Wollstonecraft: (Book 1) The Case of the Missing Moonstone

Wollstonecraft by Jordan Stratford illustrated by Kelly Murphy

2.5 years in the making, and we FINALLY have a book –Yay!

Book 1: The Case of the Missing Moonstone had it's North America release on January 6, 2015 and has already been featured on Reading Rainbow.

From Amazon:

History, mystery, and science collide in a new series for middle-grade readers, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society and Lemony Snicket!

Jordan Stratford imagines an alternate 1826, where Ada Lovelace (the world’s first computer programmer) and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) meet as girls and form a secret detective agency!

Lady Ada Byron, age eleven, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and a bit rude—but a genius. Mary Godwin, age fourteen, is a romantic. Adventurous, astute, and kind, Mary is to become Ada’s first true friend. And together, the girls conspire to form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency—a secret constabulary for the apprehension of clever criminals. Their first case involves a stolen heirloom, a false confession, and an array of fishy suspects. But it’s no match for the deductive powers and bold hearts of Ada and Mary.

Mystery fans will love this tween girl riff on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. History buffs will be delighted to see all the real figures who play a role in this story and appreciate the extensive backmatter that helps separate truth from fiction. Parents and educators hoping to promote the STEM fields for girls will be thrilled to have a series where two girls use math, science, and creative analytical thinking to solve crimes. But most especially--emerging readers will love this series filled with humor, action, intrigue and wonderful artwork from Kelly Murphy.

Reviews:

“Smart and witty… Skilled b&w illustrations and comical narration and dialogue will charm readers thoroughly.” – Publishers Weekly

“...enjoyable plot...resourceful heroines and fun writing...”– Wall Street Journal

“A good fit for Common Core curricula and a fun overall read, this is a winner.”—School Library Journal

★★★★★ —various reviewers on Amazon

The UK Edition is set to launch on January 29th, here is a sneak peak of the cover...

Wollstonecraft (UK edition) by Jordan Stratford illustrated by Kelly Murphy

Wollstonecraft: Kickstarter

Mary and Ada character sketch illustration © Claire Robertson of Loobylu

Clever husband and lovely friend are in cahoots... The potential of this idea is vast and awesome. Please have a look and if you like the idea, contribute what you can to support this project.


** Excerpt from Kickstarter **


Wollstonecraft
London 1826: The Advent of the Steam Age

11 year old Ada has a problem: her governess, Miss Coverlet, has quit her job to go get married (a dumb idea if ever there was one, if you ask Ada) and her new tutor Percy ("Peebs") is a total drip.  She'd rather be left to her own devices – literally – inventing things and solving math problems and ignoring people altogether.

She's also forced to study alongside the imaginative girlie-girl Mary, who's always going on about romance and exotic travels.  Fortunately, Mary's appetite for adventure leads her to propose the two girls open a detective agency, and when an heiress shows up with a case about a missing diamond, it's the perfect puzzle to coax Ada out of her shell.

This is the made up story about two very real girls – Ada, the world's first computer programmer, and Mary, the world's first science fiction author – caught up in a steampunk world of hot-air balloons and steam engines, jewel thieves and mechanical contraptions.  For readers 8-12.

This is a pro-math, pro-science, pro-history and pro-literature adventure novel for and about girls, who use their education to solve problems and catch a jewel thief.  Ada and Mary encounter real historical characters, such as Percy Shelley, Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday, and Charles Dickens – people whom the girls actually knew.  If Jane Austen wrote about zeppelins and brass goggles, this would be the book.



Why "Wollstonecraft"?  Mary names the detective agency after her mother, the famous feminist writer. If this is the kind of book you'd like to see, please support this project.

About the Author:

Jordan Stratford has been pronounced clinically dead, and was briefly mistakenly wanted by INTERPOL for international industrial espionage. He is an ordained priest, has won numerous sword fights, jaywalked across the streets of Paris, San Franciso, and Sao Paolo, and was once shot by a stray rubber bullet in a London riot. He lives on a tiny windswept Pacific island populated predominantly by realtors, and carnivorous gulls.

"Wollstonecraft" is his second novel.

"Stratford is the Archduke of Canadian Steampunk" – Cherie Priest