Your Favourite Books?

 I was part of a panel at a recent signing event in Stoke. One of the questions posed by our excellent MC, Donna Morfett, was on "What real love story has influenced you and your writing." 

 

Donna Morfett Toya Richardson, Ros Rendle and Me!

We had no advance knowledge of the questions, but this was still an instantly easy one to answer.

The story of Major Harry Smith and the young girl he found and married in the aftermath of one of the bloodiest sieges of the Napoleonic Wars may be known to many readers, particularly fans of Georgette Heyer, Her novel, “The Spanish Bride” details their story in her inimitable prose. Even her name is pretty unforgettable; Juana María de los Dolores de León!

Bajados was the scene of terrible savagery by the British troops after taking the city. In Harry Smith’s own words: “The atrocities committed by our soldiers on the poor innocent and defenceless inhabitants of the city, no words suffice to depict. Too truly did our heretofore noble soldiers disgrace themselves”

IMHO The Spanish Bride is a superb book, combining as it does the story of the Peninsular war from Bajados in 1812 right up to Waterloo. It is full of domestic details of their life with Harry’s regiment.

 

I had this edition. It fell to pieces many years ago!

Juana Smith

Harry, as a General

The storming of the breach at Bajados

One of the reasons the book maintains its attraction for me are the parallels between Harry and my gt-gt-grandfather, Henry Dumaresq, who took part in most of the same battles as Harry (including Bajados). Indeed, they would almost certainly have known each other, if only in passing. Harry was the older of the two by five years. 

It was Harry who had the romantic story, though. Henry did marry, but not for another 5 years, to the daughter of another Irish peer, Sophie Butler-Danvers who was aged 25 rather than 14!!

 

Henry Dumaresq's Military Record!

A clerk's handwriting was pretty unreadable even then. Luckily, we now have Wikipedia!

Henry Dumaresq

 

After the Napoleonic Wars Harry and Juana spent much of their time on various overseas posting, especially in South Africa where the town of Ladysmith was renamed in honour of his wife.

Henry ended up as ADC to General John Byng at Waterloo, and played a large part in the defence of Hougemont – a key part of the battle. He was wounded delivering a dispatch from General Byng to Wellington. He had taken a ball in the lungs, and “fell from his horse, a dying man”. Thanks to the attention of Wellington’s surgeon, he survived, but they couldn’t remove the ball. It eventually caused his death twenty years later.

The famous Duchess of Richmond's Ball. Henry Dumaresq was there. 

Closing the gates at Hougemont. 

 

 

Also on the panel at the signing was friend, fellow-author and RNA member, Ros Rendle. It turns out that she and her husband, Scott, live in the town that Harry was from, Whittlesey near Ely in Cambridgeshire. Scott taught at the Sir Harry Smith Community College!

Since coming back from the Tales on Trent signing, I’ve been reading The Spanish Bride again. Well worth it!! That’s probably 12 times I have read it (so far)! I celebrated finishing it again, with a glass of one of my favourite beers, Waterloo! The Beer of Victory! 

So what’s YOUR favourite book? How many times have you read it? How many copies have you gone through? 

RECLAIMING LOST WORDS

A couple of weeks ago I took the ferry to the Scottish Isle of Arran, a pleasant hour’s sail from the mainland, which docked in the pretty village of Brodick. Our first stop was Brodick Castle, an impressive strategic fortress atop a hill, with wide sweeping views of the Firth of Clyde. The ancient seat has a long, bloody history, as a Norse stronghold, as a prize of Robert the Bruce, as the target of eight galleons sent by King Henry VIII who ordered an attack.

I am sailing...!

 

Brodick Castle

Inside, the castle was beautifully furnished, complete with a well-equipped Victorian kitchen that shone with polished brassware – jam pans, pots, fish kettles for steaming. 

Gleaming Victorian kitchen...

