Author, historical nonfiction
Roseanne Montillo seeks to uncover the truth behind fascinating mysteries. Her first book, Halloween and Commemoration of the Dead, details how societies globally perceive death and the afterlife, as well as the funerary rites involved in that process. Its follow up, The Lady and Her Monsters, chronicles Mary Shelley’s lurid journey writing Frankenstein, and the writers, poets, doctors, scientists, alchemists, and gravediggers who influenced her. The Wilderness of Ruin (William Morrow) is her latest. Also a work of creative, historical nonfiction, it tells the story of America’s youngest serial killer, who preyed on Boston’s working-class neighborhoods in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1872. Publishers Weekly calls the book, “A riveting true-crime tale that rivals anything writers in the 21st century could concoct… [Montillo is] a masterly storyteller.” While Kirkus extols, “A lively, evocative reinvigoration of Boston’s Gilded Age.” The case went on to influence the approach of mental issues, prison reform, juvenile delinquency trials, and literature, including the last work of Herman Melville.
Workshops & Events:
- Special Guest Speaker
- TBA