Michael G. Colburn’s Lady Black Mystery series has returned with the second book, “Asylum Murders” (Dec. 16). Set in the streets of 1890s Melbourne, Lady Edith “Edie” Black has reinvented herself. Once a notorious London thief, she now poses as a widowed aristocrat while secretly establishing herself as a private investigator.
In this Five by Five, Colburn dives into the lengthy research he did, particularly on the setting and time period and how he worked to get everything right. He talks about Lady Edith and how she came to be and what we can expect in future books.
How does the setting (both time and location) influence the story?
The details of the setting have to be as authentic as possible when writing a historical mystery in order to be believable. Building details and styling, street names, tram stops, the weather — all have to be researched to mesh with the story and action. Writing about the 19th century, I always use a period accurate map of the location I am writing about. Character names need to reflect the time and location as well. For example, I wanted to use the name Neil. I got conflicting information, so I had to dig further; I found Neil used as a first name in Tasmania, but I didn’t find it used in Australia. I was writing about the Torres Strait in eastern Australia; my Neil became a blackbirding pirate from Tasmania. In writing about a variety of locations, I rely on research as much as creativity.
What kind of research did you do when writing?
I did extensive research on daily activity and news in the locations where my books take place. Local newspaper archives are an important source. There is a wealth of information available in the daily news. During writing, a lot of the research is to make sure the words, actions, names and events fit with the 19th century and where the characters are located. I don’t try to convey accents or dialects; the reader can impose those if the wording works. As an example, in writing Lady Black Book Two, “Asylum Murders,” I found several events that became part of my story in the daily news of Melbourne. One example: there were reports of severed human limbs showing up in the Yarra River flowing through Melbourne. Some were dragged ashore by dogs. I never found where they identified a source of these limbs, and they became an important detail in my narrative.
How did you develop the character of Lady Edith?
I wanted a strong-willed lady lead. Many of the mysteries I read and enjoy have female lead characters. When researching the theft of the steamship Ferret for the beginning of “Stolen Brilliance,” the first Lady Black novel, I read an article in the Cardiff Wales newspaper that reported on ship activity in the port. It stated that James Henderson, the new “owner” of the Ferret, boarded the ship, refurbished and ready for departure, with a tall, elegant lady listed as his wife. I found no further reference to Henderson’s wife, and of all the many articles on the missing ship and subsequent activities of the thief, none mentioned his wife until a brief reference in Melbourne before and during his trial. There is no record that I could find that he had a wife, and that suited my needs perfectly. I built the lady into a story and a heroine.
What’s your process for creating a mystery?
I can’t always do this, but I try to find a time and place, involving genuine occurrences and actual crimes, preferably unsolved, to build into a narrative of investigation and sometimes resolution. I also want to build conflict and mystery between the characters along the way. In the first two books, I had multiple unsolved crimes that I could incorporate (and resolve in a fashion) using my characters and story. I try to write so that the multiple events that are real come together and are resolved by the end of the narrative, but leave room for surprises.
Was it always the plan to make this a series? How will things develop further in future books?
Yes, it was. While each book has a resolution, some details are left open to continue the story and relationship of the characters. For the forthcoming third book in the series, I’ll revisit another true event (the sinking of the R.M.S. Quetta) and build the book around it.
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