Being an actress in the late nineteenth century can be fraught with peril. For one thing, there are the lecherous theatre- goers--but Bridget Mooney can avoid them, except of course when she doesn't want to. "Hang it," Bridget explains, "what's a poor girl to do when she's offered riches, and fame, and sweet frolics with a man who thrills her blood?" More bothersome are the crimes and mysteries she encounters involving Ulysses S. Grant, Sarah Bernhardt, Lillie Langtry, Thomas Alva Edison, Ida Wells, Jesse James, and Mack Sennett--some of which she resolves in a direct manner such as dumping a murderer down a well. "I know, I know, but what do you expect a poor cowardly girl to do? Challenge him to a duel?"

Full of color, humor, and suspense, the ten Bridget Mooney stories are marvelous historical recreations by one of the modern masters of the mystery.