But it was the assortment of quirky collectibles in the wine cellar that got my writer’s brain whirring — a set of drinking horns disguised as a family of owls, an elaborate wine jug fashioned as walrus, a glass decanter shaped like a dodo!

The owl family...

The last Dodo!

 

As much as I enjoyed discovering the gems the castle offered, it was a walk in the gardens that I loved. Rhododendrons are my favourite flower and I’d timed it just right. Towering glossy bushes sprouted thick along well-kept trails; their pom-pom heads nodded, pearly white, sunshine lemon, party red. They were an absolute joy!

As a symbol of optimism and cheer (and we all need more of that!), the rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal, the state flower of both Washington and West Virginia in the United States, as well as the provincial flower of Jiangxi in China. 

Which got me thinking, that the rhododendron is rarely mentioned in stories or novels. Perhaps it’s just too tricky to spell? (I admit to triple-checking my ‘o’s and ‘d’s were in the right place!) Which then reminded me of The Lost Words, written by Robert Macfarlane and brilliantly illustrated by Jackie Morris, a poetry book written for children, which quickly became a bestseller with adults too.

the lost words... beloved by both children and adults

 

Macfarlane focuses on the natural world and words that are quietly slipping from children’s vocabulary, names like acorn and adder, wren and weasel. His poetry is musical, surprising; 'spells' to be read over and over again.

I was born and brought up by the coast, and enjoyed freedom to roam and play with friends in the woods and fields that surrounded us. Perhaps then it isn’t surprising that I also like to incorporate language inspired by nature in my writing.

More rhododendrons... just because!

 

So, I’ve set myself a mini goal for the coming months, to place a different ‘lost’ word, from Macfarlane’s book of poems, in each of my stories. I’ve already used fern and heron. 

Which words do you miss from childhood? And if you were to write a book of lost words, what would it contain?

Until next time!

Rae x

The Walrus

Reading Group, Anyone?

Online book clubs have prospered in recent years. Accessibility, enthusiastic celebrity endorsement and, more recently, lockdown have increased reading and the desire to find the next book within a cosy community of like-minded people.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts or good intentions of celebrities and "influencers" there will always be a healthy dose of scepticism from the public regarding their book recommendations. Being a celebrity/influencer is a business in itself and the world is built on networking, deals, promotion, freebies and brand awareness perhaps more than ever in history. The celebrity/influencer who has a genuine love of books and want to share it with the world is caught between a rock and a hard place by virtue of their career clashing with their passion. Who will truly believe their book recommendation when there is a suspicion that they might have been paid to promote it? However, despite having these nagging doubts we, the public, are still happy to join their online book clubs to find our next read, both parties aware of the issues yet gleefully ignoring the elephant in the room.

Reading Groups, particularly local reading groups which are linked to libraries, takes a virtual flame thrower to many of the concerns above, but I am getting ahead of myself. For those who have little to do with reading groups in the community, a reading group is a group of people who meet regularly to discuss a book they have read.  Of course, a discussion is best if it is the same book, so they are often linked to libraries. The leader of the reading group borrows the books from the library on behalf of the group, distributes them and the group meet up again in a few weeks to discuss the book (hopefully with a glass of wine, nibbles and a bit a of laughter sprinkled in).

The benefits of a reading group are:-

1) The books are varied and pushes the boundaries of your usual reading preferences (I am currently reading The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, something I would never have chosen myself but it has opened my eyes to the harsh living and working conditions experienced by the mining community in the 1930s).
2) They are library books so are not being promoted or endorsed for monitory gains.
3) It provides books free of charge.
4) It's a way of making new like-minded friends.
5) It provides a conduit for all those thoughts and feelings you had about the book, yet also opens your eyes, heart and mind to all the things you had previously missed as a healthy discussion always provides another perspective - in this case as seen through another reader's eyes.
6) The meet-ups/social gathering gets you out of the house. Some may see that as a disadvantage as it is quite an enjoyable experience to surf the net looking for your next read with a mug of coffee in your hand. However, neither is exclusive to the other and is only limited by the time you have to read.

