Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907)

This 19th century American mystery takes place in Stillwater, a Massachusetts "manufacturing village"-- a small town with factories, including textile mills, forges, and, most importantly, a marble-carving yard. This setting is key to the plot. The story opens with the murder of Lemuel Shackford, a nasty old man who is nice to no one, least of all his estranged young cousin, Richard Shackford. Aldrich offers a surprisingly modern buildup to the discovery of the body. After that, we go back show more in time and learn the history of Lemuel's and Richard's difficult relationship, Richard's running away to sea, and his return to the village. Lemuel refuses to offer any kindness to Richard, who takes himself off to the Slocum's marble yard. Rowland Slocum, a much nicer, but rather soft, older man, agrees to take Richard on as a bookkeeper and (in modern lingo) administrative assistant. Richard thrives in this position. Notably, the reason Slocum does not take Richard as a marble-working apprentice is the union--it maintains a perpetual shortage of qualified workers by limiting the number of apprentices. Slocum's difficulties with his workers, and labor unrest in the town, as a whole, are at the center of the plot.

As a mystery, The Stillwater Tragedy is decidedly minor, of interest mainly as a historical relic. The average reader will have little to no difficulty figuring out whodunnit. But the setting amid labor troubles and workmen is quite interesting, not what I usually expect in 19th century popular fiction. Everyday life is rather vividly portrayed. Three stars (and that's being generous) for the mystery qualities, with a bump up another half for the interesting setting. show less

Aldrich's semi-autobiographical story is memorable for its portrayal of a boy's life in pre-Civil War New England. The book's fictional Rivermouth is actually Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The writing is about as good as it gets. Aldrich has a great eye for detail, writes clearly, and has a very engaging sense of dry humor. Every character comes to life in the telling, and the adventures and sorrows he portrays ring absolutely true. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a show more sense of what life was like during that time--but even more strongly, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story and good writing. I'm so glad I stumbled across this book on munseys.com while looking for something else! show less

I can't say that the short novel (122 pages) was rip-roaring fun, but it was the amusing tale of a pre-pubescent boy in pre Civil War New England. I liked that it used some now obsolete words that I had not heard for sometime.

Charming story of the adventures of a young boy growing up in New England; one particular adventure ends tragically.