Tonya Mitchell's Blog

Just who was the infamous woman behind the alleged fatal poisoning of her husband in Liverpool, England in the late 19th century? Why did the trial fuel such grist for the gossip mill on both sides of the Atlantic?

The woman center stage in The Arsenic Eater’s Wife was born Florence Elizabeth Chandler in 1862 to monied, well-connected parents. Her mother, Caroline, a Northerner from Massachusetts, inherited her father’s estate (valued at over a million dollars) when he died. Florence’s father,...

Last month I introduced you to five lady poisoners from the first half of the 1800s. Here are five more cases from the second half of the century. What poisons did they use? What were their motives? And whose 170-year-old case was recently reopened and why?

Sally Arsenic

Who: Sarah Chesham

When: 1851

Poison: Arsenic

Motive: Perhaps financial strife

Result: Hanged

Interesting Fact: A printed verse with pictures made the rounds at the time of her hanging which, in part, went: “Wicked, base, decei...

The history of women who killed with poison is a long and winding one. Poison was often the method of choice for females because it was less violent and required no physical strength (like, say, a garroting or stabbing). Fortunately for these femme fatales, poison was cheap, easy to get, and administer—especially to unsuspecting victims. While researching the real-life case of the condemned woman at the heart of my historical novel, The Arsenic Eater’s Wife, I read the tales of many such women.

L...

I did a lot of research on poisons for my upcoming book, The Arsenic Eater's Wife, especially about arsenic! To that end, I interviewed Kerry (K.K.) Cathers, author of A Writer’s Guide to Nineteenth-Century Murder by Arsenic. Kerry runs the website, A Curiosity of Crime, a research resource for writers of historical detective fiction. If you want to know anything about poison, she’s your go-to.

Here's a Q&A between Kerry and I, where I ask about her book and arsenic - the poison so popular amo...

This month’s author spotlight is Emma Lombard. Emma recently launched book 1 in her White Sails series, Discerning Grace. For readers who enjoy historical women’s fiction featuring feisty female leads, this series is for you!

Emma is an Aussie I met, of all places, on Twitter where she has nearly 24,000 followers! Her By the Book newsletter is one of the best I’ve discovered and covers everything from her writing journey, to blog updates, to fun freebies.

I asked her about Discerning Grace, ...

This month’s author spotlight is Kim Taylor Blakemore. Kim writes historical novels that feature fierce and often dangerous women, thieves and servants, murderesses and mediums, grifters and dancehall girls—the women with darker stories, tangled lies, and hidden motives. Her latest book, After Alice Fell, launched in March and was an Amazon First Reads monthly pick, catapulting it to the top of the Amazon charts in historical fiction!

I spoke to Kim about the book, her writing process, how she ...

This month’s author spotlight is award-winning historical fiction author Brook Allen, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Historical Novel Society Conference in 2019. Brook had just launched the first book in her epic Antonius Trilogy, Son of Rome. I got back from the conference and ordered it, anxious to read about ancient Rome and the illustrious Marc Antony. Let me tell you, I was hooked! Confession: I don't normally gravitate to stories of ancient Rome, but the world of Marc Antony came...

This month’s author spotlight is historical fiction author Elizabeth Blackwell, whom I met in 2019 at the Historical Novel Society Conference near Washington, DC. Elizabeth and I clicked right away (she, too, lives in the Midwest and has twin boys!). Elizabeth already had several books under her belt when I met her, including On a Cold Dark Sea, In the Shadow of Lakecrest, and While Beauty Slept.

Her latest book is a nail-biting WWI spy thriller called Red Mistress. In this chat, Elizabeth tal...

As a continuation of my earlier post, here are ten MORE fun facts about Nellie Bly, the woman who dazzled America and the rest of the world with her daring stunt reporting (and a host of other things too).

1. A train Bly took narrowly missed crashing into a canyon

Just outside Gallup, New Mexico, flying at 50 miles an hour to bring Bly ever-closer to the finish line during her around-the-world race, the train sped over a bridge that was still under construction. In fact, its nails were only b...