Death And The Visitors (A Mary Shelley Mystery),New

The ties between a young Mary Shelley, her stepsister Jane Claire Clairmont, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the alreadyinfamous Lord Byron grow increasingly tangled as they're drawn into a dangerous investigation in this vivid historical mystery exploring the birth of teenaged Marys creative genius and the roots of a reallife trio who would later scandalize 19th century England even as they transformed the literary world.1814, London: Foreign diplomats are descending on London in advance of the Congress of Vienna meetings to formulate a new peace plan for Europe following Napoleons downfall. Mary and Janes father, political philosopher William Godwin, is hosting a gathering with an advance party of Russian royal staff. The Russians are enthusiastic followers of Marys late mother, philosopher and womens rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, which leads to a lively dinner discussion.Following their visit, Jane overhears her father reassuring his pushiest creditor that the Russians have pledged diamonds to support his publishing venture, the Juvenile Library, relieving his financial burden. But when Godwin is told the man who promised the diamonds was pulled from the River Thames, his dire financial problems are further complicated by the suspicion that the family may have been involved in the murder.Stepsisters Mary and Jane resolve to find the real killer to clear the family name. Coming to their aid is Godwins disciple, the dashing poet Percy Shelley, who seems increasingly devoted to Mary, despite the fact that he is married. And a young woman Jane befriends turns out to be the mistress of the celebrated poetand infamous loverLord Byron.As both sisters find themselves perhaps dangerously captivated by the poets, their proximity to the truth of the Russians murder puts them in far greater peril . . .