On The Rocks: A Willa Cather and Edith Lewis Mystery

Willa Cather and Edith Lewis #1

by Sue Hallgarth

The year is 1929 and Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist Willa Cather and her partner Edith Lewis are summering on Grand Manan, an island in the Bay of Fundy. In their cottage’s sparsely-furnished attic room, Cather is at work writing Shadows on the Rock, her tenth novel. Edith is painting watercolors from the cliffs two hundred feet above the rising tides of Whale Cove. Out of the corner of her eye, Edith sees a body plunge from the edge of a cliff to the rocks below…. Solving the mystery, first-time novelist Sue Hallgarth’s intimate view of village politics and the goings-on of two women’s communities long lost to history is also a suspenseful and surprising crime novel. Hallgarth draws the reader into a unique retreat and an inside glimpse of the lives of a great American

“Cather fans will enjoy the atmosphere, and Hallgarth captures the local color well, providing a look at the eccentric island residents, the small-town politics, and the life of the [two] women’s communities.” —ALA Booklist

One of the top ten ‘Titles to Pick up Now’.—O, The Oprah Magazine

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2013

About the author

Sue is a novelist and Willa Cather and Edith Lewis scholar. A former faculty member and administrator at Empire State College/State University of New York and William Woods University, she held a fellowship (1994-1995) from the American Council of Learned Societies to work on a biography of Willa Cather, and she was a visiting fellow at Princeton University and Rutgers University. From 1987-1996 she also served as a writing consultant and editor for the National Council for Research on Women. Since moving to New Mexico in 1997, she lives on an acre in Corrales, New Mexico, a small rural village outside of Albuquerque, with her partner of 30 years, and their household includes two horses, a miniature donkey, ten chickens, and five dogs. On the Rocks is her first published novel. The sequel, Death Comes, will be published October 1, 2017.

Reviews

[Allyson McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mystery was so-so, but the characterization of Willa Cather and her partner Edith Lewis was quite moving. I also loved the descriptions of the island in the Bay of Fundy. Very much enjoyed the author's use of the history of the island and its two summer colonies of independent women.

[Lynne M · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery part of the book wasn't anything impressive, but the characterizations of Willa Cather and Edith Lewis were moving and kept me reading.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

1929 Grand Manan, an island in the Bay of Fundy. Willa Cather and her companion Edith Lewis are spending the summer at their cabin. Cather is writing Shadows on the Rock, her tenth novel, and Edith is painting watercolors when she sees a body plunge from the cliffs to the water below. Hallgarth draws the reader into 1929 US/Canada and two women's communities. Entertaining.

[Scott Wiggerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying, well-researched literary mystery! I am ready to start the sequel!

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat curious mystery. Yes, there was a death witnessed by Edith. There was an investigation by the local chief of police with assistance by Edith and Willa and ultimately a solution but the most memorable aspect was the look at Cather’s literary approach and personal philosophy as observed by her long time companion Edith. We also get views on many topics including men, nature, feminism,society, etc.. I often felt like I was sitting in a college lecture focused on Willa Cather- not really a bad thing...very informative and interesting. So much in this period (1929) bears an eerie resemblance to contemporary happenings: the focus on the stock market, escalating public violence, over-stepping by federal and other law enforcement. Also much about women’s issues and American social values have not changed a lot from 1920s to 2020. An afterword gives extensive information about Canada’s Grand Manan Island, the setting of the book and the long-time summer retreat of Cather and many professional women before WWII.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer described this as a "cozy mystery" and that's probably accurate-- it's not like the stakes are super-low, since there is a murder in the very beginning of the book, and the mild threat of further violence flares up periodically, the mystery is solved at the leisurely pace of a country hike, and as it turns out, the world isn't so evil after all, or at least this one corner of it, Grand Manaan Island.

The most interesting parts of this book probably aren't the mystery-- the representation of a feminist commune type living situation on the island-- actually two separate woman-headed communities-- is really interesting, and an underexplored aspect of history. I also thought that the inner life of Edith Lewis, who is the focalizer for much of this book, was pretty interesting when she wasn't thinking about the mystery, a lively run of stream-of-consciousness, or at least sensory perception, that felt very modern and writerly in a book that sometimes feels a little too traditional.

