Lucy Campion sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better. Are you ready? Here’s Lucy!

What is your full name?
Lucy Campion. I don’t think I have a middle name. If I do, my mother never said.

How old are you?
I think I’m around 20 years old. It’s possible I’m 21.

What is your profession?
I work for Master Aubrey as a printer’s apprentice, although truth be told, the Stationer’s Company lets few women into the guild, and as such, I’m not a true apprentice. But I do help make and sell books—sing them really—and I even have written a few tracts as “Anonymous.”

Do you have a significant other?
There are two men who’ve professed a willingness to wed me, although I know now there is only one man I love. But I fear I should not divulge his identity, just now.

What are their names and professions?
One suitor is Adam Hargrave, the son of the magistrate and a lawyer, and the other is Constable Jeb Duncan.

Do you have any children?
No, thank heavens, as I am still unwed.

Do you have any siblings?
I have a younger sister, although it is rare that I see her.

Are your parents nearby?
I believe my mother lives in Lambeth, but I am widely assumed to be an orphan, as I was taken in as a chambermaid when I was thirteen.

Who is your best friend?
I suppose Annie, another of Master Hargrave’s servants, is my most dear acquaintance.

Do you have any pets?
Heaven’s, no! Such a thing would be unheard of for a person of my lowly state. However, I will take out scraps to the stray cats who find their way to my door.

What town do you live in?
London, on the west side since the Great Fire.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I receive room and board in return for serving as Master Aubrey’s apprentice.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I am most enamored of Master Aubrey’s print shop, where we set our ballads and penny press, which occupies much of the first floor.

Favorite meal and dessert?
I adore a potato and leek pie. I once had an apple tart topped with sweetened cherries.

Do you have any hobbies?
I very much enjoy reading strange and true news, and writing my own tracts.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I have very little time for leisure, but I do enjoy an evening at the Cheshire Cheese, partaking in some cheese, bread and a mead or ale.

What music do you listen to?
Madrigals and of course murder ballads.

Do you have a favorite book?
I must profess enjoying the ones that I have penned with my own hand. The most recent is The Cry of the Hangman.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
I do enjoy the travelling fairs, as there is much to entertain me. If I have a coin or to spare, I very much enjoy attending the theatre, especially when there is a performance of one of the Bard’s plays

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
The World Turned Upside Down: How a lowly chambermaid became a printer’s apprentice and even a bookseller in her own right.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
When puzzles and crimes come my way, I will often seek the advice of the Hargraves, the Constable, and even Sid, a pickpocket of my acquaintance.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
After I have done my morning chores and set breakfast on the table, I will usually work in Master Aubrey’s print shop and in the afternoon I will either sing about murder to sell our new penny pieces, or I will deliver books to Master Aubrey’s clients.

The Cry of the Hangman, A Lucy Campion Mystery #6
Genre: Historical
Release: November 2021
Purchase Link

Murder always sells. But when a series of dark and puzzling crimes takes place in seventeenth-century London, will printer’s apprentice Lucy Campion be publishing the news – or starring in it?

London, 1667. Printer’s apprentice Lucy Campion is unsettled when, on a frozen December morning after church, an elderly woman dressed in mourning clothes whispers an ominous warning in her ear.

Lucy sternly tells herself it’s nonsense, but then her much-loved former master, Magistrate Hargrave, is viciously attacked with a brass hourglass during a break-in. But what exactly was the intruder searching for? And why did they first stop to steal a piece of Cook’s lamb and lentil pie?

The puzzling case is just the start of a series of dark, bizarre crimes. Lucy’s determined to uncover the truth and see that justice is done. But someone is equally determined to stop her – whatever it takes.

This page-turning historical mystery set in Renaissance London is a great choice for readers who like their heroines lively, their mysteries twisty and their historical settings brimming with authenticity.

About the author
Susanna Calkins writes the award-winning Lucy Campion mysteries set in 17th century London and the Speakeasy Murders set in 1920s Chicago. Her books have been nominated for the Anthony, Agatha, Mary Higgins Clark, Lefty and Macavity. She holds a PhD in history and works at Northwestern University. She grew up in Philadelphia and now lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and two sons.

All comments are welcomed.