Author’s Note #2

 

 

 

 

 

Like Claudia Ellingford in my story, many women joined or created private investigative agencies. Lady detectives were also famous in fiction books during the Victorian era, starting in the 1860s.

 

Oliver’s cat, Caramel, is based on my cat, one we recently adopted from a shelter. To see pictures of my sweet Caramel, check out my Instagram. She has been my constant companion while writing this book.

 

I researched Notting Dale thoroughly, pouring over Victorian-era maps. Between 1878 and 1899, 45,334 men, women, and children were evicted from the area due to clearances. The city ejected the pig farmers in 1878. I also researched all the facts mentioned in this story concerning the history of Notting Dale. Notting Dale did become an area containing a mixture of public and private housing. It was the site of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire of June 17, 2017, where 72 people died.

 

Although I mention many streets in London, the addresses are fictitious.

 

Bayer claims that in the 1890s, the German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovered acetylsalicylic acid, or ASA. Bayer began to distribute it in powder form in 1899. They sold it under the name ‘aspirin.’ I set the date back a few months to fit my autumn 1898 timeline. There are disputes to this Bayer narrative, as many scientists throughout the 1800s had a hand in making this discovery. The product was sold in pill form starting in 1903.

 

Berkley Square did not have a gazebo, then or now, but I just had to include it when I received my lovely cover.

 

Characters from my other historical romances appearing or mentioned in this story:

 

Aidan Wollstonecraft. Check out his story in Love with a Notorious Rake (The Men of Wollstonecraft Hall #3)

Garrett Wollstonecraft. Check out his story in Scandal with a Sinful Scot (The Men of Wollstonecraft Hall #2)

Riordan Wollstonecraft. Check out his story in Marriage with a Proper Stranger (The Men of Wollstonecraft Hall #1)

Drew Hornsby. Appears in The Vicar with the Frozen Heart (The Hornsby Brothers #2)

Tremain Hornsby. Check out his story in The Vicar with the Frozen Heart (The Hornsby Brothers #2)

Damon and Althea’s story: The not so Perfect Duke (The Men of St. Regent’s Park #5)

Gideon and Olivia’s story: The Duke of Pain (The Men of St. Regent’s Park #4)

Christian and Eleanora’s story: Protecting the Duke (The Men of St. Regent’s Park #1)

Brandon and Angeline’s story: Knight of Christmas (The Men of St. Regent’s Park #3)

Asher and Chastity’s story: The Baron and the Mistress (The Men of St. Regent’s Park #2)