If you're of a mind to want that kind of thing, I suspect this does add to our sense of Willa Cather. The domestic situation is well imagined, but I also think it's not something that's incredibly insightful. I don't mean to downplay what is here, since I think few people have portrayed the relationship between Edith and Willa quite so openly before; but once the relationship is placed on it's proper footing, this novel isn't interested in plumbing the depths of their relationship. Instead, it makes what they shared commonplace, which is good as a corrective to previous distortion but not necessarily the material for rich fiction.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is clunky at times and there are "information dumps" regarding details of Cather's life and work, however, the strength of the book is in Hallgarth's ability to paint a scene.

Her research about Grand Manan, Cather & Lewis, and the time period are obviously top notch. I enjoyed little tidbits she added such as the hot read for tourists of that 1926 summer season being All Quiet on the Western Front or how United States federal agents "had taken to [accidentally] shooting innocent victims" in their zeal to enforce prohibition: "One man out for a Sunday drive with his family in Minnesota took twenty-six slugs from a border patrolman's shotgun." I imagine Hallgarth didn't make that up.

Of course, what kept me reading and what will draw Cather enthusiasts to this book is the curiosity of how Hallgarth represents Cather and her ideas. It was refreshing to see Edith Lewis, who has been woefully neglected (or actively dismissed) in writing about Cather, take center stage. I found myself wanting to know much more about Lewis after reading this novel, but during the reading I always perked up when Cather came on the scene or when Lewis's thoughts turned to reminiscence and/or speculation about Cather and their life together.

A friend wrote to me that Willa Cather is probably rolling over in her grave at having been fictionalized, but, at the risk of sounding corny, I think it's pretty neat.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Fiction, Mystery, 1930s American setting) 2.5 star rating

Well, actually, this story is set on Grand Manaan Island which is really Canadian, but the holiday community, at least for the summer discussed, is composed of Americans.

"On the Rocks" can’t decide whether it’s a fictional mystery featuring American writer Willa Cather, or a non-fiction biography of Cather. It leans to the biography side which results in a complicated and nearly senseless mystery.

Read this if: you’d enjoy a fictionalized slice of Willa Cather’s life. 2½ stars

Note: I won a copy of "On the Rocks" from the publisher but this had no effect on my rating

[MaryJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hallgarth's knowledge of and affection for Cather and Lewis, add a depth to this well written mystery novel. I was intrigued by the way the author transformed her scholarship into the novel form. I also enjoyed the evocation of these women's communities on Grand Manan, an Island in the bay of Fundy. The book is beautifully produced, with photos and drawings which add another dimension to the reader's imagined visit to this other place and time. I would argue that these "real" illustrations both drew me and reminded me of my distance from Grand Manan in 1929.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read with a beautiful portrait of a Canadian island in the 1920s, a strong feminist portrait of Willa Cather and her partner Edith, and a murder mystery to boot! Well written with some beautifully "painted" scenes and an intriguing insight to the way we all tend to think, wandering from one association to another before we catch ourselves! I've never seen that in a book before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since Willa Cather is my all time favorite author I was eager to read this book.

I'm not a big fan of the murder mystery genre. I love to read a good book that doesn't include murder.

The writing style is somewhat stiff, it took me quite awhile to really engage with the story.

The character development was slow or lacking but I did enjoy the last hundred or so pages and really got into the story at that point. All in all a good first book.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery novel featuring Willa Cather, taking place at her summer cottage in New Brunswick. Lots of information about Cather and her friends, as well as New Brunswick rural life in the 1920's. The mystery wasn't that engrossing. Generally enjoyable.

[Carolyn Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good sense of time and place and a group of fascinating characters but many information dumps that interrupt the flow of the mystery at the beginning. Read it for insight into strong women finding ground to stand on and the women's "colonies" on Grand Manan Island.

[Scott Childers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Big chunks of irrelevant "brain dumps" of information that I felt did not add to the plot or character development. Actual mystery was "meh". Really read like it was three different books that were thrown into a Cuisinart and the remains were printed.

[Jami Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to learn of the women's summer colonies, but the back and forth between paragraphs of the different threads made it difficult for me to follow. I often could not discern who was speaking.

[Liesl]

Very slow moving. I also expected more from it--more interaction between Willa and Edith.