From my blog...

Getting Medieval in Middle America

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Patricia

I combined my fifth trip to the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo with a follow-up jaunt to the South Carolina Book Festival. Michigan, of course, is nowhere near So.Carolina, but my sister had recently moved to S.C. and we were due for a visit, so travel plans were made and hotels booked. Anticipation grew, and at last I flew to Chicago where I hauled my suitcase onto the Blue Line, trudged up the stairs to Union Station and caught my train to Michigan.

At Kalamazoo I rubbed shoulders with roughly 3000 medievalists who were busily attending sessions; gathering in the cafeteria or local watering holes for drinks or meals; making new friends and re-connecting with old ones. I did all of the above, but first I carefully selected the sessions I would attend.

Congress Schedule with a gazillion possible sessions sticky-noted.

I listened to, among others, a paper on Emma of Normandy (SCORE!), one on Weapons and Masculine Identity in Anglo-Scandinavian Yorkshire, and several on Archbishop Wulfstan, a character in my novels. I heard more Old English read aloud than ever before, learned about the thread count on the Bayeux Tapestry, and inspected a re-creation of the Lubeck Wappenrock, which is fabric armor from 15^th century Germany. Painted! And the paint added to its protective capability! Who knew? And if you want to see how fabric armor is made, look here.

Professor Gale Owen-Crocker tries on the Lubeck Wappenrock.

The sessions at Kalamazoo are fascinating, and the people there even more so. I spoke with a Danish archaeologist from the University of Bergen who wore Thor’s Hammer on a chain around his neck (!!!) and answered my burning questions about Harald’s Viking ringforts. I dined with a charming young professor from Sicily who lectures on Medieval History at the University of Lincoln. I met a fantasy-loving school librarian who teaches courses on Tolkien, witchcraft and Harry Potter. I hung out happily with Anglo-Saxonists one night and with Chaucerians the next. As a result, I did not spend nearly as much time in the Exhibition Hall (that’s where all the gorgeous books are) as I would have liked. There was so much there that my head would begin to spin so that I couldn’t make up my mind about what to buy, and then I would run out of time and have to dash to the next session. It was maddening.

Book unpurchased.

My Kalamazoo Bling.

On Saturday I joined authors Jess Wells, Emma Campion, Grace Tiffany and Sharan Newman for a historical fiction panel sponsored by the local independent book store. We had a good sized audience, and I know that all of us were grateful to Kazoo Books for the terrific promotion they do for historical novels, not just at the Congress but year round.

Historical novelists at Kalamazoo. Photo credit: Kazoo Books

Kazoo Books at the Medieval Congress

Then, after three wild and crazy days of all things medieval it was back to Chicago where my husband joined me for a little R&R before escorting me to Burr Ridge for a book talk and signing. I am indebted to my friend Danielle and to author/actor David Blixt who braved horrific Chicago traffic to attend.

At Barbara’s Books. Photo Credit: David Blixt

When I landed in S.C. the next day for the Book Festival I was still in medieval mode because the main draw for me was Bruce Holsinger, professor of history at the University of Virginia, who spoke about his novel A Burnable Book, set in Chaucer’s London. This festival, though, was much more Southern Comfort than medieval mystery, and when asked what impact Southern living had on the writing of his novel, Professor Holsinger seemed stumped. (You must admit, from the Southern U.S. to the stews of Southwark is a bit of a mental stretch, although I think that his graveyard scenes did have a faint whiff of Southern Gothic about them.)

The Exhibits area at the book festival was not quite so overwhelming as at Kalamazoo, and the vibe there was distinctly different, but books were being celebrated and sold in each, and that was all that mattered.

Medieval Congress Exhibit Hall

So. Carolina Book Festival Exhibit Hall

Posted in Events, Whimsy | Tagged Books, Chicago, Kalamazoo, South Carolina | 2 Comments

My Writing Process – A Writers’ Blog Hop

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Patricia

My colleague, naval historical fiction writer Antoine Vanner, has asked me to join a blog hop titled My Writing Process. Antoine’s Writing Process post appears at his Dawlish Chronicles website, and I urge you to hop over there and read about his series of novels that follow the exploits of a British naval officer of the Victorian age.

Participants in this Blog Hop have been asked to respond to four specific questions about our work, which seems easy and undemanding – until one sits down to do it! Here are my answers.

1. What am I working on?

My current project is titled The Price of Blood. It is the sequel to my debut novel, Shadow on the Crown, and it’s the middle book of my Emma of Normandy Trilogy. The title is taken from William of Malmesbury’s 12^th century History of the Kings of England, and it is a reference to the relentless waves of Viking armies that attacked England in the early 11^th century. The Price of Blood will be published by Viking (yes, Viking) in February, 2015.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

First HarperCollinsUK edition of Shadow on the Crown

My trilogy is set in pre-Conquest England, so the characters are not pulled from the more familiar historical fiction crowd like the Tudors and those devilish Angevins. The 11th century setting, though, made my first manuscript difficult to sell until the editorial board at Viking took a look at it and wasn’t put off by the tongue-twisting names of the characters or the early medieval time period. As it turned out, Shadow on the Crown seems to have tapped into a growing interest in early English history and in the Vikings. Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Tales (9th c.), of course, have been popular for years. Now Nicola Griffith’s Hild, about a 7th century Anglo-Saxon saint has captured a great deal of attention, and the History Channel series VIKINGS (8th-9th c.) has brought men with names like Ragnar Lothbrok and King Ecbert of Wessex into our living rooms. This is the kind of synchronicity that I couldn’t have imagined when I first began to write my books.

