🔎 Boston Burglar: Mystery, History, or Poppycock?
Does History Repeat Itself?
These three elements combine to make Loveda Brown’s fictional world come to life. But which parts are history and which are poppycock? A great deal of research goes into making these books, and most of it never ends up on the page. If you’re the curious type, read on.
Thomas Alva Edison, aka “The Wizard of Menlo Park” (New Jersey), is a famous American inventor most known for technological advances in electric systems in the 19th century. He repeatedly made the headlines for things like the phonograph, telephone, telegraph, motion pictures, the alkaline battery, and cement.
However.
He was good at manipulating media and taking credit for other people’s work, which is similar to what some big tech companies do today.
While Edison did not invent the lightbulb, he made one that was profitable, practical, and marketable. Therein lies the rub. Rivals included George Westinghouse (who fought Edison in the nearly unbelievable “War of Currents”) Nikola Tesla (who had a very bad experience with Edison), and Guglielmo Marconi (who wound up isolating his laboratory on a ship).
The race for fame was intense during these years of prolific patented inventions, and they were licensed, sold, or outright stolen regularly.
Frank J. Sprague installed the first electric streetcar line in Richmond, Virginia in 1888 and, spurred on by the Great Blizzard of 1888, the nation’s first subway system in Boston, operational in 1897.
Loveda Brown’s father was modeled after Sprague, who incidentally worked for Thomas Edison before branching out and founding the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company.
In the summer months of 1901, people tossed rats to four alligators who resided in the basin near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance to the Boston Public Garden. Women and children enjoyed a “walk in the park” to visit the alligators during feeding time. The Swan Boats have operated on the pond since 1877.
And yes, flour explodes!