Cordelia Underwood

Van Reid's family has lived in Edgecomb, Maine, since the 1800s. Reid lives with his wife and children in a house Reid and his brother built on their family's land. His series of novels about the Moosepath League--of which Cordelia Underwood is the first--take place in the late 1800s on coastal Maine.

• Prologue: The MarinerJULY 1, 1896 Book OneJULY 2, 1896 Chapter 1. The Custom House Wharf Chapter 2. Pigs, Not Contraband Chapter 3. An Almost Empty House Chapter 4. The Sea Chest Chapter 5. Enter Ephram, Eagleton, and Thump Book TwoJULY 3, 1896 Chapter 6. A Deafening Silence Hushed by the Smell of Bacon Frying Chapter 7. Minmaneth Chapter 8. Curiosity by the Barrel Book ThreeINDEPENDENCE DAY, 1896 Chapter 9. What’s Good for the Soul Chapter 10. Freeport Chapter 11. The Political Fray Chapter 12. A Descent into the Maelstrom Chapter 13. The Veiled Invitation Chapter 14. Tolerable to Moderately Good Chapter 15. A Storm at Mast Landing Chapter 16. It Was Their Duty Chapter 17. The Wake of the Dash Book FourJULY 5-6, 1896 Chapter 18. The Unasked Question Chapter 19. The Vote Is In Chapter 20. The Ghost in the Garden Chapter 21. The Game Was Big in WiscassetBook FiveJULY 7, 1896 Chapter 22. It Was a Shame about MaudeChapter 23. Sundry MossChapter 24. Oddly Hunting MaudeChapter 25. The Extraordinary Befuddlement of Mr. Thump, the Singular Distraction of Mr. Eagleton, and the Superior Determination of Mr. Ephram! Chapter 26. A Shaggy Bear StoryChapter 27. Chorus for Duck and BearChapter 28. Colonel Taverner ProposesChapter 29. Captain Coyle’s RiddleChapter 30. Sundry’s Change of PositionChapter 31. Night Watch at Fort EdgecombChapter 32. Voices in the NightChapter 33. The Unexpected Effects of Ducky PlankeBook SixJULY 8, 1896 Chapter 34. Boothbay HarborChapter 35. The Members Are OutragedChapter 36. An Unexpected ExpeditionChapter 37. DamariscottaChapter 38. A Message DecodedChapter 39. Thoughts on a PirateChapter 40. Monstrous RumorsBook SevenJULY 9, 1896 Chapter 41. Fishing for InformationChapter 42. Briefly with the ClubChapter 43. Cordial MayhemChapter 44. The Kraken SpeaksChapter 45. Caught in the ActChapter 46. Red-Painted Mystery Book EightJULY 10, 1896Chapter 47. CompositionChapter 48. Walton from WalnutChapter 49. Alces Alces with UndergarmentChapter 50. History Beneath the HeapsChapter 51. FormationChapter 52. No Longer NamelessChapter 53. A Slip of the ThumbChapter 54. Mister Walton Proves His MettleChapter 55. The Writing on the WallBook NineJULY 11, 1896Chapter 56. DesignChapter 57. PursuitChapter 58. Below MinmanethChapter 59. Reprise the Overture, PleaseChapter 60. Moose ManorChapter 61. Tipping the ScalesChapter 62. The Villain Among the VictimsBook TenJULY 12, 1896Chapter 63. The Man HimselfChapter 64. A Deed Nearly DoneChapter 65. The Man with the Silver LiningChapter 66. Further Wit in EvidenceChapter 67. No One Knew the Day Until the Sun went DownEpilogueJULY 27-31, 1896 1 July 27, 18962 July 30, 1896 3 July 31, 1896 Author’s Note

Reid's debut takes place in a simpler, gentler time in 1898, among the well-to-do of Portland, ME. It has parallel plot lines, one of which involves 23-year-old Cordelia Underwood, who lives with her parents and has just inherited from her Uncle Basil a parcel of land in upper, inland Maine that possibly contains buried treasure. The other plot line involves middle-aged Tobias Walton, a man of independent means who travels the world and who this year does his home state. Along the way he has picked up a valet by the name of Sundry Moss, twin brother to Varius Moss. Then there are the three nutty fellows who want Tobias to be the chair of their newly formed club, subsequently named the Moosepath League. In their journeys, Cordelia and Tobias cross paths with the strangest crop of crazies ever to sail into a Maine port or come out of a Maine forest. It's refreshing to read a story with no sex (just a little romance), hardly any violence, and absolutely no naughty words. Recommended, especially for the YA crowd.