Emma of Normandy

3) Why do I write what I do?

I’m writing a trilogy about Emma of Normandy because I was seduced by my central character – a queen of England who was unfamiliar to me and whose story intrigued me. One of the first popular history books I found that mentioned Emma described her as strong and resourceful, but also implied that she was ambitious and self-serving because of her marriage alliance first with an Anglo-Saxon king, and then with England’s Danish conqueror. It struck me that this was a simplistic view of what Emma must have experienced, and that her story must have been far more complicated and fraught with tension and conflict. What more could a writer ask for in looking for a subject?

A real life model for one of my characters.

4) How does my writing process work?

I begin with my characters because I need to know each one of them, however minor, inside and out. I write down their physical attributes, their histories, their families, what they believe, desire, need, hate, love – until I have a long list that helps me determine how each character will react in any given situation. Then I turn to the history and plot out the events that have been recorded. Those events usually suggest incidents and conflicts that have not been recorded but might have occurred, so I begin to fill in big historical blanks with possibilities. When it comes to actual writing, I think in terms of scenes, and each scene is blocked out before I begin to write. What is the setting? Who is there? Whose viewpoint will I be writing from and why?

I have numerous drawings that I’ve made of towns, royal estates, and chambers so that I’m clear about what my setting looks like when I start to write.

My first draft of a scene may be only one page long, but I go back over it and re-work it so that it grows from the inside out. By the time I’ve completed the novel’s first draft, it is filled with scenes that have already been revised as much as 15-20 times. (If only I could get it right the first time!) On my second and third drafts I revise all the scenes again because the real writing – the juicy stuff – happens in the re-writing. It’s a long, grueling process, and the research, of course, continues all the way through.

And now let me introduce the three fine writers who will be joining this blog hop on April 14:

Jenny Barden is an artist-turned-lawyer-turned-writer with a love of history and adventure. She has written two epic Elizabethan historical novels based on famous voyages to the New World; they are Mistress of the Sea and The Lost Duchess published by Ebury Press (Random House UK). Read her post at http://www.jennybarden.co.uk/jenny-bardens-blog/

Gillian Bagwell is the author of three acclaimed historical novels: The Darling Strumpet, based on the life of Nell Gwynn, 17th century actress and mistress of Charles II; The September Queen, the story of Jane Lane, who risked her life to help the young Charles II escape after the Battle of Worcester; and Venus in Winter, which covers the first forty years of the life of the formidable four-times widowed Tudor dynast. Gillian, now working on her fourth novel, will post on her Nell Gwynn blog site: http://www.nellgwynn.blogspot.com/

Anne Leonard is the author of the fantasy novel Moth and Spark (Viking 2014) and is at work on a subsequent novel. She has served time as a lawyer and as an academic. She lives in Northern California. Look for her post at AnneLeonardBooks.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Portals to the Past

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Patricia

On March 18 I returned to my old high school in Downey, California, to speak at Career Day.

Back in the classroom again!

My talk, given consecutively to three groups of bright-eyed students, was well received although, as I told my listeners, the publishing industry is changing so quickly that anything I could tell them would soon be out of date. I wasn’t there, though, to provide a template for how to be a writer as much as to offer encouragement and inspiration, and to convey the importance of passion, persistence and hard work.

St. Pius X St. Matthias students listen to Published Author

At the same time I was walking in a waking dream – through the hallways and classrooms that I’d known in my teens. I’d been asked to talk about my high school days, and I obliged by explaining that my memories of high school were suffused with the music of the sixties. The Beach Boys; The Beatles; Peter, Paul & Mary; The Mamas & The Papas; Judy Collins; Joan Baez and so many more talented artists were an inspiration to me and to an entire generation. In my case it drew me into a band and occasionally onto a stage. I had pictures to prove it, which I displayed with the bitter-sweet reflection that although the photos had nothing to do with my life now, they captured some part of me, some passionate flame that still burns, I hope, although in a different way.

The Band

When I left Downey I returned to our Long Beach hotel, to a place called The Pike. In the sixties it was an amusement park – a great Friday night hang-out spot for teens if you knew someone with a car who could get you there. We would dare each other to ride The Cyclone – a wooden roller coaster that hung out over the water.

I don’t remember ever taking up that challenge, but perhaps I did and have mercifully forgotten! The only things that remain from those days are the name, the many black and white posters recalling its glorious past, a Ferris Wheel, and – from the seventies – the Queen Mary.

