The Creole Sisters

This Beadle and Adams dime novel from 1866, The Creole Sisters: The Mystery of the Perrys, by Mrs. Anna E. Porter, opens a domestic mystery set in a New England village. The narrator, Mary, a newly married woman, encounters a mysterious stranger of mixed race at the post office seeking help reading a French letter regarding an unclaimed package. The stranger's expression of scorn disturbs Mary profoundly. The narrative then shifts to introducing Maurice Perry, the narrator's brother-in-law—a handsome, refined widower of forty-five to fifty who lives in the family's stone mansion with his housekeeper Miss Hannah Price. Maurice announces his unexpected departure to Florida on government business, departing within days. The plot involves family secrets, mysterious connections to Florida, and Maurice's deceased wife—a Florida lady. The opening suggests themes of hidden identities and unresolved history tied to the southern United States.