Dear friends, I’m fair gobsmacked to share the incredible news that the
Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries have received a third Edgar nomination! Book 5, *Myrtle,
Means, and Opportunity* joins *Premeditated Myrtle* (which won the award in
2021) and *Cold-Blooded Myrtle* for this amazing honor.
Gettin’ intae the spirit…
This week, *Mystery Writers of America released their annual Edgar Award
nominations*, honoring the best in mystery writing. I am so honored to be
included again.
*Read More: Myrtle & The Rue Morgue *
*Read More: Another Edgar Nomination!* (a look at Poe’s “The Purloined
Letter”)
This week, I have more fun tales of America’s father of mystery fiction.
Edgar Allan Poe is known as an American author, and rightly so, with roots
in Boston and much of his career spent around Baltimore. But his poetry and
stories are cosmopolitan, set in France, Italy, and the Near East, and
reflect an early life spent traveling. In fact, some of young Poe’s years
were spent just a hop, skip, and a ferry ride from the very setting of *Myrtle,
Means, and Opportunity*: Ayrshire, Scotland!
Ayrshire and Argyll, both in the southwest of Scotland, are neighbors
separated by the Clyde.
Poe’s parents both died when he was very young, and he was raised by the
Allan family. Foster father John Allan had emigrated to Virginia from his
native Scotland, and in 1815, when Poe was six, they returned to the United
Kingdom. Poe attended school at Kailyard Grammar School in Kirkgatehead,
Irvine.
Young Edgar’s grammar school in Irvine, Scotland
Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe as a boy (detail), artist unknown | Cornell
University
Although Poe never wrote directly about his time in Scotland, it’s hard to
imagine the striking landscape and culture *not* creeping into Poe’s
writing. Scottish writer Al Herron discusses the influence of Ayrshire on
Poe’s work in his essay *“Sacred to the Memory of Scottish Strangers,”*
courtesy of DMR Books.
I hope Poe would appreciate my own tale of a Scottish haunting, murder, and
lost treasure! You can read more about Poe’s life and times, including his
Scottish connection, at *The Poe Museum* and *Nevermore: The Edgar Allan
Poe Collection of Susan Jaffe Tane* at Cornell University.
My heartfelt thanks to Mystery Writers of America for recognizing *Myrtle,
Means, and Opportunity, *and a huge congratulations to my fellow 2024
nominees! The Edgars will be announced on May 1—plenty of time for you to
get caught up on the entire award-winning *Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries*
series.
The post #MyrtleMondays: An Edgar nomination for Myrtle, Means, and
Opportunity! appeared first on Elizabeth C. Bunce.