It was a pleasant stroll from our hotel to the massive luxury liner, and on our last night in Long Beach we walked over to dine at Sir Winston’s Restaurant above the Promenade Deck. The lovely, wood-paneled room with long, narrow windows looking out on the marina offered elegant dining if you ignored the man in plaid Bermudas at the next table.

View from the Queen Mary.

It also offered Grand Marnier Souffle for dessert and, yes, we accepted.

I’ll have the Grand Marnier Souffle, thank you.

We shared the souffle. Honest.

We looked at relics from the Queen Mary’s glory days: photos of the ship’s accommodations and grand assembly rooms; portraits of those who sailed on her, from Fred Astaire, Liberace, and Loretta Young to Wallace Simpson and her prince; a silver bowl filled with roses that once sat on the Captain’s Table; a shop that today offers items of Chinoiserie just as it did in the forties. Did I photograph any of those things? No. I snapped a picture of an item so familiar from my childhood that it stopped me in my tracks the moment that I spotted it.

We had a clock just like this hanging on our kitchen wall, and by studying it I learned to tell time.

Occasionally time is fluid, and history quite personal. Thomas Wolfe tells us that you cannot go home again; sometimes, though, it’s possible to get pretty darned close – or perhaps, as close as you dare!

The Pike at night.

Posted in Whimsy | Tagged California, High school, Travel | Leave a comment

Two Authors, One Queen

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Patricia

UPDATE: EVERYONE WHO POSTED A COMMENT WITHIN THE SPECIFIED TIME ON MARCH 6, EITHER ON HELEN’S BLOG OR MINE, WAS PLACED IN THE DRAW FOR THE BOOK GIVEAWAYS.

THE UK WINNER FOR SHADOW ON THE CROWN: Helen Hart

THE US WINNER FOR SHADOW ON THE CROWN: Leah Bergen

MANY, MANY THANKS TO THOSE WHO JOINED US FOR OUR MARCH 6 TRIBUTE TO THE 11TH CENTURY QUEEN,
EMMA OF NORMANDY!!!

Today we commemorate the 962nd anniversary of the passing of Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, an event that occurred on March 6, 1052. It is a joint effort by two novelists who have made Emma the central character in their books.

The Book: In Helen Hollick’s novel The Hollow Crown (UK title)/The Forever Queen (US title), Queen Emma is smarter than history remembers and stronger than the foreign invaders who threaten England’s shores. She risks everything on a gamble that could either fulfill her ambitions and dreams or destroy her completely.

The Author: Helen has also written a trilogy of novels about Arthurian Britain: The Kingmaking, Pendragon’s Banner and Shadow of the King, as well as Harold the King (UK title)/I am the Chosen King (US title), the story of events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. She also writes a pirate-based nautical adventure series, the Sea Witch Voyages. She lives in Devon, England.

The Book: Patricia Bracewell’s novel Shadow on the Crown, the first book of a trilogy about a young Emma of Normandy, covers the early years of her marriage to a haunted English king. It is a tale of murder, intrigue, treachery and passion set against the constant threat of Viking invasion. In the midst of it all, Emma must make choices that will determine not only her own fate, but that of England as well.

The Author: Patricia’s second novel, the sequel to Shadow on the Crown, will be published in 2015. She lives in Oakland, California.

During two different hour-long time slots today we will be online to answer YOUR questions and respond to YOUR comments.

Live Schedule for Helen’s Blog: Helen Hollick
GMT: 2-3 p.m.
US Eastern time: 9-10 a.m.
US Central time: 8-9 a.m.
US Mountain time: 7-8 a.m.
US Pacific time: 6-7 a.m.

Live Schedule for Pat’s Blog:
GMT: 10-11 p.m.
US Eastern Time: 5-6 p.m.
US Central Time: 4-5 p.m.
US Mountain Time: 3-4 p.m.
US Pacific Time: 2-3 p.m.

Below are our answers to six questions about Queen Emma and our books. After you read them, we hope you’ll join us per the schedule above to chat. See below for GIVEAWAY and commenting info.

1. Why do you think that Emma of Normandy has been ignored by writers of historical fiction until now, and why has this changed?
PAT: I think writers just weren’t aware of her. I certainly wasn’t. Until fairly recently, even popular histories that dealt with English royalty started with William the Conqueror. It was as if England didn’t exist before 1066. Writers like Bernard Cornwell and Rob Low, though, have set some pretty remarkable novels in pre-Conquest England. I think that through them, writers – who are all avid readers – are discovering a whole new cast of characters with fascinating stories.
HELEN: Until recently, the majority of pre-conquest English history has been ignored, not just Emma. That is why I wrote my novel Harold the King (title I am the Chosen King in the US). I was so fed up with English history books starting at 1066. We have a rich, varied and interesting line of history that goes back many centuries before Duke William of Normandy stole the English throne for himself. I wanted to redress the balance – and discovered Emma while doing so. It is wonderful that more and more readers and writers have finally discovered that there was life before 1066!

