Spotlight on Lucretia Grindle, author of The Devil’s Glove

 

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Northern New England, summer, 1688.

Salem started here.

A suspicious death. A rumor of war. Whispers of witchcraft.

Perched on the brink of disaster, Resolve Hammond and her mother, Deliverance, struggle to survive in their isolated coastal village. They're known as healers taught by the local tribes - and suspected of witchcraft by the local villagers.

Their precarious existence becomes even more chaotic when summoned to tend to a poisoned woman. As they uncover a web of dark secrets, rumors of war engulf the village, forcing the Hammonds to choose between loyalty to their native friends or the increasingly terrified settler community.

As Resolve is plagued by strange dreams, she questions everything she thought she knew - about her family, her closest friend, and even herself. If the truth comes to light, the repercussions will be felt far beyond the confines of this small settlement.

Based on meticulous research and inspired by the true story of the fear and suspicion that led to the Salem Witchcraft Trials, THE DEVIL'S GLOVE is a tale of betrayal, loyalty, and the power of secrets. Will Resolve be able to uncover the truth before the town tears itself apart, or will she become the next victim of the village's dark and mysterious past?

Praise for The Devil’s Glove:

“From its opening lines this historical novel from Grindle (Villa Triste) grips with its rare blend of a powerfully evoked past, resonant characters, smart suspense, and prose touched with shivery poetry.”

~ BookLife Reviews Editor’s Pick

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 FUN FACTS

*  When I was about four, some work was being done on my grandfather’s farm. The digger uncovered a weird stone structure, and when I asked Grandpa what it was, he said it was the old cesspool. Cesspool was by far the longest and best word I had ever heard. I was very excited by it and loved it so much that when I was given a kitten, I named her Cesspool Kitty. I used to carry her under my arm and announce her when we entered a room. Now I think she may be my alter ego. I imagine her as a gunslinger in a western, banging through those swinging bar doors, saying, “Nobody move. It’s Cesspool Kitty!”

Or my alter ego may just be Listeria Kittens, which is how Google’s autocorrect likes to sign my name.

* Sticking to the cat theme: My mother was the first woman to solo in a mixed large cat act after she ran away and joined the circus. She became the head showgirl at Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily and opened Madison Square Garden carrying a leopard over her shoulders and wearing a spangled bikini.

Personally, I prefer dogs.

* And horses. My best friend Darci and I rode 250 miles packing a five-mule train along the Saskatchewan/Montana border chasing the ghost of my great great uncle who married Sitting Bull’s niece, which was a problem because he had a wife and daughter back in Toronto.

* Speaking of marriage, I asked my husband to marry me when I was four. He’s a little older than I am. My parents always gave a pool party on the fourth of July. He was there with his girlfriend, Rhoda, who was wearing a seersucker plaid bikini (no spangles.)  I had a new bathing suit, strictly one piece. It was navy blue, with red and white stripes and gold stars on the shoulders, and I went up to David, who was, and is, very handsome, and said, “David, do you like my new bathing suit?” And he said, “Yes, Lucretia, it’s very nice.” So, I said, “Then, will you marry me?” And he, being English and polite, said, “Yes, of course, I will.” And thirty-four years later, we were married beside that very same swimming pool. So, look out for four years olds.

* And on the theme of handsome men: Two days before graduating from college, I was walking down the street and was so busy watching the most beautiful man I’d ever seen walking along the opposite sidewalk that I ran into a parking meter and smashed both my front teeth. He was so guilty that I had to go to graduation with no teeth that he asked me out. I got tuna fish in my hair, but we’re still friends.

That’s three more facts. Or maybe four. But I majored in Religion, so what can you expect?

Lucretia Grindle

Lucretia Grindle grew up and went to school and university in England and the United States. After a brief career in journalism, she worked for The United States Equestrian Team organizing ‘kids and ponies,’ and for the Canadian Equestrian Team. For ten years, she produced and owned Three Day Event horses that competed at The World Games, The European Games and the Atlanta Olympics. In 1997, she packed a five-mule train across 250 miles of what is now Grasslands National Park on the Saskatchewan/Montana border tracing the history of her mother’s family who descend from both the Sitting Bull Sioux and the first officers of the Canadian Mounties.

Returning to graduate school as a ‘mature student’, Lucretia completed an MA in Biography and Non-Fiction at The University of East Anglia where her work, FIREFLIES, won the Lorna Sage Prize. Specializing in the 19th century Canadian West, the Plains Tribes, and American Indigenous and Women’s History, she is currently finishing her PhD dissertation at The University of Maine.

Lucretia is the author of the psychological thrillers, THE NIGHTSPINNERS, shortlisted for the Steel Dagger Award, and THE FACES of ANGELS, one of BBC Front Row’s six best books of the year, shortlisted for the Edgar Award. Her historical fiction includes, THE VILLA TRISTE, a novel of the Italian Partisans in World War II, a finalist for the Gold Dagger Award, and THE LOST DAUGHTER, a fictionalized account of the Aldo Moro kidnapping. She has been fortunate enough to be awarded fellowships at The Hedgebrook Foundation, The Hawthornden Foundation, The Hambidge Foundation, The American Academy in Paris, and to be the Writer in Residence at The Wallace Stegner Foundation. A television drama based on her research and journey across Grasslands is currently in development. THE DEVIL’S GLOVE and the concluding books of THE SALEM TRILOGY are drawn from her research at The University of Maine where Lucretia is grateful to have been a fellow at the Canadian American Foundation.

She and her husband, David Lutyens, live in Shropshire.

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