hands on top of it, and answered, "No, ma'am."

"Miss Hyacinth has something to say to you," continued Judith, and Maud, getting thel³°