UMSL alum Marty Ambrose, who earned her BA in English in 1978, has found success as the author of historical mysteries. (Photo courtesy of Marty Ambrose)

A few years ago, Marty Ambrose asked the students in her historical fiction course at Florida SouthWestern State College what they thought about a poem by the English poet John Keats.

“He’s just another dead poet,” one student replied.

Ambrose, in turn, decided to devote the next week of class to Keats and his legacy. Both in the classroom and in her own career as a historical mystery writer, the University of Missouri–St. Louis alum seeks to make poetry more accessible and intriguing to a modern audience.

A self-described English nerd, Ambrose always knew she wanted to be a writer. More specifically, she originally wanted to be a poet but felt that it would be easier to make a career writing prose. The St. Louis native first started studying English at the University of Missouri–Columbia but found she missed the city and decided to transfer to UMSL. That decision would prove to be pivotal as the university served as a launching point for her career in teaching and writing.

“It’s not a cliché – it really changed my life,” Ambrose said. “The English department had – and still does have – the most incredible English faculty. I still remember my courses and pretty much every professor, but one in particular, Dr. Murray, was my Romantics professor and became my mentor. I always wanted to go to graduate school in England to pursue my love of Romantic poets, but I never had a career plan, and he was the one that was instrumental in getting me to the University of York. I can’t say enough good things about the English department; it taught me to write and taught me to research.”

After developing her interest in 19th century literature – particularly the British Romantics and Victorian poets – and graduating from UMSL in 1978, Ambrose went on to earner her master’s in English language and literature from the University of York in England. While there, she was able to further her interest in the British Romantic poets, including Lord Byron, on whom she wrote her dissertation. Byron, Percy Shelley and their circle of Romantic writers would later serve as the inspiration for Ambrose’s trilogy of historical mysteries about Claire Clairmont.

Set in 19th century Italy, the novels – which earned a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly – center on Clairmont, a writer and the stepsister of Mary Shelley. Ambrose was inspired to explore Clairmont’s story after reading “The Young Romantics,” in which she learned that Clairmont lived into her 80s, far surpassing many members of the Byron-Shelley circle. While working on the trilogy, Ambrose received a grant from Florida SouthWestern State College, where she has taught English for over 30 years, to travel to Italy to research the books.

“I thought, ‘How would that feel, to be the one kind of left behind?’” Ambrose said. “And I came up with this idea about writing ‘Claire’s Last Secret.’ I decided I wanted to really focus on these women’s voices that we haven’t heard. And there are a lot of books about the haunted summer with Byron/Shelley, but nothing really from Mary Shelley’s stepsister.”

While there have certainly been low points in her career as a working writer – the second and third Claire Clairmont books were published during the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, and her most recent novel was under contract when Hurricane Ian hit, destroying her family’s home – there have also been incredibly rewarding moments. Positive reviews are always satisfying, but Ambrose has most enjoyed hearing from readers who connect with her books. She still remembers hearing from one particular reader who said her books served as a brief escape while dealing with the loss of a loved one.

In homage to her lifelong love of poetry, Ambrose often incorporates poetry into her books in different ways. “The Lost Dresses of Italy,” for instance, explores the life of Victorian poet Christina Rossetti. The novel, which earned the Florida Writers Association gold medal in Historical Fiction and was the runner up for the FSW Published Book of the Year for 2024, centers on a costume curator who comes to post-war Verona to mount an exhibit of Victorian dresses that were found behind a hidden wall and that she discovers once belonged to Rossetti.

“I want to intrigue readers enough to know about these poets, and especially a lot of female poets,” Ambrose said. “The Lost Dresses of Italy includes Victorian poet Christina Rossetti, who was very famous in her time, but is just not read a lot today. One thing I hear a lot from my readers is, ‘I never heard of Rossetti, and I can’t stop reading her poetry.’ I thought, ‘My job is done.’ The legacy of their work is very important to me.”

Ambrose hopes that her students at FSW will also come to earn an appreciation for poetry and writing in general. Her students read their compositions aloud in class and she also encourages them to read at least one poem a day on their own time. She loves instilling the beauty of writing in others and finds it incredibly rewarding to watch students who don’t think they’re writers realize that they are. She’s often asked her advice for writers but finds it more important to remind others of the value of having a creative life.

“I’ve had amazing adventures in Italy and England, and it may seem like a life where you’re just sitting at a computer, but it’s a much richer kind of life than people realize,” Ambrose said. “It comes with long hours, a lot of ups and downs, but I think it’s absolutely worth it.”