Trixie Tries to Solve a Hundred-Year-Old Case in The Mystery of the Emeralds

I’ve always been intrigued by attics and thrilled at the idea of exploring one filled with long-forgotten treasures. In The Mystery of the Emeralds, 14-year-old detective Trixie Belden doesn’t need to go far to make a fascinating attic find. After stumbling upon a hidden crawl space, Trixie finds a Civil War-era canteen, along with a letter in a coat pocket. The canteen will be an excellent addition to an upcoming charity sale, but what really captures Trixie’s imagination is the letter, which mentions a hidden emerald necklace. The problem? The letter was written in 1861. What’s more, though the letter gives a clue as to where to start looking, Trixie has no idea where Rosewood Hall is. Is this mystery worth pursuing, or is it too far beyond her reach? Anyone coming into this volume as an established reader of the series would be able to tell you that Trixie is far too persistent to be deterred by a seemingly cold case.

This is the 14th book in the Trixie Belden series and the eighth written by Kathryn Kenny, a catch-all pseudonym for a number of ghost writers who continued penning adventures for Trixie and her friends after original author Julie Campbell tired of the characters. Along with Trixie, the intrepid blond tomboy with such a knack for attracting mysteries and following them to a satisfying conclusion, the main characters include the rest of the Bob-Whites of the Glen, a tight-knit club Trixie co-founded. Her co-president is Jim Frayne, the adopted brother of Trixie’s sweet-natured best friend Honey Wheeler. Other members include Trixie’s older brothers Mart and Brian and their neighbors, Di Lynch and Dan Mangan. At home or on one of their many group vacations, these friends always manage to work together to crack puzzling cases and have a lot of fun in the process.

The circumstances that set this mystery into motion are almost too coincidental. Trixie finds this letter that has been languishing in the attic for nearly a century, and as soon as her local detective work leads her to the disheartening discovery that Rosewood Hall is hundreds of miles away, Di announces that her parents just happen to be leaving imminently for a destination within easy distance of that stately manor. Then again, luck often seems to be on Trixie’s side in her investigations. If it weren’t for her initial skill in focusing on the right details to lead her in the proper direction, they never would have realized that the Lynches’ trip could have any connection with this long-concealed treasure.

Although the first five chapters take place in the Bob-Whites’ town of Sleepyside, New York, this is primarily another away-from-home adventure. I confess I’d hoped to see the Wheelers’ cheerful groom Regan in this installment, since he’s my favorite side character and we haven’t seen him since the tenth book, but it was nice to spend a bit of time with the rest of the Belden family, which includes Trixie’s supportive parents and her rambunctious little brother Bobby, before heading off for unfamiliar territory. While the previous installment, The Mystery on Cobbett’s Island – which this book references several times – allows the Bob-Whites a true vacation in many respects, Trixie and her friends know from the get-go that this will be a working trip. They have a very definite goal in mind and a limited amount of time in which to achieve it.

Hence, while the six friends – everybody but Dan, who has to bow out because of work – enjoy the sights and sounds of Washington, D. C. and Williamsburg, Virginia, this book has a more frenzied tone to it. Everyone thinks this is their most impossible case yet, and that just seems to increase Trixie’s determination, especially once she finds a few leads. The bulk of the investigation occurs at Green Trees, a home near the dilapidated Rosewood Hall occupied by Mr. Carver, an older artist restricted to a wheelchair.

While the current owner of the Rosewood property is surly, Mr. Carver couldn’t be more congenial. What’s more, he has a family connection to the correspondents, so he soon is as caught up in the search as the Bob-Whites. His stately manners and youthful exuberance make him one of my favorite minor characters yet, and his vivacious friend Miss Bates, who adores flowers and old houses but is deeply suspicious of most men, provides several laughs. The Bob-Whites themselves are well-drawn, and it’s especially nice to see Di playing a fairly major role here. While Trixie is intensely focused, she doesn’t come across as whiny as she sometimes does, and she seems more willing than usual to think the best of people in this outing. It’s also amusing to see her pleased but embarrassed reactions to several pointed compliments from Jim throughout the journey.

In addition to the intrigue of the mystery, which involves careful clue-finding, a spooky graveyard, a secret passage and a race to find the treasure before someone else who has gotten wind of it, the book includes historical tidbits of interest to those fascinated with the Civil War. I was particularly struck by the parts dealing with the Underground Railroad, and I found the reflective moment the Bob-Whites share at the Lincoln Memorial quite moving.

