Misunderstood for Sixty Years
(NOTE: Some of the links in this blog are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase on Amazon. Thank you for supporting my writing in this manner. More details here.)
*****
This is the story of Elsie, an 81-year-old woman with a dark past. At the age of 15, she was found guilty of murder. Even all these years later, she is the youngest person in Australia to have been convicted of that crime, making her a bit notorious.
Elsie was christened Mabel Elsie Waller at birth. She was the first child of Elliott Waller and Mary Fitzpatrick, a couple who were “well-known in the right circles for their good looks; their obscene wealth; and Rosehill, [their] stately home, an Edwardian mansion.” Rosehill had been the residence of Elsie’s maternal grandparents and before them, a former Australian Prime Minister. Suffice it to say Elliott may have loved Rosehill more than he loved Mary.
There was a lot of sadness in Elsie’s young life. It started with a one-year-old sister, Kitty, who died of polio. It was followed by a mother who committed suicide a few years later. This left Elsie with a father about whom she had only two nice things to say. He had lovely hair and he had an enviable sock collection. “Purchased from Harrods. Pure wool. The epitome of luxury.”
After her mother’s death, Elsie was raised by her aunt, Cecily, and by the aunt’s companion, Vanessa. They were lovingly called Cess and Ness, and life was good when she was living with them at Rosehill. But that all ends when she is 15. I will let the author give all the details on that…
…But will mention that she does so by writing chapters in the present when Elsie is 81 and alternates those with chapters called “Then,” giving the back story.
As the book opens, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick has lived quietly on Kenny Lane in central Melbourne for almost sixty years. This jumble of her first and middle names plus her mother’s maiden name is the name she uses to escape her notoriety. The world calls her Mad Mabel.
Her cover is blown when her next-door-neighbor, “Old Ishaan,” dies and she is the one to find his body. This neighbor was her self-proclaimed nemesis because of his “deranged Chihuahua, Nugget” who barked incessantly.
As Ishaan’s death is investigated, she is the main suspect, and her true identity becomes known. She takes the opportunity to clear herself of the current “crime” and the long ago “crime” by finally telling her story in full to two journalists, Adeem and Libby. Thus, as they learn the facts, so do we.
And as we look to brand Elsie as a murderer or not, this comment from her bears consideration: “Being a murderer is nowhere near as binary as people think. Sometimes murderers are bad people. Sometimes murderers kill bad people. Sometimes murderers are good people who make bad decisions.”
One final aspect of this book needs to be mentioned. For most of those almost-sixty years Elsie has lived on Kenny Lane, she has been a reclusive curmudgeon. All of that changes thanks to another neighbor, a mother/daughter team whom Elsie introduces as, “Roxanne (a sex-crazed single mother), and her evil seven-year-old spawn, Persephone.”
In the style of A Man Called Ove, or The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, or The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, Elsie is transformed by Persephone. And as in all these books, it is heartwarming to see a curmudgeon find love.
Yep! I liked this book!
*****
Click here to learn more about Mad Mabel on Amazon.
*****
Click here to join the Book Lovers Club. I post about three dozen book reviews a year. If you would like to receive them as I write them, please join the Club.
*****
If you like my writing, I hope you will check out my new book, Chai on Life. It contains 36 slice-of-life stories ranging in topics from belly fat to Billy Joel. It is available wherever books are sold and on Amazon. There is even a companion journal for you to write the stories of your life.
Chai on Life is available in 3 formats: Hard Back, Kindle, and AudioBook.
*****
And one last thing! Amazon has named me an Influencer (!!!!) and invited me to open a Storefront. You will find lots of my favorite things there including fun gifts for people who love to read. Check it out!
Leave a Reply