James Holland

May 27, 1905

The White House grounds were redolent with the scent of cherry blossoms, fresh-cut grass and something distinctly….mechanical. Alice Roosevelt wrinkled her nose. The pungent odor reminded her of kerosine. Alice trotted to the fence surrounding the property, peering through the iron bars. No motorcar accidents on H Street.

Alice’s long-haired chihuahua, Leo, scurried over and dropped off a stick. Alice dutifully tossed it while checking her watch. Maggie would arrive soon to pick her up for tonight’s party. Too bad they were in Washington, D.C., instead of New York. Everyone in the Capitol stared at her like the prize cow at a state fair.

Leo halted halfway to the stick and scrambled back to Alice, quivering with excitement. Something was happening on the other side of the grounds. Her Father’s unmistakable voice drifted over. Men started to yell, and dogs barked. Did her brother’s pet badger get loose again?

Alice sprinted to her left and spotted orange flames igniting in neat parallel rows across the White House lawn. Thick clouds of ashy smoke billowed, smudging the White House. As Alice moved closer, she thought she heard a faint sizzle as the dry grass caught flame. My God, the blaze moved fast.   

Guards raced toward the fire, followed closely by a pack of children, shouting and skipping with excitement. Close behind came the Roosevelt family pets—dogs and other animals darting among the scurrying firefighters. Alice grimaced as she recognized her brother Quentin and his badger in the middle of the melee.

Alice squinted as a figure emerged from the smoke. Father took charge—directing the guards and organizing a bucket brigade. Now he ran toward the fire, a barking Saint Bernard close behind. The president’s high-pitched cry carried over the tumult: “Get the children out of the way!”

Bells clanged in the distance—a fire wagon approached. The rickety vehicle, swarming with men, swerved down the parkway and screeched to a halt. The firefighters clambered off the wagon and unloaded their hoses, searching for a water source.

Alice needed to help somehow. Gather up the children, if nothing else. Alice threw off her hat and shoes, grabbed the hem of her dress and raced toward the fire. She arrived breathlessly and pushed through a crowd of onlookers until she collided with the considerable bulk of her Father, who grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Slow down. We’ve got the blaze under control. Everyone’s safe.”

“Already?”

“Only a small fire. More smoke than flame.”

Alice’s shoulders sagged. “The only excitement all year, and I missed it.”

The president rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry we didn’t have a conflagration to keep you amused.”

“You know what I mean.”

The president patted her on the shoulder. “I appreciate your willingness to jump in the breach.”

A butler arrived. “Excuse me, Miss Maggie’s here.”

Alice’s Father sighed. “Another party?”

“A small gathering.”

“What time can we expect you back?”

“I am twenty-one, Father.”

Story Statement

The protagonist (Alice) must defeat the foes trying to destroy her Father even as she suspects the man she loves may be part of the plot.

Antagonist Sketch

Claybank is a hired assassin who is very good at his job. Once a promising boxer, Claybank had to retire early because of a bad heart. He turned to crime after a devastating flood killed his oldest son and wiped out his savings. Claybank tells his wife that he became a hired killer to support his family, but that isn’t strictly true—he enjoys the competitive challenge. His wife left him because of his choice (although she still accepts his money), but Claybank is convinced he’ll win her back once he earns enough to retire.

Claybank had refused to harm women and children previously. However, he reluctantly helps in a plot to harm Alice because it will pay him enough to quit and win his wife back. Also, Claybank feels betrayed by those in power due to the flood. He views Alice as a spoiled rich heiress who is part of the corrupt elite.

Potential Titles

-The Wolf Rises in the Heart

-American Princess on the Run: Alice Roosevelt and the Blue Dragon Conspiracy

-The President’s Daughter

Comps

“Opium and Absinthe” by Lydia Kang

“The Nurse’s Secret: A Thrilling Historical Novel Of The Dark Side of Gilded Age New York City” by Amanda Skenandore

Logline

Alice Roosevelt, the most famous women in America in 1905, sees marriage as a way to reach her potential and escape her insensitive Father, but then she discovers the man she loves may be plotting to destroy the president.

Conflict Scenarios

Primary conflict

Alice feels ignored by her Father, an unloved stepchild. She writes in her diary that her Father loves her as 1/8 as much as his other children. Like many other women of her time, Alice seeks a husband to escape a stifling family atmosphere. However, she ends up torn between two suitors—the more conservative Nick and the mysterious Brynmor. When an assassin threatens the president, Alice’s instinct is to try to solve the case to protect her Father, which will also enable her to move on with her life and find fulfillment with a new husband. But when Brynmor is implicated in the plot, she’s torn between him and her family—a feeling exacerbated by her feelings of worthlessness.

Throughout her ordeal, Alice is surrounded by lawmen and others forced to compromise when pursuing justice. In a final twist, Alice must choose between her family and the man she loves and face the question: How do you achieve justice in an unjust world?

Secondary conflict

Alice views herself as an orphan because her grief-stricken Father ignored her as a child after his first wife died. Despite being a celebrity lauded for her beauty, Alice refers to herself as “ugly” and “Poor Alice” in her diary. Her insecurity causes her to seek attention, acting in a way that’s considered outrageous. Due to her feelings of worthlessness, Alice struggles when Brynmor is implicated in the plot, finding it hard to accept the evidence before her eyes. As the proof against him mounts, Brynmor takes advantage of Alice’s insecurity by gaslighting her. However,  Alice’s superior intelligence wins out in the end.

Secondary conflict

Because the Secret Service isn’t authorized to protect the president’s family, Teddy Roosevelt strong-arms Bat Masterson to act as a bodyguard for Alice. Bat has no interest in performing this duty as he’s happy as a full-time sportswriter in New York. However, Roosevelt points out that Bat had just accepted a position as a federal deputy marshal for the handsome annual salary of $2,000. Roosevelt expects Bat to earn his money. Bat and Alice immediately clash about who is calling the shots. Alice expects to give the orders, but Bat is a celebrity in his own right and equally strong-willed.

Setting

Alice takes a literal and figurative journey, so the story takes place in multiple settings: Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Sweetwater, Texas, and the Big Pasture in the Oklahoma Territory. A secondary character involved in a subplot travels from Los Angles to San Francisco to the Organ Mountains and finally to the Big Pasture. I changed some settings from indoor meeting rooms to more dynamic locations after reading the NWOE article.

The primary setting is New York at the dawn of the Progressive Era in 1905. Reformers clamor for change in the city; robber barons cling to power. Anarchists and abandoned children roam the streets. A flood of immigrants pours into New York every year. About one in six Americans at this time are foreign-born. The city is a series of armed camps, with the Five Points Gang controlling everything west of the Bowery and the Eastman Gang in charge to the East. Tammany Hall works hand-in-hand with the gangs, providing political protection in exchange for getting out the vote.

The New York settings include Broadway, the “Dreamland” amusement park at Coney Island, East Side wharfs, Chinatown, a bottle factory in Brooklyn, a nickelodeon in Manhattan, a bare-knuckle club, a secret club for cross-dressers in the Bowery and a salt marsh in Oyster Bay (in Long Island).

Another important setting is Washington, D.C. Scenes include the White House grounds and gymnasium; an Embassy Row ballroom; Rosslyn, a corrupt small town close to the Capitol; and “Dead Man’s Hollow,” a wooded ravine just outside of Rosslyn where numerous murders occur.

A third important setting is the Big Pasture, specifically the Wichita Mountains. This area is known for its unusual mix of prairie grasslands and Alpine features—including deep granite gorges, heavily timbered woodlands and clear-water lakes, all surrounded by a pair of rugged mountain ranges.