While this Trixie adventure is not as relaxing as the one that preceded it, The Mystery of the Emeralds is an engaging adventure from start to finish. Kinda makes me want to go rooting through my attic again…

Cold Mountain Displays Strength of Spirit in the Face of Cold-Heartedness

Although I had a great desire to see Cold Mountain when it arrived in theaters at the tail end of last year, I suspected that this was a film I would be better off seeing in the comfort of a living room with an eye-shielding pillow handy. I expected the Civil War epic to contain several long and bloody battle scenes that might even require me to leave the room. So I was pleased to discover when I watched it last week that epic battles weren’t something I would have to worry about. My pillow did not lie idle, however; the violence in this movie remains, but it comes out in staccatos, displaying the enmity to be found among those who were supposed to be on the same side of the conflict.

Nicole Kidman stars as Ada Monroe, the pampered daughter of a minister (Donald Sutherland) who moves from socialite Charleston to the backwoods Cold Mountain in hopes that the fresh air will do his ailing heart some good. They settle in comfortably for a brief time before the beginning of the war, and during this interval Ada makes the acquaintance of Inman (Jude Law), a gentle man of quiet intensity. Though they hardly know one another at the time of their separation, the thought of reuniting sustains them both through the myriad trials that follow.

When Ada’s father succumbs to a heart attack, she is left alone with a lush estate but no money or skills to sustain it. She is reminiscent of Shannon, her character in Far and Away, in her ineptitude when it comes to dealing with everyday tasks, but she is kinder and less fiery than Shannon was at the beginning of the film. She doesn’t want to be spoiled, she’s just never had the opportunity to learn anything that would come in handy during such a trying time. Her kindly neighbor Sally (Kathy Baker) realizes this and sends help in the form of Ruby (Renee Zellweger), a tough-talking tomboy with enough spirit to rouse Ada out of her debilitating depression. Tending the farm turns out to be the least of their worries, however, as vigilante Teague (Ray Winstone) and his cronies terrorize the townspeople in their search for deserters and their helpers.

Meanwhile, after receiving an injury in battle, Inman decides to head back to Cold Mountain, moving from one life-threatening situation to another. He takes up with a series of characters upon whom war has also taken a great toll: Reverend Veasey (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an adulterous pastor with far less integrity than Inman; Maddy (Eileen Atkins), an elderly woman who takes Inman in after discovering him badly hurt; and Sara (Natalie Portman), a fierce and lovely young widow who gives Inman shelter for the night and is rewarded with his aid when Yankees strike her home.

The film follows the two main characters’ parallel storylines. The first we hear of Ada is in a letter Inman receives from her just before battle. Her story backtracks to the moment of her arrival in Cold Mountain, and it takes a while to catch up. Once it does, though, she faces as much danger in the comfort of her own home as Inman does on the run. This film does show the cruelty of war, but on a more personal level. It shows ordinary people trying desperately to survive – men trying to find their way home in spite of the brutally enforced mandates against desertion, women trying to fill the men’s shoes in their absence as food grows scarce and villainy abounds. Time and again, cold-hearted individuals go out of their way to destroy the lives of the decent folks in the film, and more often than not the perpetrators are Confederates just like the victims. The violence in the movie is no less traumatic for its brevity, and perhaps even more shocking.

Kidman again shows her acting chops in this film and demonstrates that she works especially well in period pieces. Law, meanwhile, manages to pull off an incredibly powerful performance with hardly any words at all. His goodness and strength shine through his grimy surroundings, and when he does open his mouth to speak, the words are always worthwhile. I confess that I usually can’t stand Zellweger, but her spunky character is probably the most enjoyable in the film and certainly provides a great deal of needed levity. Baker brings a blend of motherly warmth and sorrow to her portrayal of Sally; Sutherland, in his brief time on the screen, is a benevolent presence bringing great insight into the character of Ada. Other notables include Charlie Hunnam as Bosie, the villainous young man who gleefully hunts down deserters and those sympathetic to them, and Brendan Gleeson as Stobrad Thewes, Ruby’s vagabond fiddle-playing father.

Speaking of fiddles, the film’s soundtrack is lovely, featuring a great deal of folk music and many Celtic-tinged melodies reflecting the beauty of the land and the sorrow of the situation. Cold Mountain is hardly an uplifting movie. In fact, I would call it quite depressing. But it does show the strength of the human spirit in the darkest of times, and the dedication of the cast makes it a film worth investing nearly three hours in.