In 1909, an 11-year-old orphan named Maud is adopted by the three elderly Hawthorne sisters from the Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans. The Hawthornes tell Maud she will be their secret child, their angel child. And though she is dressed in fine clothes and finally has enough food to eat, Maud is kept hidden in the house and sees no one except the Hawthornes and their deaf maid, Muffet. At first, Maud is thrilled with this new arrangement, but something isn't quite right and the more Maud learns about her new family, the more troubled she becomes. The three old ladies are mediums and they put Maud to work in their seances as they attempt to fleece the gullible hoping for contact with the spirit world. The story is spooky and charming with an over-the-top ending. A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama was author Laura Amy Schlitz's first novel, published in 2006.
Other books by Laura Amy Schlitz:
The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
The Night Fairy
Splendors and Glooms
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