Photo courtesy of Alexander Cox.
By Isabel Dunn ’27 and Jude Barrera ’24
Staff Writers
In June 2023, author Katharine Beutner published “Killingly,” a historical fiction novel set at Mount Holyoke College based on the real-life disappearance of Bertha Mellish in 1867. Mount Holyoke News has previously interviewed Beutner, and the author signed books at The Odyssey Bookshop during Reunion last year.
On April 11, Mount Holyoke welcomed Beutner at a book talk in Gamble Auditorium. Last week’s event was sponsored by the English Department, The Odyssey Bookshop and the Weissman Center for Leadership. Professor Andrea Lawlor conducted the conversation with Beutner.
The event drew in a large crowd of Mount Holyoke students and community members. “I immediately wanted to go and learn more,” Sophia Baldwin ’26 wrote in an email to Mount Holyoke News. “It has been really interesting so far to see places I know well described in the book and to think about all the generations of students who lived and studied in the same buildings as we do.”
Lydia Malone ’13, associate director of the Weissman Center, began the event with a short summary of “Killingly.” Professor Lawlor then introduced Beutner to the crowd. In their introduction, Lawlor spoke about Beutner’s first novel “Alcestis” and praised their writing. Lawlor’s review of “Alcestis” for Lambda Literary is featured on the novel’s page on Beutner’s website.
Beutner began by reading four passages from “Killingly.” The first three provided introductory information for the story and Agnes, one of the main characters. The audience got a taste of the dark and mysterious writing style and some background information on Agnes and her role in the story. The fourth passage followed Bertha’s sister, Florence, as she left Mount Holyoke’s campus. Beutner clarified that she included the passage specifically for the enjoyment of Mount Holyoke students and alums in the audience.
Throughout the talk, Beutner shared several fun facts about Mount Holyoke’s past. Before World War I, Mount Holyoke students participated in domestic chores around campus. Agnes is assigned to a sweeping circle early in the novel, a common task at the time.
At one point, zoology students were given the task of dissecting cats. Before her disappearance, Bertha was set to debate the affirmative position on dissections for academic purposes. Beutner took these two facts and expanded them in the novel.
Beutner also discussed elements of her research process. When prompted on the queer history of the College, Beutner explained that the novel took place at the end of the “romantic friendship” era when passionate relationships between women were considered commonplace or even expected. Although there is no evidence that Bertha was queer, Beutner decided that Bertha’s relationship with Agnes would have more depth and complexity if different elements of queerness were added to the mix.
However, Beutner was clear that her personal opinions and the events in the story are not always the same. As Bertha’s case remains open to interpretation, Beutner clarified that her view of what happened does not align with the conclusion reached in the book. She specified that the book was not a true crime novel. Beutner was interested in using Bertha’s disappearance to explore women’s positions in society, and revealed that she would be disappointed if readers thought she was offering a conclusion to the woman’s disappearance.
Having been on campus prior, Beutner discussed the Mount Holyoke community’s direct reaction to her novel. “I've been really thrilled by how excited Mount Holyoke students and alums have been my best constituency,” Beutner said before recalling her book signing during reunion weekend. “I've talked to a lot more alums, honestly, than I have students because … the book was just coming out at that moment … They were kind of a captive audience … It's been lovely to get enthusiastic responses.”
Towards the end of the event, Beutner shared that there will be a sequel to “Killingly,” focusing on a different character who was more prominent in the original, pre-published version of the novel. The sequel will explore queer subcultures in New York City. Until then, Beutner confirmed with Mount Holyoke News that she will be back on campus during this year’s reunion weekend. “The class of ’74 is doing their 50th… They asked Odyssey to bring me back for their writer event,” Beutner said. The Odyssey Bookshop will provide more details on that event at a later date.