The disadvantages of a reading group:-

1) Feeling pressured to read a book by a certain date. However, most members feel this and understand. It is not uncommon for someone to give up on a book due to time constraints or lack of enjoyment. At least the reader does not feel they have wasted their money.
2) Most reading group do not focus on one genre (i.e. romance). You have to be prepared to read outside your preferred genre for most of the time. If this is not for you, then reading groups may not be either unless it is genre specific.

So do you like the idea of a reading group? Are you interested in setting one up in your local area? Why not go along to your local library and find out what is in your area? Reading does not have to be a solitary hobby. Discussing the book afterwards with a varied group of people can confirm your opinions or open your mind to a different perspective.... it can also make you think more deeply about your own beliefs, character traits and morals too!

Happy reading everyone!

Victoria Cornwall

A Writing No Man's Land

 This is my first Novel Points of View blog post, so hello! And it comes at the perfect time, because at the moment I am in my favourite place in my writing cycle. One that I eloquently call my 'in-betweeny' time. A no man's land in my writing process, those few weeks/months when I have no deadlines and the sun lounger and my to-be-read pile beckons. If only I could indulge, but there is still work to be done!

My latest book is now away having those final tweaks and edits done and so it's time to be thinking about what I'm going to write next, and this is without doubt my favourite part of the process. It feels as though there are a million possibilities. I know which era I'm going to write in (I think!) but everything else is undecided.

At this point, I may not have any firm ideas, but I do have my 'little black book'. Which is in actual fact a little yellow book, and it contains a physical list of potential book ideas - I don't quite trust technology enough so although I have a list on my computer I like to copy them so I also have a hard version. These ideas usually come as lightbulb moments that strike me when I am driving with no chance of writing them down (when I have to find a parking spot before they drift out of my head, lost forever) or in the middle of the night when I scribble on a piece of paper and subsequently cannot decipher it the following morning!

Sometimes when I go through the list I realise that what I had once considered to be genius inspiration isn't robust enough or there is some other reason why it won't work and those ideas are jettisoned from the yellow book, but with the ones that may have potential I start the most exciting part of my writing life. Because while I'm quietly plotting and planning I'm also, by necessity, having to do a lot of research and that is without doubt my favourite way to spend my time. Every true event I uncover, every historical character or wonderful old house or ruins I visit leads me further down a rabbit hole of investigation and although often what I discover doesn't get used, everything is so fascinating I can lose whole days - sometimes more! - learning about people who lived more than five hundred years ago. The lives they lived, the people they loved and the dangers they faced.

Because of my love of history, I've always enjoyed reading historical fiction that includes real events and individuals so quite naturally these are the books I want to write. And that's why I like to consider myself a detective (I quite fancy being Sherlock Holmes, the cool Benedict Cumberbatch version!) searching out that story hiding in the background, looking for those real people who were living their lives which were just as interesting, fascinating and as full of love, violence and intrigue as ours are today.

Although I love to just dive in and start reading and investigating, I do however at least try and have some sort of proper process. Otherwise I use the time as a long enjoyable reading holiday and when it comes to the day when I have to produce a book pitch or synopsis I have nothing to show for my research. Often the initial idea blossoms into something else, but I still plot everything out on good old-fashioned paper (actually I have a tablet on which I can write and then convert it to text, but that may need to be the subject of another blog), but that's further down the line from my in-betweeny time.

Because I write dual timeline I'm not only thinking about my historical story, I also need to be thinking about a present day one to weave through, and although that's still lurking at the back of my mind (hooray for lightbulb moments!) it's definitely the historical research that I love - so many stories to uncover.

So that is how I spend this very special in-betweeny time; no deadlines on the horizon, a whole world of story possibilities spinning around in my head and a pile of research books waiting. Perfect! Now, where's my sun lounger...