Greenglass House

Kate Milford’s works weave elements of mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction, while also utilizing classic mystery tropes. Greenglass House is the first in a series of five books, all of which take place in the same fictional world of Nagspeake. Milford began building her fictional town when she wrote a draft entitled Wild Iron, which featured the Belowground Transit System and its conductor, Brandon, who appears in Greenglass House and the subsequent books. Milford states, “I’d spent seven years building the city of Nagspeake and I knew it intimately, and it wasn’t hard to start finding stories there” (Meythaler, Amy. “Kate Milford: Celebrating Success One Step at a Time.” Mackin Community, 25 Nov. 2019). Milford even created a website for her world called “The Nagspeake Board of Tourism and Culture,” which boasts all the historical and cultural attractions of the town. Influenced by her love of Agatha Christie, Neil Gaiman, and Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game, Milford’s Greenglass books unfold with layers of intrigue and hidden motives as characters explore deeper issues such as identity, family, friendship, and heritage (Meythaler).

The first book in the series, Greenglass House was followed by Ghosts of Greenglass House in 2017, Bluecrowne in 2020, and The Thief Knot in 2021. Milford published The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book in 2021, a book that first appears inside the first novel, Greenglass House. According to Milford’s website, people can read the books in any order, but she suggests beginning with The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book. Milford also states that all her novels, including her first novel The Boneshaker, share a world called “The Roaming Lands.” Milford’s website includes a handwritten chart that explains her conceptualization of The Roaming Lands and a suggested reading order, though she adds that each book can stand on its own. Milford’s fandom also created a Wiki site for the Greenglass books which helps readers find the breadcrumbs and throughlines of each story (“Welcome to the Roaming World,” Kate Milford).

Milford self-published her second book, The Broken Lands, using a Kickstarter campaign. She also used Kickstarter to publish Bluecrowne, the novel that tells the backstory of the inn in Greenglass House. After Ghosts of Greenglass House, Milford’s publisher offered her a four-book deal as well as a proposal to reissue Bluecrowne with some edits. Milford says the novel is darker than her other books and describes it as a nautical fantasy set during the War of 1812 that focuses on Lucy Bluecrowne, the intended original resident of Greenglass House, as told by Mrs. Hereward. Milford followed with The Left-Handed Fate, a continuation of Lucy’s nautical adventures at sea with her brother who is of Chinese ancestry.