2. What line do you draw between fiction and fact in your novel?
PAT: Do Not Change History has been my rule of thumb. But there are so many gaps in the 11th century historical record that I had plenty of leeway to imagine motives, passions, relationships, and intriguing plot developments.
HELEN: I think it depends on what type of novel you are writing. If based on fact, then the facts that form the basic plot of the story should be as accurate as possible. If the story is pure fiction – especially if it contains an element of fantasy or alternate history, then it is not so essential to get the facts right. Having said that, it is the accuracy of a period that makes the book believable. Someone writing about the Battle of Hastings and placing it in 1067, not 1066, for instance, would not have their novel taken seriously.

3. What is it about the historical Emma that you find most intriguing or inspiring?
PAT: That in her maturity she commissioned the production of a book that essentially told her side of some of the events that occurred during her lifetime. Scholars call it the Encomium Emmae Reginae, and a copy exists today that dates back to Emma’s lifetime. That it would occur to a woman in the 11th century, even a queen, to do something like that is pretty impressive.
HELEN: She was a remarkable woman. Her strength of character, despite many knock-backs is something to be applauded. However, she abandoned her sons by her first husband in order to re-marry, resulting in conflict and almost hatred between herself and her eldest son, Edward. I wanted to explore why this was – what happened to make these two people loathe each other?

4. Were there any events in your novel that you reinterpreted to suit the story? Can you give an example?
PAT: The destruction of Exeter is a good example of this. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle blames Emma’s reeve, Hugh, for betraying the city to the Vikings. In my story Hugh is forced into doing this because the Danes have threatened harm to the queen if he doesn’t. He’s not a traitor, but everyone in Exeter thinks he is.
HELEN: Yes, one major event in particular. My grandmother’s name was Emma and she also was a remarkable woman. When my father was a small baby, Grandma became cut off by the tide on a beach in Yorkshire. To save herself and her son from drowning she climbed the cliffs, holding him in her teeth. Keeping in mind that this would have been done in corsets and stiff Edwardian dress – not to mention the actual event, this was an incredible thing to do. I wanted to include my Grandma’s heroism in my story, so I placed the event as Queen Emma’s ordeal.

5. What scene in the novel was the most difficult to write?
PAT: A violent scene between the king and Emma. Anyone who’s read the book will know the one I mean. It was difficult having to imagine that scene. At the same time, given the characters that I’d created, I felt it was inevitable. It had to happen, so I had to write it.
HELEN: Several of the scenes with Æthelred were difficult as I discovered that I loathed the man (probably as much as Emma did!) As a writer it is really difficult writing a character you dislike sympathetically. I had the same problem with Duke William in the follow-on novel Harold the King (titled I Am the Chosen King in the US). How I dislike that man! I remember Sharon Kay Penman giving me some sound advice for this sort of situation: ‘Think of something good about the character.’ Hmm, I couldn’t think of much that was good about Æthelred!

6. Your titles are very different, given that your books have the same central character. Can you each talk about your titles?
PAT: There are three viewpoint characters in my novel besides Emma, and I came up with Shadow on the Crown because for each of these characters there is a shadow that hovers over the crown and over the very concept of queenship or kingship. It is different for each of them.
HELEN: My UK title is fairly similar, A Hollow Crown. I found it a very fitting title because even though Emma held power and status during her second marriage, it was all taken from her by her son. My US title The Forever Queen, was mutually decided by myself and my US publishers, Sourcebooks Inc. I do prefer Forever Queen as a title – the US edition had an extensive re-edit which polished the novel quite considerably.

GIVEAWAYS!

Both Pat and Helen are giving away two copies of their books, one book each for the UK and one book each for the US so there will be 4 prize winners!

All you have to do to enter the draw is…LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW & state if you are a US or UK resident. NOTE: Only comments left on this blog or on Helen’s blog will count – not Facebook or Goodreads, etc. Giveaway entries accepted all day until midnight, Pacific Time.

NOTE: To reveal new comments, you must refresh the page.
We will be responding to comments all day long, but we will only be LIVE during the scheduled hours. If you cannot comment for some reason, send an email to pb@patriciabracewell.com or to author@helenhollick.net and we will post it for you.

Posted in Events | Tagged Emma of Normandy, Forever Queen, Helen Hollick, Shadow on the Crown | 142 Comments

Live Internet Event!

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Patricia

March 6 will be the 962nd anniversary of the passing of Emma of Normandy, dowager queen of England.

Emma’s Mortuary Chest, Winchester Cathedral

She had kings as sons and kings as husbands
She shone forth in the glory of her progeny of kings
She excelled in virtue even the ranks of her glorious ancestors.

So wrote Godfrey, Prior of the Old Minster at Winchester, where Emma was laid to rest.

In this 21st century, Queen Emma has been the central figure in two historical novels. The first is by author Helen Hollick. Titled A HOLLLOW CROWN in the UK and THE FOREVER QUEEN in the U.S. it covers a great swathe of Emma’s life.

My own novel, SHADOW ON THE CROWN, covers only a few years of Emma’s life, and is the first part of a trilogy in which Emma will play the central role.

At Helen’s brilliant suggestion, she and I will be commemorating Queen Emma on March 6 with a special On Line Interactive Interview on our respective blogs, and you are invited to attend.

