Murder Under a Full Moon

by Abigail Keam

  Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

  Roosevelt served as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. During this time, Mrs. Roosevelt worked to expand the rights of working women, WWII refugees, and the civil rights of minorities. She advocated the U.S. join the United Nations and was appointed as its first delegate. Serving as first chair on the UN Commission on Human Rights, she oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt later chaired President John Kennedy’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. She was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt and first cousin to Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Roosevelt married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who became the 32nd President of the U.S. She is considered one of the most admired people of the twentieth century.

  Elizabeth Sherman Lindsay (1885-1954)

  Lindsay was a noted landscape gardener and planted the gardens at the newly built British Embassy in Washington, D.C. She was married to the British diplomat Sir Ronald Lindsay and was the grandniece of Civil War General William T. Sherman. She also worked as a Red Cross executive during the Great War (WWI).

  Emily Price Post (1872-1960)

  Post was a wealthy socialite who wrote novels, travel books, and etiquette books. Her 1922 etiquette book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, became a bestseller and launched Post as an American icon. She became a national figure on deciding what “good taste” was. After 1931, Post did radio programs and newspaper columns on proper etiquette. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home is still in print.

  Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

  Caruso was an acclaimed international sensation noted for his operatic tenor ability. He made 247 recordings from 1902 to 1920.

  Gertrude Bell (1868-1926)

  Bell was an English explorer, cartographer, and archaeologist of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Arabia. She and T. E. Lawrence helped the Hashemites establish dynasties in Jordan and Iraq. She played a major role in establishing the borders for Iraq and was instrumental in establishing the Iraqi Museum.

  G-man

  It is slang for an FBI agent.

  Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-2019)

  Vanderbilt was an heiress of the Vanderbilt family. She was the niece of Lady Furness, mistress of the Prince of Wales and is the mother to Anderson Cooper. Her aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, took Gloria’s mother to court as an unfit mother for custody of Gloria in 1934. It created a stir coming on the heels of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder. The aunt won the suit. Gloria grew up to become a designer and entrepreneur of upscale blue jeans and perfumes.

  Great Depression (1929-1939)

  The Great Depression was a world-wide phenomenon caused by the U.S. stock market crash in October 1929. The years 1931-1934 were the worst years of the Depression with an unemployment percentage rate of 15.9, 23.6, 24.9, 21.7 respectively, and even in 1940 unemployment was fifteen percent. President FDR’s New Deal programs such as the CCC and the WPA helped, but it wasn’t until WWII that the country roared out of the Great Depression for good.

  Harlem

  As a neighborhood of New York City, it was named after Haarlem in the Netherlands in 1658. It was predominantly occupied by Jewish and Italian immigrants in the 19th century until African-Americans began moving to Harlem at the beginning of the 20th century. During the 1920s and 1930s, Harlem was the center of the Harlem Renaissance when many African-American artists, writers, and performers congregated there to live and work.

  Henrietta Nesbitt

  Henrietta Nesbitt was hired by Eleanor Roosevelt as a housekeeper and cook for the White House. The two of them modernized the White House kitchen, thus upgrading its sanitary standards. Mrs. Roosevelt worked with Mrs. Nesbitt to create dishes that were nutritious and inexpensive. The First Lady believed the White House should provide an example during the Great Depression and eat what the “people” ate. Lavish meals, even for State dinners, became a thing of the past in favor of more spartan meals. While nutritious, Mrs. Nesbitt’s meals were not tasty, and the White House became known for its inedible food. The rule of thumb was to eat before you dined at the White House.

  House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

  A German dynasty founded by Ernest Anton, sixth duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfed. In Great Britain, the Saxe-Coburgs were descendants of (German) Albert, Prince Consort of (British) Queen Victoria (House of Hanover). In 1917, complaints about the British royal family’s German surname caused King George V to change the name to the House of Windsor.

  Jazz

  Jazz is a variety of music originated by African-American musicians in New Orleans, Louisana around the turn of the 20th century. It was considered controversial when it spilled over into the white population as it was rumored to have begun in houses of ill repute. Jazz has its roots in ragtime and the blues.

