Virginia Harold
Ann Patchett publishes tales of families torn asunder. Edna O’Brien’s novels show women fleeing their oppressors. St. Louis mystery author Elsa Hart is drawn to stories of travelers throughout history—and along their journeys, her protagonists solve complex murder cases.
Hart’s first series of three historical mysteries feature the scholar Li Du in 18th-century China. Publishers Weekly selected Hart’s final Li Du novel, City of Ink, as one of its Best Books of 2018. Now, Hart debuts her new historical mystery series August 8 with The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, set in London in 1703 and starring Lady Cecily Kay.
An aspiring botanist, Kay leaves her diplomat husband in Smyrna and sails to London to study the rare plants amassed by Barnaby Mayne. His mansion is a wonder, with a Serpent Room, a Beast Room, a Bird Room, a Plant Room, and cabinets filled with jewels. “The way you displayed status at that time was through your collections,” Hart says. Kay is identifying Mediterranean thyme when Mayne is stabbed to death. An innocent man confesses, and she must exonerate him. As Kay figures out whodunit, she matures. “By the end of the book, Cecily knows who she is, an independent, self-confident proto-feminist,” Hart says.
Stories of travelers come naturally to Hart. She was born in Rome in 1984, raised in Moscow, and attended high school in Prague. After graduating from Swarthmore College, she earned a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She then joined her husband, Robbie Hart, on Jade Dragon Mountain in southwest China, where he studied rhododendrons for the Missouri Botanical Garden. Living near an ancient trade route, she conjured up Li Du. And a character in those mysteries inspired the creation of Lady Cecily Kay.
Disappearing into another century can be not only entertaining but also therapeutic, Hart says, and 18th-century England offers both mental engagement and escape from the current pandemic. “There are always parallels between past and present, and we learn about ourselves by looking at our history,” she continues. “At the same time, the world of a mystery novel is simpler than the real world. It is a place where justice is always done and all puzzles have solutions.”
History Mysteries
Check out Hart’s other series, the Li Du books.
The first book in Hart’s trilogy of historical mysteries. Li Du is a former imperial librarian living in exile during the 18th century. As he arrives at a border town between China and Tibet, a Jesuit astronomer is found dead at the home of a magistrate. Tibetan bandits are thought to be responsible, but Li Du must decide: Pack up and leave, or investigate the death?
Li Du is back, traveling to Lhasa with a group of traders. On an icy bridge in a valley between mountain passes, the caravan comes upon the body of a monk, apparently dead by his own hand. When the weather grows worse, Li Du’s group is forced to shelter in place at a local lord’s manor. Li Du learns that the monk was a recluse—but was his death really a suicide?
Publishers Weekly praised the third Li Du book, writing that it “solidifies [Hart’s] status as a top-notch historical mystery author.” Returning home to Beijing to solve the mystery of his mentor’s death, Li Du investigates two more: the wife of a local factory owner and a government worker who was in charge of inspections. Found near each other with their throats slit, the two are assumed to be lovers and the crime one of passion. That motive is considered an absolute defense under the Chinese law of the time—but the husband won’t confess.
