Outskirts Press, INC.

Based on Actual Events

Emma’s Waterloo is based on actual events

Love, jealousy, and murder shake the small rural community of Waterloo, Michigan, on May 31, 1896.

Emma, a young and beautiful woman of 19, agonizes as her purported affianced relationship with Lewis rapidly disintegrates during the preceding winter months. Lewis’s growing reliance on alcohol transforms his demeanor from kind to belligerent. His increasingly boorish behavior pushes Emma away and into the arms of another man. Lewis’s malicious bitterness prevents him from accepting reality. A series of escalating events results in a violent murder.

As facts leading to the killing surface they become entangled with deep family bonds and a grieving mother’s religious conviction. Soon afterward details of the murder are manipulated in an attempt to obscure the truth.

Emma’s Waterloo sets the stage by drawing the reader into the arduous journeys each of the story’s three families made as they forged their way into sparsely populated Michigan and developed neighboring farms. Powerful bonds formed as these families worked together in establishing their church and local community. On May 31, 1896, everything changed.

The story opens a window into everyday 1890s rural life and the emotional impact of a horrific murder. The tragedy sets the stage for an intriguing example of late nineteenth century politics and jurisprudence when, as is now, one side wins and justice is fiercely debated by both.

Emma’s Waterloo is a page-turner with a thought provoking ending. The book then continues with a moving epilog, followed by brief historical accounts of the story’s main characters. Photographs from the era are a bonus.