Miss Madeira is the story of an "Old Maid" schoolteacher in the first half of the 20th century. No one knew the shocking secrets of her home life-only that she was a brilliant but formidable teacher, who produced several generations of students forever known as "Madeira's Kids." Torn between her love for a woman who would later became her sister-in-law and a former student, Amelia Madeira lived a complex life, the pain of which informed but did not destroy her astonishing career. Miss Madeira reveals what lies beneath the facade of a typical Midwestern town."