An Acquaintance with DarknessA teenage orphan is caught up in President Lincoln’s assassination—and another macabre plot—in this “fast-paced and dramatic” historical novel (Publishers Weekly). Emily’s mother always told her that she should avoid Uncle Valentine, a doctor, that he was involved in things she shouldn’t know about. But after Emily is orphaned—as Washington, DC, is in chaos due to the end of the Civil War—she has nowhere else to go. Now, in addition to coping with the loss of her mother, the fourteen-year-old finds herself involved in two mysteries. First, she wonders about her best friend, Annie Surratt, and the Surratt family. Annie has a signed picture of the handsome actor John Wilkes Booth in her room—but there seems to be more of a connection between Booth and the Surratt family than Emily thought…possibly including the plot to kill Lincoln. At the same time, Uncle Valentine’s odd behavior leads Emily to suspect that he is involved with body-snatching. As dark secrets swirl around her, Emily must figure out who she can trust, in this suspenseful tale “with a wealth of interesting background information” (Publishers Weekly). “Rinaldi has woven two interesting plots here into a fine coming-of-age historical novel....Makes readers feel as if they are living in history.”—Booklist “A vivid account of the moral ambiguities surrounding body snatching—for medical research—at the close of the Civil War.”—Publishers Weekly |
Contents
3 Uncle Valentine | |
4 Robert | |
5 The Millers Daughter | |
6 The Mole and the Spoon | |
7 The House on J Street | |
8 Home Alone | |
16 Wish You Were Here | |
17 Three Losses | |
18 I Didnt Like the Arithmetic | |
19 Walls Do a Prison Make | |
20 Along Came a Spider | |
21 And Frightened Miss Muffet Away | |
22 How Can I Explain This? | |
23 Nothing and No One He Said | |
9 Old Addie | |
10 Black Sunday | |
11 The Man From the Marble Vault | |
12 Miss Winefred Martins Young Ladies | |
13 Saving the Moments | |
14 Our Enemies Make Us Strong | |
15 The Inside of the Shed | |
24 The Ferryman | |
25 Firecrackers on the Fourth | |
26 I Wish I Could Be Miss Muffet Again | |
Back Matter | |
Back Cover | |
Spine | |
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Common terms and phrases
Addie Almshouse ANN RINALDI Annie Annie's any anymore asked Aunt Susie body snatching Bransby brother Brothers Grimm carriage cemetery con daddy David Herold dead bodies doctor door dress Elizabeth Keckley Emily eyes face father felt flowers Ford's Theater front funeral gate gave girls gone grave hand hang head heard horse inside John Wilkes Booth Johnny Surratt Johnny's killed kitchen knew Lincoln live looked Mama Mama's Marietta Mary Mary Surratt Maryland Maude McQuade medicine Merry Merry Andrews Miss Muffet morning mother Mudd Myra never night nodded paper parlor Pigbush portmanteau president prison Puss-in-Boots Richmond Robert Rumpelstiltskin shed smiled soldiers some someone stood stopped street supposed Surratt house talking tell things thought told tonight took Uncle Valentine Valentine's voice waiting walked Washington White House woman wondered