With the forthcoming release of Cold-Blooded Myrtle (October 5) on the horizon—just over four months away—excitement is building! Who is the most excited about the new book? I wouldn’t like to speculate, but I do have a nominee for Most Fan Enthusiasm. Check it out!

Quincy begs to differ.

(Please note our chic matching shirts. Thank you.)

Take it from Judy, folks! Pick up your copies of Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries Books 1 and 2, Premeditated Myrtle and How to Get Away with Myrtle today. Pre-order Cold-Blooded Myrtle and be the first on your block to get in on all the spooky, mysterious fun!

My late June and early July are shaping up to be chock full of events, so stay tuned for more audio and video shenanigans to come.

Guess who’s ready for Christmas in July?

Oh, and by the way, she skunked me at Clue.

It was Mrs. White (aka Dr. Orchid) in the billiard room with the rope.

…our fabulous German cover!

Don’t you love it?! It has a delightful balance of spookiness and intrigue, and I can’t get over her bootlaces.

If you read German, you’ll note that Myrtle Hardcastle #1 has an all-new title (apparently the English pun didn’t translate! LOL)—and the eagle eyed among you will surely spot the clues hidden in those wonderful details. I am thrilled to pieces by my very first foreign cover, and I’m so impressed by the brilliant designers on both continents.

You can preorder Mord im Gewächshaus: Ein Myrtle-Hardcastle-Krimi from Knesebeck here! Coming to German booksellers everywhere September 22.  Juhu!

Click here for more German fun, too. 

In other news, this week I had my very first post-pandemic-lockdown in-person book signing! I stopped by my neighborhood Barnes & Noble, and signed their stock of How to Get Away with Myrtle. These are the first real copies I’ve signed—not just bookplates. Huzzah! We are putting together my fall and summer schedule, including events both in person and virtual, and I hope to stop by a bookstore near you soon, too! Contact me if you’re interested in scheduling an event.

Surprisingly, one of the most common questions I’ve gotten is, “Is Myrtle’s hairstyle historically accurate?” That is, would a girl of 1890s England have worn her hair cropped short like that? And the answer is a bit more complicated than you might expect.

I first saw this late 19th century photograph soon after finishing the first draft of Premeditated Myrtle, and it was like seeing my heroine staring back at me through the ages! This girl, with her straight-cut fringe (bangs) and her bold expression exactly matched my image of Myrtle.

When cover artist Brett Helquist began work on Premeditated Myrtle, he asked for reference images, and I sent him the above photograph. You can see he took strong inspiration from it—but the stiff updos we typically associate with Victorian hair don’t add much drama to a dust jacket meant to entice readers to pick a book up and open its cover.

An early draft of the Premeditated Myrtle cover

But as you can see, Myrtle’s shorter, flyaway hair brings a lot of energy and movement to the covers–perfectly capturing her spirited determination!

We associate long hair with the Victorian era for good reason: it was common, among both girls and women.

This studious girl, who reminds me of Myrtle’s friend Caroline Munjal, sports a very typical girl’s hairstyle of the ages: worn long and styled half up/half down, with a hint of curly fringe.

But common doesn’t mean universal. In Europe and the US throughout the 19th century, we see girls and women wearing their hair much shorter, and they did so for a variety of reasons—including fashion.

(Read more about Victorian shopping trends and the power of 19th century advertising.)

I am enchanted by this 1887 French fashion plate, showing a girl Myrtle’s age with quite short hair. Photographs of real girls with short hair are one thing (they might have cut off their hair after an illness or injury, as long, heavy hair is hot and uncomfortable in a sickbed), but this robust girl is selling high style to the Parisian market. Tres chic!

Short hair enjoyed a few brief periods of popularity throughout the 1800s. At the turn of the 19th century, French fashion embraced neoclassical styles (influenced by ancient Greece and Rome), including a hairstyle called the “Titus—” for men and women.

Guillaume Lethiere: Girl with Portfolio, c. 1800

Only those of means would have their portraits painted, so again consider this a style of the very fashionable, those young women embracing the cutting edge of new and trendy looks. (Like girls today!) But fashion isn’t just for the young, as this lady of a certain age with her very dramatic Titus proves:

These hairstyles were also influenced by the postwar era following the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, and are often believed to have been worn in solidarity for victims of the Guillotine. Author Shannon Selin has a fascinating article about the origins of the Coiffure a la Titus here.  Note the comments from contemporary naysayers “concerned” about girls’ and women’s health.

Interestingly, war also inspired another era of short hairstyles for girls and women. In the 1860s, the “shingle” cut became a popular style in America.

American abolitionist (and mountaineer!) Anna Elizabeth Dickinson sported short hair for most of her life, as evidenced by her many photographs.

The style is sometimes believed to be just a Confederate one, adopted by white girls in solidarity with their brothers at the front lines. But contemporary sources prove that wasn’t the case. The shingle was popular all across America. In 1868, Louisa May Alcott capitalized on the trend when she had Little Women’s Jo March cut off her hair. In the book, Jo’s motivation is financial—she sells her shorn locks—but she swiftly comes to appreciate the way her newly short hair feels:

“I will confess, though, I felt queer when I saw the dear old hair laid out on the table, and felt only the short, rough ends on my head. It almost seemed as if I’d an arm or a leg off. …(but) a crop is so comfortable I don’t think I shall ever have a mane again.” —Little Women

Frank T. Merrill’s 1896 illustrations for Little Women reflect 1890s fashions in hair.

This younger girl looks less convinced about her shorter ‘do. (I recognize the expression from the first time I had my own curly hair chopped off at age 6!)

By Myrtle’s day, however, long hair was once again in vogue—and would remain so until the (postwar!) “bob” craze of the late 1910s and ’20s. But that doesn’t mean every girl or woman wore her hair long.

Florida, c. 1890

date unknown, probably 1880-1890

Hungary, 1880s

If anything, this variety of hairstyles reminds us that as the 19th century marched on, girls and young women were increasingly aware of current events and influenced by marketing, as well as making more and more decisions for themselves about how they looked and dressed… and, by extension, how they wanted their own lives to look. Myrtle’s hair might not come up as a topic on the page, but it’s a terrific reflection of her independent and modern spirit.