I’m Ana Brazil, author of Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper. How to introduce myself? Let me just say that I’m curious about many, many things.
First of all, I’m fascinated by the exploits of bold and audacious women, especially the women who followed their strong hearts to challenge and improve American society during the Gilded Age (1870s to 1900).
Women like photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston and settlement house pioneer Jane Addams and “around-the-world-in-72-days” journalist Nellie Bly and Presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull.
I love the stories of courageous and clever heroines. How about you?
I also love New Orleans, a Gilded Age city beset by hurricanes, riots, lottery swindles, and yellow fever epidemics. But also a city celebrated for new educational institutions, the 1884 World Cotton Centennial, and the glow of electric lighting.
And finally, I admit to a healthy curiosity about London’s brutal butcher, Jack the Ripper.
All of my fascinations come together in Fanny Newcomb & the Irish Channel Ripper. In my Gilded Age New Orleans, the city is overrun with prostitutes, pornographers, and a malicious Jack the Ripper copycat. And there’s also Fanny Newcomb, an intelligent and ambitious typewriting teacher. But is Fanny clever and courageous enough to capture the fearful menace known as the Irish Channel Ripper?
Let’s find out here….
- Curious about Fanny Newcomb and 1889 New Orleans? Read the first chapter here.
- Want to know what the Gilded Age looked like? Visit my Fanny Newcomb1889 tumblr blog and pinterest pages.
- Eager to read what I’m up to every month? Sign up for my newsletter here.
Once again, Welcome!