About the Book:
An occult device leaving threatening messages. A dinner party ending with a fatal main course. Was it a tragic accident, or is something foul at play?
Ada Hawthorne would much rather be hunting for ghosts than for a husband. So when the Society of Free Spirits is invited to host a séance investigating the Spirit Hand – an occult device haunting its owner with threatening messages – Ada can’t wait to show off her spiritualist talents to London’s elite.
But then a guest is fatally stabbed with a hatpin during the séance, and Ada ends up with more on her plate than a fancy dinner!
The society’s reputation is hanging on by a thread, and Ada can’t afford her family name being dragged through another scandalous gossip column. But when visions of the ghost appear and demand that the murder be solved, Ada and her friends have no choice but to engage in some less-than-ladylike behaviour to uncover the mystery. They’ll soon learn that in high society, everyone’s watching – including the ghosts.
Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
Felicity Epps studied a degree in English Literature before completing a Masters in Eighteenth-Century Studies, where her research focused on female murderers in true crime writing! Felicity finds inspiration in history; researching strange and spooky subjects. She enjoys exploring cemeteries, collecting old books and hunting for ghostly Victorian photographs in antique shops.
Felicity currently lives by the sea in Broadstairs, Kent, UK, with her partner, Josh, and their daughter. When she isn’t writing, Felicity loves going to the beach, knitting colourful jumpers and drinking far too many cups of hot chocolate.
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
An occult society of Victorian girls solving supernatural-inspired mysteries!
A DEADLY SCANDAL is Ada’s book and builds on what she experienced in the previous book, A GRAVE INHERITANCE (though she was not the narrator then.). Did Ada lead her own narrative journey or did you go in with a clear idea of what you want to explore with her?
I knew that Ada’s bubbly personality would bring a different atmosphere compared to Dolores with her haunted house in the first book. Ada believes that communicating with spirits via séances is an exciting opportunity, whereas Dolores was naturally timid of spiritualism. It felt right that Ada’s mystery should be inspired by the glittering world of Victorian high society, as while she is under pressure to find a husband, she secretly wants to attend séance parlours and work as a spirit medium’s assistant. She definitely took charge of her own story!
This time the newly minted Society of Free Spirits is struggling to get work until they’re drawn into conducting a high society séance that ends in murder with a unique murder weapon, a ladies hat pin. What drew you to this particular method?
I wanted the murder weapon to be something seemingly innocent that a guest could bring to a séance table without arousing suspicion. Victorian hat pins were a stylish accessory, while also being lethally sharp and having a reputation for being used by ladies for self-defence. My character Ada prides herself on dressing fashionably in order to fit in with high society, so it was
fun to toy with the idea of a hat pin being possessed by a spirit – and utilised by a murderer!
The Society, and Ada in particular, are the victims of the vicious gossip papers. What inspired the Lady’s Gazette and by extension the character of Claudette?
My main characters – Ada, Dolores and Violet – break a lot of rules of Victorian etiquette when investigating murders. I wanted to highlight the fact that society would be judging their behaviour by reading the Lady’s Gazette, especially as working as spirit mediums enabled women to be more publicly outspoken in séance parlours. My character Claudette wants to make a living as a writer but finds herself caught between mirroring public opinion and challenging these views in her outspoken pamphlets. There’s a lot of tension in the book between fitting in with London’s high society and trying to break with expectations.
If you were a member of the Society, what gifts would you like to bring to the table?
As I’m quite a sensitive person, I think I’d be able to tell if a house felt haunted! I wouldn’t last very long at a séance though without getting frightened. Like Ada, I love reading about ghosts and spiritualism – so I could definitely advise on how to perform a séance, while letting a medium take charge!
Ada finds herself falling for the ghost of a murder victim. What were the challenges of developing this particular, twisty romance?
The main challenge was having Ada unable to communicate with her ghostly love interest. She
desperately wants answers, using a planchette to make contact with the spirit world in the hopes that she can learn more. Ada is fanciful and imaginative, so she felt like a good character to build a relationship with a ghost. Unfortunately, she can’t have a ghost for a husband, not
least because her father wouldn’t be impressed!
What new research did you have to do for SCANDAL to continue fleshing out the Society’s world of 1865?
I loved researching Victorian spiritualism, as while I introduced séances and spirit mediums in my first book, it was exciting to delve into different techniques of contacting spirits. In particular, the planchette gained popularity in the 1860s as a way to transcribe messages from the afterlife. It was believed that the spirits would steer the planchette which was fitted with a pencil over a
sheet of paper. The planchette helped deliver a lot of mystery and danger to A Deadly Scandal, as I could have ghostly messages written by an unknown culprit!
The end of the book opens up exciting avenues for the Society. What can we expect in Violet’s book?
After solving two mysteries, Violet thinks she is poised for fame and success as a spirit medium, but we will soon learn that Violet is the biggest mystery of all! Despite her glamourous public persona, she is haunted by her childhood within the walls of a Victorian orphanage. Violet can see and speak with ghosts, but there are some spirits that even she doesn’t want to face! I’m really excited for readers to experience Violet’s unique powers as a main character in the third book.
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.
The Undying of Obedience Wellrest* by Nicholas Bowling. I adored this spooky book, because it is set in a cemetery with body-snatching villains and gothic twists, inspired by Frankenstein.
Thank you, Felicity!
*Affiliate link
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