Margaret Chittenden

I'm delighted to welcome you to my MWA page, and to thank all the wizards who made this possible. Because I specialize in the mid-nineteenth century, cyberspace is a like a dream.
For additional notes on historic Philadelphia, where my series unfolds, please visit CordeliaFrancesBiddle.com

My new series, featuring the heiress Martha Beale, is set in Philadelphia during the 1840s. I became fascinated by the period while doing research on my family's history. As a resident of the city, I time travel back and forth, coexisiting in a wonderfully vibrant modern town and an intriguing and often sinister past. Philadelphia wasn't consolidated until 1854, which allowed criminals to escape prosecution by fleeing across interior metropolitan bounderies. For a crime writer, this is fertile ground indeed.

In brief, my family's story: The Biddle name is synonymous with Philadelphia. Historians divide us into two branches: “The Romantics” and “The Solids”. I'm happy to report that I'm from “The Romantic” line and a descendent of Nicholas Biddle, president of the Second Bank of the United States. You may recall that Nicholas also edited The Journals of Lewis and Clark. Biddles married into prominent families over the centuries: the Drexels and the Lees of Virginia, to name two. Anthony Drexel (my great-great-grandfather) established Drexel University; his niece, Katharine Drexel, was made a saint in the Roman Catholic Church for her humanitarian efforts. Tough acts to follow.

Before becoming a novelist and returning to my hometown, I was an actress in New York. I had the good fortune to work for award-winning director Jerry Zaks, and appear in a recurring role on the daytime drama One Life to Live. I've contributed to Hemispheres, Town and Country and W.

I also serve on the board of Episcopal Communty Services (ECS), a social services and human justice ministry that helps individuals and families overcome the impact of poverty.