|
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
When I first began researching Lady of Milkweed Manor, I had never been to the UK. Through Web sites and old maps, I chose Doddington (Kent) as my character’s birthplace—charmed by what I’d read about the place and how relatively unchanged it seemed. The old vicarage, however, had fallen out of church use by then and into private ownership. Even if I visited Doddington someday, I reasoned, I could do no more than look upon its exterior and try to imagine its rooms and what it might have been like to live there.
Two years later, when the book was finished and I learned it would be published, I decided I could finally justify my long desire to travel to England to see the places I’d written about. How serendipitous to discover that the Old Vicarage had just become a bed and breakfast! I could barely believe I would be able to stay in “Charlotte’s childhood home.” Nick and Claire Finley were wonderful hosts, and our stay with them was a highlight of our trip.
Julie and hubby at Leeds Castle, Kent, England |
If you are interested in viewing photos of our research trip to England, grab a basket of fish and chips, sit back, and enjoy….
(click on titles to view photos)
When we were in London, I also did research for my second novel, The Apothecary’s Daughter. While other tourists visited the London Eye or Buckingham Palace, I dragged my long-suffering husband to less-visited places like the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries and the Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. While others snapped pictures of the changing of the guard, he tirelessly photographed ancient mortars and leech jars. I am indebted to John Williams, Beadle of the Apothecaries’ Hall, for his gallant and informative tour and for sharing a history of which he is justifiably proud. He even donned his ceremonial gown covered with golden tassels, which represent the posies that beadles of old pinned on to ward off the odors of the plague years. I am also grateful to Julie Wakefield, Assistant Keeper of the Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, who gave us a detailed, fascinating tour through the changing medical treatments from early to modern times.
|
|||||
|
|||||
| The Silent Governess takes place on an estate called Brightwell Court. Brightwell Court is not a real place, but it was loosely inspired by the very real, very picturesque Bibury Court in the Cotswold village of Bibury, which the artist William Morris called "the most beautiful village in England." Many thanks to author Davis Bunn for recommending that my husband and I take tea there during our first England trip. We happily did so. Not only did we enjoy the ivy-covered manor, the lovely grounds bordered by the curvy River Coln, and the greedy ducks that nipped at our scones, but I also realized it would make an ideal setting for The Silent Governess. I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to set a novel in that idyllic place. If you every have the opportunity, I hope you will visit Bibury yourself. | |||||
The Girl in the Gatehouse takes place on an estate I call Windrush Court. Windrush Court is not a real place, but is loosely modeled after the manor in Lower Slaughter, one of my husband's favorite Cotswold villages. If you ever have the opportunity, do as we did: park in the beautiful but touristy village of Bourton-on-the-Water and leave the bustle behind. Cross the road and walk across a sheep pasture, following the River Windrush into the quiet and lovely village of Lower Slaughter. The name doesn't do it justice, I assure you! Note: The gatehouse pictured on the cover is the very one I had in mind while writing this novel. In reality, it is located at Deene Park, Northamptonshire, once the country residence of Lord Cardigan, the "Homicidal Earl" who led the Charge of the Light Brigade. |
|||||
| Photos of Lower Slaughter, inspiration for Windrush Court & village | |||||
| On our second visit to England in 2011, my husband and I focused primarily on research for The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, touring the below-stairs world and attic servants' quarters of several old country estates and town houses. (Lanhydrock in Cornwall, Number One Royal Crescent in Bath, The Georgian House in Bristol, and Tredegar House in Wales.) I highly recommend the "Butler and Housekeeper" tour, performed by actors in costume (and in character), at Tredegar House. No photos were allowed there, but here are a few from two of the other places we visited. | |||||
| Photos of The Georgian House, Bristol | |||||
| Photos of Lanhydrock, Cornwall | |||||
| Bude, Cornwall was the inspiration for the fictional coastal village depicted in The Tutor's Daughter. My husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Bude during our second trip to England—a serendipitous, unplanned stop in our whirlwind tour of Devon and Cornwall. From our hotel on the north side of the harbor, I spied a large red-stone manor high on the cliff opposite and instantly thought, "I want to set a book there." When we asked a local woman, she told us the place was called "Efford." Further research revealed that the house was Efford Down House, and built by the same family who once owned Ebbingford Manor, an even older manor house nearby. I based fictional Ebbington Manor on a combination of these two historic houses. My husband and I enjoyed walking up the cliff and along the scenic coast path. Atop this headland stands an octagonal tower which inspired my Chapel of the Rock. It is actually a former coastguard lookout, known as Compass Point. There is something thought-provoking and soul-stirring about looking out its narrow slit windows toward the endless sea beyond. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Cornwall, I hope you will visit it. | |||||
| Photos of Bude, Cornwall, inspiration for Ebbington Manor and the Chapel of the Rock | |||||