| Lenore St. Allengere discovers as a young girl that she is no more than a higher servant in the Silk House where she lives with her grandmother, who works as a dressmaker for the Sallongers, the owners of the house. She grows up knowing only that she is an orphan. She attracts the attentions of the sons of the house as she grows up to be a beautiful young woman... and also those of a handsome young man who visits the house, evoking jealousy in the daughter of the house. She gets engaged on her seventeenth birthday to the younger son of the house, who has recently returned from a trip to visit the French branch of the family in Villers-Mure and study their patterns of silk- making. On their return, the older brother had revealed a new method of producing silk that provided the necessary boost to the family fortunes. However, when Lenore's new husband Philip mysteriously commits suicide soon after their marriage, she is determined to solve the mystery but she must first deal with more pressing problems- her position in the house, for instance, as well as a baby. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 0 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 60's-90's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - revenge How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting Europe Yes European country: - France Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Misc setting - fancy mansion Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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