The Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey - by Bland Simpson (Paperback)

About the Book

A dramatic story about the disappearance of 19-year-old Nell Cropsey from her riverside home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in November 1901. Simpson weaves this true story into a colorful account, told in three first-person voices: Nell's sister Ollie, famous newspaper editor W.O. Saunders, and Nell's beau Jim Wilcox. Illus.

Book Synopsis

As compelling as fiction, The Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey tells the dramatic story of the disappearance of nineteen-year-old Nell Cropsey from her riverside home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in November 1901. Bloodhounds, detectives, divers, and even a psychic were brought in to search for her, and the case immediately became a national sensation. Bland Simpson, who first heard the tale as an Elizabeth City schoolboy, weaves this true story into a colorful nonfiction account, told in three first-person voices: Nell's sister Ollie; famous newspaper editor W. O. Saunders, who covered the case as a young reporter; and Jim Wilcox, Nell's beau, who was implicated in the case. Nell and Jim's romance, her disappearance, the great search, the trials, and their aftermath are artfully reconstructed from interviews, court records, and newspaper accounts.

Review Quotes

"The Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey begs to be set to music. Haunting and elegiac as a folk ballad, the voices intertwine--soprano, tenor, and bass--in a blend of tragic mystery and raw pain."--Margaret Maron, author of Bootlegger's Daughter

"An arresting and elegant meditation on guilt and innocence and the inscrutability of human behavior."--Philadelphia Inquirer

"Bland Simpson brings a whole culture brilliantly to life--all the sounds and sights of 'down East, ' with wonderful dialogue and real, page-turning suspense. Life is stranger than fiction, especially in the case of Nell Cropsey."--Lee Smith, author of The Devil's Dream

"Bland Simpson conveys images for all senses and his characters are powerful and authentic. The story is a haunting one."--Mostly Murder

"Bland Simpson writes of a small town tragedy with words so vivid and powerful that you see, smell, hear, and taste these people and this era in time."-Tim McLaurin, author of Keeper of the Moon

"Simpson persuasively re-creates the decorously frenzied, boomtown atmosphere of turn-of-the-century Elizabeth City in the grip of a tabloid mystery complete with bloodhounds, anonymous tipsters, and a famous spiritualist."--Kirkus Reviews

"Simpson weaves a compelling story of beauty and despair."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

About the Author

Bland Simpson teaches writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the author of The Great Dismal: A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir and The Heart of the Country, a novel of southern music. He is also a member of the Red Clay Ramblers, the internationally acclaimed string band.