When Vivian's grandmother dies, she leaves behind a trail of family secrets and half-truths.
San Francisco, 1892: Vivian Alderdice has just made her debut in Nob Hill society. But she's not your typical Gilded Age heiress. She'd rather read books and take long walks than indulge in flirtations or learn the Hesitation Waltz.
In the midst of the endless parties and social events of her debutante life, her grandmother Penelope dies. Vivian replaces her taffeta and silk ballgowns for mourning clothes, putting husband-hunting on hold. The future Vivian thought was so clear is now clouded with uncertainty.
A woman not of the San Francisco elite shows up at the funeral, claiming to be an old friend of Penelope's. She's eager to tell Vivian about the woman she knew: Not Penelope Alderdice, the shipping tycoon's wife and Nob Hill socialite, but Grace Carlyle, a spunky artist in search of adventure. Now it's not only the future that's cloudy but the past as well.
Is the intruder a crank? Is she confused? Or is she telling the truth?
Vivian won't rest and neither will the specter of Penelope Alderdice until she finds out. Her journey takes her into the life of the woman she thought she knew, uncovering family truths the Alderdices have kept hidden for over forty years.
Will Vivian's future be revealed in her grandmother's past?
Follow Vivian's path to truth and self-discovery in the first book of this family saga set during one of America's most turbulent eras.
Get The Specter today and experience the life of a spirited Gilded Age belle who won't let go of a family ghost.
What reviewers are saying: May's historical fiction picks apart the delicate facade of American gentility in upper-class, well-heeled families on the wild West Coast at the end of the nineteenth century. - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud
Gently told, and forms a good basis for the series to build upon. - Discovering Diamonds: Historical Fiction Reviews
Part gothic fiction, part psychological drama, "The Specter" was a deeply moving & introspective book about one of San Francisco's powerful families set in 1892 - Amazon Vine Voice reader
An intriguing and beguiling story. - Amazon reader
A fantastic story that will definitely intrigue the reader and pull you into the last page. - Amazon reader ~~~ THE WAXWOOD SERIES False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2) Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3) Dandelions (Waxwood Series: Book 4)
