A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz

Today, I finished the book "A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama," and found myself with a compulsion to blog about it. The book center around an orphan girl named Maud and starts off "On the morning of the best day of her life, Maud Flynn was locked in the outhouse, singing 'Battle Hymn of the Republic.'" Can you blame me for checking it out?

This book was actually under juvenile fiction, but I found it a gripping and interesting read that left with me a lot to think over. Maud is adopted by a mysterious woman name Hyacinth, who live with her two sisters Victoria and Judith. At first they seem like charming ladies, telling her to address them as "Auntie" and showering her with new dresses, and books. Then, once Maud discovers that she is to be a "secret child," the mysteries begin to unfold.

In a lot of ways this is a story about a child whose needs were not met by the adults around her, and the difficulty she has in coping with this shortcoming. It is beautiful and poignant, and has more in common with Gothic fiction than with the stereotyped melodrama of women tied to train tracks. Maud has a lot of hard decisions and she makes the best of all of them, always struggling to stay to who she is. Yes, the ending was a little tidy, as one would expect from a melodrama, but I still found it a satisfying and interesting read. As a child I loved tales of Oliver Twist, Sara Crewe, and Mary Lennox. Maud Lynn has a touch of each of those characters, with a little Scout Finch thrown in. I found it easy to read, though provoking, and entertaining. I would recommend.