The Actress

The Actress takes readers to Victorian-era Philadelphia with a tale of political machinations, revenge and murder. When Becky Grey Taitt's abusive husband threatens to divorce her and keep their child, she agrees to infiltrate a gang of counterfeiters in exchange for the aid of powerful jurist, Alonzo Craig. After the judge's scheme miscarries, Becky is trapped in a lethal criminal underworld while her friend Martha Beale and Martha's beau, Thomas Kelman, struggle to rescue her. Praise for Cordelia Frances Biddle and the Martha Beale Series: "An intricately orchestrated narrative that implicates the Brahmin class and the corruption that comes with their absolute power. Biddle wonderfully evokes the color and culture of the time." Publishers Weekly"Fresh and believable. Biddle knows her manner and her city, and shows both to great advantage." Cleveland Plain Dealer "The setting is unfolded as vividly as the characters, from the "commoners" working the textile mills to the unseemly criminal types of the upper-crust elite. A fine mix of history and mystery." Booklistwww.CordeliaFrancesBiddle.com