We will be live on-line at Helen’s UK blog
from 2-3p.m. GMT (6 a.m. US Pacific Time – I’ll be getting up very early)
www.ofhistoryandkingsblogspot.co.uk

We will be live on-line here at my US blog from 2-3 p.m. US Pacific Time (10 p.m. GMT – Helen will be staying up very late)

THIS COULD BE AN INTERNET FIRST!
DON’T MISS IT!

(We will try not to give away any spoilers, but beware: History has been written, and past events have a way of sneaking into present conversations.)

Lest I forget: Giveaways! We’ll each be giving away 1 copy our US and UK books. Mark your calendars.

MARCH 6

Posted in Events | Tagged Emma of Normandy, Forever Queen, Shadow on the Crown | 19 Comments

A Review: The Hobbit

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Patricia

from flickeringmyth.com

I finally made it to the theater to see THE HOBBIT, PART 2. I did not see it in 3D, and I don’t think my enjoyment of the movie was any the less for that. And yes, I did enjoy the movie very much. I am an avid Tolkien fan, but not such a purist that I am going to bark too much if a film-maker needs to add scenes or characters to make the story work as well on film as it does on the written page. I think Jackson’s additions fit the theme and the spirit of Middle Earth. And – I blush to admit it – I can never get too much of Orlando Bloom. Legolas!!!!

There were quite a few things that surprised me about this film because I’d paid absolutely no attention to any publicity about it. Legolas’s appearance was the first surprise. And then, intrigued by the new character of Tauriel, I did a little exploring and discovered who played that role: Evangeline Lilly from LOST. I didn’t even recognize her with that long red hair. And then I found out that Benedict Cumberbatch was in the film, too. No way could I have recognized him!

So yes, I enjoyed the film. The barrel scene went on a bit too long, but that’s a quibble. It’s different than how it happened in the book, but it’s far more cinematic this way. Action! Orcs! Arrows. MORE LEGOLAS!!! Yes!!! (Ahem. Sorry.)

The opening scene of the film not only sets the mood, it brings us into the story, in medias res, without going over a lot of the back story that occurred in the previous film. High marks for that, Mr. Jackson. I read The Hobbit many decades ago, and it is dim in my memory except for the high points. It seems to me that the changes/additions remove some of the whimsy from the story and add a layer of darkness, danger, and of course, more action. It becomes more adult. In the film, the dwarves’ arrival at the home of Beorn is more fraught with danger; the orcs’ attack during the barrel riding scene is more of an action sequence; the political tensions in Lake Town add both action and danger.

from flickeringmyth.com

I cannot say enough about how much I admire Martin Freeman’s Bilbo. He conveys just the right combination of confusion, consternation and courage – a character caught up in something much larger than he is quite able to comprehend, yet carrying on despite his bewilderment. He places one foot in front of the other to whatever the end might be, even though the predicaments he gets into are always far worse than what he anticipated.

As for the complaint I have seen that there is too much padding in the film, it didn’t appear that way to me. (Granted, I’m a Tolkien nut. I love all of it. I eat it with a spoon.) I have not read every one of Tolkien’s published works about Middle Earth, but I agree with my friend Christopher Cevasco who suggests that Jackson is utilizing a great deal more of Tolkien’s material than appears in the novel The Hobbit. I very much like the segments that follow Gandalf’s journey to Dol Guldur. He speaks of it at the council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring, but he goes into no detail. I don’t know if it is covered in any of Tolkien’s other stories, but that Jackson takes up that bit of the larger tale and places it here works for me.

Finally, a few remarks on the look of the film. Mirkwood was deliciously gloomy and the

elvencaves beautifully rendered. I love the first glimpse we see of Bilbo facing Smaug on his bed of gold. It matches a memory I have of Tolkien’s drawing of this event, only on a much larger scale. But the setting I love the most is Lake Town with its Norse look. The mayor’s house must have been modeled on Norway’s stave churches, and it gives the place a Viking feel very much suited to Middle Earth and Tolkien.

Posted in Review | Tagged Film, Review, Set Design, The Hobbit, Tolkien | 7 Comments

Downton Abbey’s Little Scots Sister

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Patricia

Ardkinglas House, Cairndow, Argyll, Scotland

Ardkinglas House is perched on the edge of Loch Fyne in southwestern Scotland, about fifty miles from Glasgow near the village of Cairndow (pronounced cairndoo). It was built in 1907, a relatively new home compared to, say, Highclere Castle in West Berkshire, far to the south where Downton Abbey is filmed. Yet as I walked through Ardkinglas house last September, visiting its great rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, servants quarters, and gardens I couldn’t help thinking of Downton Abbey.

Ardkinglas, with its 50 rooms, is much smaller than Highclere which has something like 200. But the family that lived at Ardkinglas in the early 20^th century lived much the way that the fictional Downton Abbey family lives in the series. They faced similar challenges in adapting to a post-war world, and the interiors of the houses, especially below stairs where much of the drama of Downton takes place, looked strikingly familiar.