  Jean Harlow (1911-1937)

  Harlow was an American comedic actress and one of the first sex symbols of the “talkies.” Known as the “Platinum Bombshell”, she became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and is still ranked at No. 22 on AFI’s greatest female stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Harlow died of kidney failure at the age of twenty-six.

  John Barrymore (1882-1942)

  Barrymore was considered the greatest actor of his generation. He was known as “The Great Profile” because of his prominent nose. He is the grandfather of Drew Barrymore.

  Lady Thelma Furness (1904-1970)

  Lady Furness was the mistress of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, preceding Wallis Simpson. Her identical twin, Gloria, was the mother of Gloria Vanderbilt and the grandmother of Anderson Cooper.

  Longworth Family

  A distinguished family from Cincinnati, Ohio, who made their money from wine. Nicholas Longworth I is remembered as the father of American wine making. Patrons of the arts, they donated land for parks and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Maria Longworth created the Rookwood Pottery Co. Nicholas Longworth III became Speaker of the House and married Alice Roosevelt. His campaigning for William Howard Taft on the Republican ticket for president, while Theodore Roosevelt also ran for president, caused an irreparable rift in their marriage.

  Mata Hari (1876-1917)

  Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer who was executed by a French firing squad for spying for Germany during the Great War (WWI).

  Mesopotamia

  Name for the historical region between the Tigris-Euphrates river system. Also called the Fertile Crescent. Name covers the modern countries of Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The area is now referred to as the Middle East which also includes Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.

  MI6

  MI6 or the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom. Founded in 1909 as part of the Secret Service Bureau, its duties expanded during WWI and adopted its current name in 1920. The SIS was not officially acknowledged until 1994 when the Intelligence Service Act of 1994 (ISA) was introduced to Parliament. And yes, like James Bond, MI6 agents do have a license to kill.

  Mickey

  Also known as a Mickey Finn. A drink spiked with a drug unbeknownst to the drinker.

  Mint Julep

  A bourbon, sugar, mint, and shaved ice concoction served in a sterling cup. It is associated with the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky. Recipe–1 oz bourbon, 1 tsp of granulated sugar, and water. Pour into a silver cup with fresh mint leaves over shaved ice.

  Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the US Constitution

  The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It needed thirty-six states to pass the amendment, and Tennessee was the last state of the thirty-six to do so with only one vote passing it. Harry Burn, who was anti-suffrage for women, received a note from his mother, Phoebe Ensminger Burn, stating, “Hurrah, and vote for suffrage,” and implored him to be a “good son.” H
arry did what his mother wanted and cast the last vote for suffrage breaking the tie. The amendment was adopted in 1920 but was challenged by Leser v Garnett and Fairchild v Hughes. Some states refused to vote on the amendment while other states, mostly in the South, rejected it. States would reverse their rejection of the amendment in favor of it as late as 1984. One vote can make all the difference. Thank you, Mrs. Burn, for sending that note to your son.

  Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet (1896-1980)

  Mosley was leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). He was imprisoned in 1940 and the BUF was banned. He was released in 1943. Ruined and disgraced, Mosley was rejected for political office post WWII. He moved to France in 1951 for the remainder of his life.

  Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934)

  Hindenburg was a German general and war hero who led the German Army during the Great War (WW1). In 1925, he became President of the German Weimar Republic until his death in August of 1934. He was instrumental in the Nazi rise to power in Germany, when he was forced to appoint Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. After Hindenburg died, Hitler combined the presidency and the chancellorship into one office with “führer” as the title for the new office. By September, Nazi control of Germany would be complete.

  Shirley Temple Drink

  Named after the popular child star of the 1930s, a Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic drink traditionally made with ginger ale and grenadine, served with a maraschino cherry.

  Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890)

  Burton is best known as a British explorer searching for the source of the Nile and visiting Mecca in disguise when Europeans were forbidden to enter. Burton was a cartographer, author, translator, and an ethnographer. It is claimed that he spoke twenty-nine languages. He publicly criticized the colonial policies of the British Empire.

  Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay (1877-1945)

  Ambassador to the United States from 1930 to 1939. Lindsay was an Americanophile, who married two American women. After his first wife died in 1918, he married another American. Both women were grandnieces of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. To change American’s antiwar sentiment over to helping Great Britain, Lindsay hosted the 1939 Royal Garden Party for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II’s mother). The party was very controversial, but was considered the social event of the year, so everyone went. The King and Queen’s visit was the beginning of an overt attempt to bridge stronger relations between the two countries.

