Bitsy Finds the Clue - an Augusta Huiell Seaman mystery story

Over my years of collecting, I've heard the name "Augusta Huiell Seaman" mentioned time and again as an author of children's mysteries back in the day, and I've actually come across several of her books here in there during my travels, but I never really picked one up.  Last year, while visiting my Dad in Kentucky, we visited an antique mall that was going out of business, and I happened to come across one of Seaman's books in hardcover (no dust jacket, unfortunately) for only $2.00, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I set it up on my "to be read" shelf and promptly forgot about it.  Until later in the year, when I was at a used book store in DeLand and came across another of Seaman's mysteries in hardcover for just a few dollars as well.  I thought, why not?, and I picked it up as well.  After sitting on my shelf for some time, I finally picked up this one (which, ironically, is the one I found in DeLand - still haven't read the one I bought earlier in Kentucky!) and gave it a read.  I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoyed it.

Bitsy Finds the Clue tells the story of Elizabeth Bates (known to her friends as "Bitsy"), a sixteen year told girl - "I'm nearly seventeen," she reminds her mother on page 2 - who is leaving home for the first time, enrolled as a freshman for the upcoming Fall semester at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Because of health issues, Bitsy's parents are concerned about her being so far from home, but Bitsy is both excited and nervous about being on her own. A college senior named Celeste Dufresne has been corresponding with young Bitsy and has promised to show her the ropes - but during the train ride down the East Coast, as well as the first few days of college, it seems Celeste barely has time for her young friend, and Bitsy is prepared to return home, having found the other freshman not as welcoming as she hoped and feeling more alone each day!  Celeste, who lives off campus with her great-aunts and great uncle, comes up with a way for Bitsy to stay in school but not have to face the unfriendly freshman - she can board at the Romney House, which is the old home owned by her Uncle Drew, Aunt Abigail, and Aunt Eva.  Bitsy is willing to give it a chance, and thus begins the mystery that Bitsy can't help but get drawn into!

While Seaman does a slow build to the mystery, the story is by no means boring.  Seaman introduces readers to some rather odd characters in the Romney House - Aunt Abigail and is stern and definitely filled with the Old South mentality; Uncle Drew (a nod to Nancy "Drew" perhaps?) is not quite as stodgy, but he is very secretive about his research into his family's history; Aunt Eva is more congenial, but being the youngest of the three, she adheres to the demands of her older sister and brother.  No mention is made of spouses, so one can only assume the three siblings have never been married.  There is also Cousin Eustacia, who lives across the street.  She is definitely more modern than the rest, which puts her at odds with Abigail at pretty much every turn.  And one mustn't forget good ol' Eliza, the family's cook and general housekeeper.  She is a stereotypical black maid of the time, and Seaman manages to further the stereotype with Eliza's dialect:

"Oh, Lawdy, Lawdy!" moaned Eliza, removing her apron from her eyes.  "Hit's de Cunnel! He done fell and mashed hisself up! De doctor say he gwine tek him to de hospital in Richmond! He done gotta hab a operation - or somepin! Oh, Lawdy hab mussy on us all!"  (p. 73)

Yes, I realize by today's standards this type of dialect is extremely racist; however, this book was written back in the early 1930s, being published in 1934, and when placed in that time setting, one can understand that this was the perception many people still had of the African American men and women living in their communities.  So, reading it with that mindset, it makes these outbursts of Eliza almost comical and over-the-top (which could very well be what Seaman intended, as Eliza is definitely an easily excitable character in the book).

The mystery is hinted at by Celeste, when she informed Bitsy that the Romney House is allegedly haunted; but when Bitsy actually hears the knocking in the middle of the night, but can find no source for it, she begins to wonder.  Her curiosity grows as she discovers Uncle Drew, late one night, kneeling at the bottom of the stairs, studying the floorboards intently, unaware he is being watched.  There is also the strange animosity that Uncle Drew and Aunt Abigail have to the restoration of the home - while the rest of the neighborhood has willingly allowed restoration crews to come into their homes and basically restore their homes from the basement floor to the top of the roof, Drew and Abigail have been adamant that no one will touch their house (despite its decaying conditions).  Celeste finally breaks down and reveals to Bitsy that the mystery involves the research her great-uncle is doing on the family history, particularly as it involves General Sumter Romney, who died after the Spanish-Mexican War under mysterious circumstances.  When Uncle Drew is hurt and must go to the hospital, Bitsy and Celeste convince Aunt Eva to join them in a secret search for the "hidden staircase" and the missing "diary" that could hold the clue to what has been bothering Uncle Drew (funny how both items are connected to early Nancy Drew mysteries, eh?).  Even Cousin Eustacia joins in on the fun, along with Celeste's boyfriend, Campbell McDurford - popularly known as "Duff."

The crew get sidetracked and blocked at many a turn as they try to secretly investigate the locked room where Uncle Drew keeps all of his records, and a search in the attic reveals nothing of any consequence.  A look in the basement, however, leads to the discovery of an unusual rock in the floor that seems very out of place (and that ultimately plays a huge part in the mystery).  And while Bitsy proves her worth to the family by ingeniously piecing together a number of the clues that lead to the discovery of the diary (in a most unfortunate way!) and the missing papers that nearly go unnoticed by everyone else, she does eventually over-exert herself to the point where, after chasing down a runaway horse during a parade celebration, she ends up bed-ridden in order to give her body time to recuperate.

The mystery eventually turns into a treasure hunt, with the infamous pirate Blackbeard playing a part, and even some question as to whether General Romney was actually murdered back in the day for the part he was thought to have played in the missing treasure!  Seaman throws in some real historical facts into the story, as well as quite a bit of geographical reality, particularly in the city of Williamsburg and the area surrounding William and Mary College.  On pages 114-15, Seaman describes how Celeste takes Bitsy on a tour of the area on Duke of Gloucester Street, which leads out of the College, and her descriptions as the girls walk down the street and take side trips on cross-streets is pretty dead-on - if you pull up a map of Williamstown and follow the girls' journey, you'll be able to see Bruton Parish Church (p. 114), the Wythe Mansion facing Palace Green (p. 114), the Governor's Palace (pp. 114-15), and circle around to see the old St. George Tucker House (p. 115) before returning to Duke of Gloucester Street ... the Court House, the Paradise House, the Raleigh Tavern - it's literally a wonderful tour of the collegiate Williamsburg that is very much based in reality.

 

There is only one internal illustration, a frontis piece, as rendered by Irving Nurick.  I've never heard of him, so looking online, found that he was best known for his illustrations in early 20th century magazines, as well as World War II posters and illustrations for books.  His frontis piece for this book is somewhat plain (the same art is used for the dust jacket cover); however, his two-page spread used for the front and back endpapers is quite magnificent (in my opinion).  The detail is absolutely gorgeous - the building in the background, the trees, the statue, the college students milling about.  I would definitely love to  find other books for which he has provided illustrations.

Having now read my first Augusta Huiell Seaman book, I am definitely ready for more!

RATING:  9 old scrapbooks with glued pages out of 10 for taking a haunted house, a possible treasure, and a historical secret and mixing them into a great little mystery!