We were given a private tour of Ardkinglas by the current owner, David Sumsion. He is the great-great-grandson of the home’s original owner, Andrew Noble, who purchased the estate in 1905 and commissioned one of Scotland’s leading architects, Robert Lorimer, to design the house. An architect himself, David Sumsion lives on an upper floor of Arkdinglas with his family in a private apartment. The mud room, just off the Ardkinglas entrance hall, was lined with boots from kid-size on up. This was a home, I realized as I hung my wet raincoat on a peg, not just a big house or a movie set.

The owner of Ardkinglas points out features of the dining room.

The estate itself, like the estate at Highclere, dates back to the 14^th century. It first belonged to the Campbells, then it passed by marriage to the Callander family until debt forced its sale to Andrew Noble.

One advantage that Ardkinglas had right away over homes built even 25 years earlier was that the designer incorporated newer technology. Elements that older houses would be forced to add through re-design were built into Ardkinglas — phone service, a dumb waiter and central heating. Older technologies are still in place too, although no longer used: bells and buzzers to call servants, cold rooms just off the kitchen for food storage. I could imagine Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes – or, going further back in my memory, Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Bridges – running the show downstairs, answering the phone, ordering the servants about.

The old stove at Ardkinglas

The home was filled with remnants from the lives of all of its previous owners. Andrew Noble made his fortune in armaments, and we saw giant bullets on display as well as toy-sized canon. Artwork, statuary, musical instruments, furniture – some of it strikingly modern, other pieces quite old – jostled each other in the grandest rooms. Bathrooms, of course, had been updated over the years, but nothing was what you would call “modern” by today’s standards.

One small corner of the salon.

Our host did not shy away from showing us parts of the house that were not in the best repair. Upstairs, the roof had leaked in one spot, and the plaster was discolored and peeling. The roof work, we were assured, had been done. The repair on the interior walls would take longer. It seemed to me that the house was rather like a dowager duchess that had seen better days. Maggie Smith in stone and mortar.

Highclere Castle has the same problem on a much larger scale. As recently as 2010 the owners were wringing their hands over the £11.7 million worth of repairs needed. Corporate functions and weddings could not bring in enough money to cover even a tiny portion of it. But then, in 2011, Julian Fellowes arrived with his Downton film crews, and after them, legions of tourists. Highclere is undergoing rejuvenation as a result.

Ardkinglas, too, has opened its doors to bring in funds for needed maintenance. Tours, weddings and musical events are held there. A pop-up dinner for 30 orchestrated by a gourmet chef was scheduled for the month following our visit and was already sold out. Look at their website today and you’ll see that there will be bread making classes offered there in early 2014. That made me smile, because I remembered David Sumsion reminiscing about how his grandmother loved to make bread.

But although Ardkinglas has been featured in a number of films and television shows, I don’t imagine that the owners are anticipating a visit from Julian Fellowes any time soon. It’s true that one of Andrew Noble’s other homes, down in Newcastle, has been converted into a hotel, but I did not get the impression that David Sumsion envisioned going in that direction. You can stay in the house, though, if you want to visit Ardkinglas and Cairndow. The Butler’s Quarters are available to rent, although it’s my understanding that neither Mr. Hudson nor Mr. Carson are part of the deal.

Posted in Scotland | Tagged architecture, Downton Abbey, Early 20th c, historical, Scotland | Leave a comment

Whimsical Wanderings

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Patricia

I frequently take a brief break from my writing desk to walk around the block, having learned that getting away from my computer – and more importantly, getting my blood moving up to my brain – assists creative thinking.

Recently, upon returning from several weeks abroad and making my first round-the-block excursion, I discovered that I had some new neighbors. While I had been away, a band of gnomes had moved in to the ‘hood. And no, this was not my brain playing creative tricks on me. These guys were real. Well, at least they weren’t imaginary. And there were quite a number of them.

Now, the area where I live has been troubled for some time by an upsurge in robberies, leading to efforts aimed at hiring a private security patrol. Perhaps, I speculated, these gnomes were someone’s whimsical attempt at neighborhood protection – a Gnome Watch, you might say. They were certainly whimsical.

Possibly they were just someone’s art project that had gotten out of hand, but the concept of mythical creatures as guardians is an ancient one. The Greeks had their griffin, the Assyrians their shedu and the Chinese their lion – all of them guarding buildings or treasure, and scaring off bad things. And there are more recent, local examples as well.

Back in 1989 when the Loma Prieta Earthquake damaged the Oakland Bay Bridge, the ironworkers who made the repairs placed, on their own initiative, a steel troll 18 inches high on the outside rail of the bridge, visible only to bridge workers and boaters. His job: to add a little extra protection from further violent acts of nature. It seems to have worked, as the bridge survived until its replacement was completed. And now it seems that the new bridge has a protector as well – a little fellow commissioned by the Bridge Authority to once more add that extra dollop of protection.

So my neighborhood gnomes – which I’m told arrived in the dead of night – may have been installed for the same purpose. True, they bear little resemblance to the bridge trolls. Indeed, they look like they’re descended from the same race that infests gardens in Great Britain; hopefully they are nothing like that pesky bunch that gave the Weasley kids so much trouble in J.K.Rowling’s The Chamber of Secrets.