  T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935)

  Known as Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence was a British army officer, diplomat, and writer known for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) against the Ottoman Empire, which had sided with Germany during the Great War (WWI). He is professionally associated with Gertrude Bell.

  Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

  He was the 26th president (1901-1909) of the United States. He was known for saying “Walk softly and carry a big stick” which was based on an African proverb—“Walk softly and carry a big stick. You’ll go far.” This was the basis of Roosevelt’s foreign policy to appear benign, but to use force if necessary when national interests are threatened. He is known as a conservationist and created the United States Forest Service, thereby, establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, and 5 national parks. During his residency, Roosevelt protected 230 million acres of public land. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson would continue Roosevelt’s work by creating the National Park Service. As for his daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Roosevelt said, “I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both.”

  Wallis Simpson (1896-1986)

  Simpson was an American socialite, who began an affair with Edward David Windsor, Prince of Wales, and heir to the British throne in 1934. After Wallis’ divorce, her beau, now Edward VIII, King of United Kingdom, created a constitutional crisis when he announced his intention to marry the twice-divorced Mrs. Simpson. He abdicated the throne in 1936 in order to marry her. Both Simpson and the abdicated Edward VIII, now Duke of Windsor, were Nazi sympathizers and of great concern to the British government during WWII. The British went at great length to suppress intelligence from them. Prime Minister Winston Churchill even threatened the Duke with a court-martial if he did not follow orders from the British Government. Eventually, the Duke was appointed Governor of the Bahamas to get him and Simpson out of the Government’s hair. After the war, the couple lived in France until their deaths. Simpson is attributed with the quote, “You can never be too rich or too thin.”

  Weimar Republic

  Germany existed as a constitutional republic beginning in 1918 after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm and ended with President Paul Hindenburg’s appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor in 1933. Thus Germany began its road to a dictatorship with the Nazis banning unions, other political parties, and a free press finally leading to WWII and genocide.

  William Donovan (1883-1959)

  Donovan was an American soldier, lawyer, and intelligence officer. Donovan is the only veteran to receive all four of the United States highest awards—the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal plus the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He is best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII. Another famous alumnus of the OSS was French gourmet chef, Julia Child. The OSS evolved to become the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after 1945. Donovan was recruited by President Roosevelt in 1934 to “casually” collect information against Nazis living in the U.S. as the States did not have a formal protocol as spying was frowned upon. Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson, under President Hoover, wrote in his memoirs, “Gentlemen do not read each other’s mail,” and pulled funding for intelligence gathering. Roosevelt knew that Donovan was a loud critic of such action and felt the U.S. needed a formal intelligence department like the United Kingdom’s MI6. As soon as the U.S. was attacked in 1941, Roosevelt demanded that he be granted money for such a department with Donovan heading it. Thus began the OSS. Years later, Donovan died after acquiring dementia, taking all his secrets with him to the grave. A statue of Donovan stands in the CIA Headquarters lobby.

  Willard Hotel (1847 – )

  The Willard Hotel is a historic Beaux-Arts hotel in Washington, DC, where all the “swells” still stay. It is at this hotel that Kentuckian “The Great Compromiser” Henry Clay (1777-1852) introduced Kentucky bourbon to make Mint Juleps. He would bring a barrel from home to each legislative session and ask members from both parties to join him at the Willard for a Mint Julep. How do you think he was able to make members of Congress compromise over legislature? Perhaps over a Mint Julep drink?

  Wollmar Boström (1878-1956)

  Boström was a bronze medal 1908 Olympic tennis winner and Swedish ambassador in Washington, D.C. from 1925 to 1945.

  Working Girls

  1930s slang synonymous with prostitutes.

  About The Author

  Abigail Keam is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. She is a beekeeper, loves chocolate, and lives on a cliff overlooking the Kentucky River. Besides the 1930s Mona Moon Mysteries, she writes the award-winning Josiah Reynolds Mysteries, The Princess Maura Tales (fantasy) and the Last Chance For Love Series (sweet romance).

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