M.E. Kemp, a writer of historical mysteries, will talk about Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 to the Stephentown Historical Society on Monday, March 2. The meeting is at 7:30 pm at the Heritage Center on Garfield Road in Stephentown. It is free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible. For directions, telephone 518-33-5675.
Kemp used the witch trial era in Salem as the setting for her book, Death of a Bawdy Belle. She did extensive historical research on the details of the period, including dress, food and manner of speech. She will tell how she gathered this background information as well as what Salem in 1692 was like.
Her mysteries feature widow Hetty Henry acting as a detective in Boston in Murder, Mather, and Mayhem and in Albany in Death of a Dutch Uncle.
Kemp has been writing all her life. She attended Worcester State College and earned her M.A. in English at Siena College in Loudonville, NY. She has also written many nonfiction articles under her married name, Marilyn Rothstein. She got her interest in American history from her father. Her ancestors were early settlers of Salem, and her hometown, Oxford, MA, has been home to her family since 1713. She lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.