Garden Gnome (Distant Cousin)

And although our new private Security Patrol has been hired, I expect that crew would welcome all the help they can get. Personally, I think my tiny new neighbors are charming. I hope they proliferate like mad.

Posted in Whimsy | Tagged Gnomes | Leave a comment

Like Janus, Looking Forward & Back

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Patricia

It is nearing mid-November, a time of thanksgiving and reflection. I find myself looking back with gratitude to friends, colleagues and readers on a year that has been an enormously eventful one for me; and I’m looking forward with anticipation to events in the year to come. I thought I would take a moment to share some of them with you.

The U.S. Penguin paperback edition of SHADOW ON THE CROWN will be released on December 31. The cover remains the same as the hard cover edition, although a tiny Penguin has taken up residence in the novel’s upper right-hand corner. I am hoping that Book Clubs all over the country will want to dive into the 11^th century world of Emma of Normandy, and that any who want to connect with me in person or from a distance via phone or Skype will contact me through this website. I’ve attended a number of Book Club meetings in California, addressing questions put to me about the book, the research, the characters, the history and my writing process. We’ve had some lively discussions and I’m looking forward to meeting with as many Book Clubs as may wish to have me.

There are, as well, some bookstore, library and festival events being planned for 2014. The first of these will take place on Saturday, February 1 in Berkeley. The 20^th Annual Festival of Women Authors is a fundraiser for the Berkeley YWCA, a most worthy cause. I will be speaking along with authors Kelly Corrigan, Anjuelle Floyd and Liz Jasper, and attendees will be treated to continental breakfast, lunch and a book signing as well as the company of four writers sharing their passion. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area I hope you will consider joining us.

There will be more events in conjunction with the publication of the SHADOW paperback, so keep an eye on this website and on my Facebook Author page for postings.

The HarperCollins U.K. paperback edition of SHADOW ON THE CROWN will be released on January 2, 2014. As you can see, the new cover design is very different from the hard cover edition! I adore all of my book covers, and I’m of course very excited about this new one with its shadows and crown.

Speaking of the UK, as some of you may know from a previous blog post, I shall be taking part in the Gladstone’s Library 2014 Writer-In-Residence Scheme. The Library is in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales. Built in 1902 to house the book collection of Prime Minister William Gladstone, it is the UK’s only residential library. For two weeks next autumn I shall be living there as I work on the third book of the SHADOW trilogy as well as participating in Gladstone’s Hearth Literary Festival. As you may imagine I am excited and honored to have been chosen as one of the Library’s nine Writers-in-Residence over the next twelve months, and I am hoping that some of my readers in Britain will find their way to Wales for the Hearth Festival at the end of October.

In other news, SHADOW ON THE CROWN will soon be published in Brazil and in Italy, and foreign language rights have been sold as well to a publisher in the Ukraine. Emma is going to RUSSIA!!! I do not have publication dates for these foreign editions yet, but I will be posting them when I hear something. An added plus: I will get to reveal more new book covers!

Layout page for Shadow on the Crown

Many readers have asked when the sequel to SHADOW will appear in bookstores. We are shooting for early 2015. It seems like a long time between books, I know, but aside from the writing and editing (no small task) there are decisions to make about everything you see in the book: title page, fonts, cover, maps, glossary, acknowledgments, author’s note. The publication of a book is a huge undertaking, and my editor and I are both sticklers for detail. It all takes time.

The past year has seen me signing books from Seattle to San Diego and from Los Angeles to London. I’ve visited Phoenix twice to talk about Emma (thank you Poisoned Pen Bookstore and Friends of the Maricopa County Library, Sun Lakes), and I’ve even managed to work in vacations in Oregon and Scotland when I wasn’t talking or writing or blogging.

London in September, talking with fellow authors Anne Easter Smith and Jenny Barden.

Actually, now that I think about it, I was ALWAYS talking or writing or blogging. In the coming months I’ll be writing posts about my travels, sharing photos, and keeping you updated on what’s to come.

Again, thank you to the many old friends and to a host of new friends, in person and on line, who have supported me in this marvelous adventure. I am fortunate that you are part of my world.

It’s been a fabulous year. Thank you.

Posted in Events | Tagged Book groups, book news, Book release | 1 Comment

Guest Post by Acclaimed Author Jeri Westerson

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Patricia

I met author Jeri Westerson when she swept into my hometown a few years back to talk about history, mystery and her Medieval Noir hero Crispin Guest. She’s a terrific speaker and a talented mystery writer, and today I’m delighted to help celebrate the publication of her latest novel, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, by welcoming her as guest blogger. Her area of expertise is the High Middle Ages, but as you will see, she’s cannily worked in references to the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans in this delightful and informative post. Here’s Jeri Westerson:

Why Can’t the English Teach Their Children How to Speak?
by Jeri Westerson

You might recognize the title of this blog post from the musical “My Fair Lady” wherein linguist Henry Higgins laments that the English language was being corrupted by its many dialects. Indeed, George Bernard Shaw, who penned the original play “Pygmalion” on which “My Fair Lady” was based, was supposed to have said, “The English and the Americans are two peoples divided by a common language.” Even better, James D. Nicoll, fiction reviewer, among other things, claims, “The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”

Now you would think that the English people would be speaking, well, English. But London of the 1300’s saw an interesting change. Yes, it was English but English of a sort. We call it Middle English. But we’re going to need to back up a lot farther than that.

