Lady Appleton maps out role as Elizabethan detective

FACE DOWN ACROSS THE WESTERN SEA, by Kathy Lynn Emerson, 2002, St. Martin’s Minotaur, New York, 227 pages, hardcover, $22.95

Lady Susanna Appleton is up to her ankles in maps.

Each shows England, Spain and France nestled against Europe and to their left lies the Western Sea. Beyond that is Estotiland, Norombega and La Florida.

Her task is to secretly assist a team of scholars seeking proof for Queen Elizabeth I that England has first claim on the New World. It also falls to herbalist Lady Appleton to discover why an eyewitness account went missing and who killed the scholar found dead on the map that gave the book its title.

“Face Down Across the Western Sea” is the Wilton writer’s seventh novel that thrusts Lady Appleton into role of detective. Separated from her lover Nick Baldwin, who’s in Hamburg on business, Susanna must contend with former suitor Walter Pendennis, his jealous wife, Eleanor, and her daughter Rosamond in addition to all those scholars.

This is a more cerebral read than Emerson’s last book in the series. Her author’s note at the end of the text is informative and best read about 50 pages into the story.

To solve this latest mystery that winds up wrapped in domestic intrigue, Lady Susanna must use all her skills and depend upon the wits of her servants as well. It follows the formula that has served Emerson so well, as the writer continues to fascinate readers with details of Elizabethan life. – Judy Harrison

ACADIA’S CARRIAGE ROADS, by Robert Thayer, 2002, Down East Books, Camden, 48 pages, paperback, $12.95.

Skimming Robert Thayer’s photographs of lush, mossy vales and shadowy stone archways makes you want to drop his new book, grab your hiking boots and rush down to Acadia National Park.

“Acadia’s Carriage Roads,” recently published by Down East Books, chronicles the natural and social history of the 300-mile carriage road system that leads to some of the most beautiful vistas on Mount Desert Island.

Thayer, a longtime naturalist at Acadia, describes the flora and fauna along the trail, as well as provides technical drawings of the roadbeds and stone bridges that would thrill an engineer.

Thayer’s tangential tales of 19th century Bar Harbor and the legendary men and women who inhabited it are fascinating and help break up the construction detail that threatens to bog down the text.

The four-season photographs that Thayer took over 20 years are the stars, however, tempting readers to explore every inch of Mr. Rockefeller’s roads.

The book describes several bicycle or hiking routes, but it’s no guidebook. This is the book to read en route to Bar Harbor, as you idle in traffic on Route 3, dreaming of the quaint, car-free carriage roads. – Misty Edgecomb

AN ADVENTURE WITH GRANDFATHER IN THE MAINE WOODS, written by Sharon Anne Bartlett, illustrated by Judith Fallman, 2002, paperback.

This charming children’s book by Greenville author Bartlett takes a whimsical look at the timeless children’s lament that there’s nothing to do, especially in rural areas.

In the short book, 7-year-old Michael, a New York City boy, is sent, against his will, to visit his grandfather in rural Maine. Slowly but surely, Grandfather introduces Michael to the native animals and shows him that there’s plenty to see and do in the wintry woods.

Bartlett’s text is perfect for young readers, many of whom will recognize their own surroundings in the lush illustrations by Fallman. “An Adventure with Grandfather in the Maine Woods” is a comfortable way for parents and children to while away time any season of the year. – Dale McGarrigle

Sharon Anne Bartlett will do a book signing and reading at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Shaw Public Library in Greenville.