Greetings, dear reader. My name is Rose Carroll, and I am a midwife. I bicycle about our bustling mill town of Amesbury, delivering babies and guiding the health of pregnant ladies. I am twenty-four, which is getting along for a single lady in 1888, although I’m not entirely single, having a handsome and open-minded beau in the person of David Dodge, a doctor from neighboring Newburyport.
As I reside with the family of my late sister, my day always begins with stoking our wood cooking stove and helping my eldest niece, Faith with the porridge for the four younger children and my moody brother-in-law. Once they are all off to school and jobs, I begin my own work of receiving pregnant clients in my parlor.
After a terrible case of arson burned down many of the carriage factories in our town here in the northeastern corner of Massachusetts, I discovered I am rather adept solving crimes, too, so my day might include acting the amateur detective. I am a forthright type by nature, and when a murderer has the gall to do the deed to one of my clients or someone with whom they are associated, I feel called to assist the police with their investigation. Detective Kevin Donovan can’t very well go sticking his nose into a laboring woman’s bedchamber now, can he? The secrets women tell during their confinement can be quite revealing.
Thee must know that a day in my life also always includes the possibility of a husband or servant summoning me with great urgency to a birth. Off I go, birthing satchel in hand. Sometimes I remain throughout the night. In my experience, babies often choose to make their entrance into our world shortly before dawn.
Thee might already have understood by the manner of my speech that I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends. I struggle a bit with the patience required for discernment, the prayerful waiting we practice in order to understand the way God wishes us to go. But I am a firm believer in the values of simplicity, equality, and peaceful ways that my faith espouses. I strive to conduct my life accordingly.
My delightfully quirky friend Bertie Winslow, postmistress, has also shown a talent for detecting. Some of my days include discussing cases with her, which can turn into quite the adventure.
The best end to my day is when David comes calling in his handsome doctor’s buggy and takes me for a ride down to the moonlit Merrimack River. I imagine we shall meet with some opposition as our courtship continues, both from the elders of my Friends Meeting, since David attends the Unitarian Church, and from his high-society mother. But we shall meet those obstacles with hands clasped in love.
Delivering the Truth is the first book in the NEW Quaker Midwife mystery series, published by Midnight Ink, April 2016.
Quaker midwife Rose Carroll discovers dark secrets in 1888 Massachusetts
For Quaker midwife Rose Carroll, life in Amesbury, Massachusetts, provides equal measures of joy and tribulation. She delights in attending to the needs of mothers and newborns even as she mourns the recent death of her sister. Likewise, Rose enjoys the giddy feelings that come from being courted by a handsome doctor, but a suspicious fire and two murders leave her fearing for the well-being of her loved ones.
Driven by her desire for safety and justice, Rose Carroll begins asking questions related to the crimes. Consulting with her friends and neighbors―including the famous Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier―Rose draws on her strengths as a counselor and problem solver in trying to bring the perpetrators to light.
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About the author
Agatha-nominated and Amazon best-selling author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and 
the Local Foods Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries (as Maddie Day), and the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries (as Tace Baker), as well as award-winning short crime fiction. Her short story, “A Questionable Death,” is nominated for a 2016 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. The tale features the 1888 setting and characters from her Quaker Midwife Mysteries series, which debuts with Delivering the Truth on April 8.
Maxwell is Vice-President of Sisters in Crime New England and Clerk of Amesbury Friends Meeting. She lives north of Boston with her beau and three cats, and blogs with the other Wicked Cozy Authors. You can find her on Facebook, @edithmaxwell, Pinterest, and at her web site, edithmaxwell.com.
Readers: What would thee like to know about Quakers, midwifery, or life in my exciting era?
Giveaway: Leave comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Delivering the Truth. US entries only, please. The giveaway will end April 15, 2016 at 12 AM EST. Good luck everyone!
All comments are welcomed.
Thanks for the chance to win this new series from one of my favorite authors.
This new series sounds fascinating. Thanks for the chance to win.
I love historical mysteries and learning about the history and life of people of an earlier age. This book looks fantastic! Thanks for the chance!
I have been waiting for this series to start since I first heard about it. Mysteries and books about midwives are two of my favorite genres, so this is perfect for me! Thanks for the chance to win.
Looking forward to reading this new to me series. I enjoy reading books about the Quakers, Amish and other cultures which are so different from our own.
Sounds like such an interesting premise. I’m not quite sure the differences between Quaker and Amish, but think this historical mystery looks really good! Thanks for the chance to win!
This sounds like a very interesting new series–I look forward to it.
I didn’t realize that Quaker’s had midwives, I would like to know more about that. I also enjoy learning, ahem, reading (lol) about the Quakers in general.
wfnren at aol dot com
I read a short story in this series and it left me wanting more.
I want to know what day to day life is like. Sounds like I can find it with this book.
This historical sounds captivating and wonderful. Thanks for this feature.
I’ve always been enthralled with the Quaker way of life and have enjoyed reading books about it. This would combine two of my favorite reads: background about the Quakers and mystery. What could be better!
I love this book! It’s special for me since my ancestors are from Amesbury.
What an intriguing story this one must be. Sounds like a good new series.
Very interested in this title…the subject and time period wrapped up into a mystery!!
Sounds like an interesting series. I look forward to reading it. How are the Quakers different from the Amish? Just pulled you Maddie Day book to the top of the TBR mountain.
This sounds like a great book to add to my cozy challenge list. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
Being a midwife as a profession is becoming popular again. This should be an interesting mystery.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
This story line sounds very interesting. Thanks for the opportunity to be given a chance to win a copy of this nook.
I love the many stories our family midwife shares when we have a family get together. Although the duties of midwife today may differ from back then it’s still an amazing profession. robeader53@yahoo.com
I have enjoyed reading some of Maxwell’s books. I look forward to reading this one.
I have read Edith Maxwells books before and really enjoyed them, would love to win the 1st in this series, ty for the chance
This is a very interesting setting for a book, a Quaker midwife sounds like a great storyline. Can’t wait to read. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sounds like a Awesome read 💟👍 Thank you for a chance to win 🙂 Have not read about Quakers in many years. They were awesome stories 💟💟
Sounds like a Awesome read ,💟👍👍 Thank you for a chance to win Have not read any Quaker stories in years. They were awesome stories 💟💟
I’m looking forward to your new series – it sounds fascinating!
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
I had the great pleasure of reading this, and it’s wonderful!
A definite must-read for me…..
Thank you for the giveaway…..
This sounds like an interesting read.
Sounds like a Great book 🙂 👍👍 Love to read new Authors 💟 Thank you for a chance to win a great book 💟
My great grandmother was a Quaker. I’d like to know more about that.
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