Before the Romans came to Britain in AD 43, there were already diverse and thriving tribes populating the island. The Picts in Scotland, the lowlander tribes of England (that went by many names), and the dwellers of Wales. To use the term “Celts” is out of date. An eighteenth century invention, the notion of “Celts” was a Gallic, that is to say, French ethnic label. In Iron Age Britain they never called themselves “Celts.”

Hadrian’s Wall near Steel Rigg

When the Romans invaded, they shared a few genes with the locals but also a bit of Latin to the varied languages already evident in England. Remember, the Roman Empire sort of gave up at the Scottish border and Emperor Hadrian built a rambling wall to keep the barbarians out. What remains of that wall still survives in the English countryside.

When the Romans were finally repelled in the fifth century and when Christianity was taking hold, monks came to Ireland and trickled down through England, bringing more Latin and Greek. But things really started to change when one of the kings of the Britons needed help with those pesky Picts to the north and invited the Angles and the Saxons—fellows from Germany—to help out. Perhaps not the wisest of moves, for who was now going to get rid of those guys? But now we have German coming into the mix of Gaelic and Latin. Meanwhile, the Vikings kept striking, leaving a bit of Danish in their wake. The language, not the pastry. The “English” language is now a complete mess. Now do you understand why we have words with letters that are silent and some that make no sense at all? But wait, it gets better.

Hwaet! We Gar-Dena in gear-dagum Þeod-cyninga…Old English-Beowulf

While the original languages of Britain still flourished in Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall, the rest of England (that’s Angle-land, they even took over the name of the place! Pesky Germans.) was now speaking a form of English we call Old English or Anglo-Saxon, the stuff that Beowulf was speaking when he wasn’t busy hacking at monsters.

By the time the Anglo-Saxons were well established (and the occasional Danish Viking kept invading), another threat to hearth, home, and language came to English shores by way of France. Normandy to be exact, in the person of William the Conqueror, known on the continent as duke William of Normandy or just William the Bastard. He says he was invited. The Anglo-Saxons said, “William who?” He came anyway and with an army to take the crown that he believed Edward the Confessor said he could have. And when he crowned himself King of England in Westminster Abbey and replaced the Anglo-Saxon nobles with his Norman ones, a new language invaded. Medieval French! Now we’re really mixing it up.

And for a very long time, anybody who was anybody in England would be speaking French as France and England had close ties. In the twelfth century, King Richard I, also known as the Lionheart, didn’t speak English at all and didn’t spend more than six months in his entire life in England. But this exclusive use of French by the nobility slowly began to change as did the relationship with France.

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote…Middle English-Canterbury Tales

By the time we reach King Richard II’s England in my own novels (1380’s) the crossover of all these languages—Latin, Greek, German, Danish, French, with a smattering of the native languages from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland—had been put in a blender and switched on high. Everyone is now speaking what we call Middle English. And this was an important period, because no longer are the nobility so out of touch (at least in terms of language) with the general population, because for the first time, they are also speaking English. Middle English, but still English. Is this an English we can understand? Well, not so much. It’s much easier to read it on the page, than to hear it. And there was good stuff to read. This is the era of Geoffrey Chaucer and he was important because, also for the first time, poetry and popular literature like THE CANTERBURY TALES, is being written not in French as was the style, but in English. What a modern day person probably couldn’t do—and I even have a hard time—is understanding it when it is spoken. Remember all those silent letters we have in words? Well, they weren’t silent then. Middle English, like German, was phonetic, that is, each letter was pronounced. In the word “Knight” for instance, we pronounce it as “nite” but in Middle English you pronounce each letter—K-N-EE-CH-T—with a guttural chicken-bone-in-the-throat thing for the “CH.”

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer…Shakespeare, Richard III

And by the time we reach about Richard III’s day (fifteenth century), they are speaking a recognizable English right through to Elizabethan/Shakespearean (sixteenth century) English, the real precursor to modern English.

What’s next for English? If texting is any indication, we’re in big trouble.

—-

Jeri tries to stay out of as much trouble as she can by putting her medieval detective Crispin Guest in all kinds of danger. Her books have garnered nominations for the Shamus, the Macavity, the Agatha, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award. She is president of the southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is vice president of the Los Angeles chapter of Sisters in Crime. When not writing, Jeri dabbles in gourmet cooking, drinks fine wines, eats cheap chocolate, and swoons over anything British. (I happen to know that she is passionate about mead.) Her latest Medieval Noir novel, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST is now in bookstores. For more info—including book discussion guides—go to her website www.JeriWesterson.com

Posted in Guest Post | Tagged Anglo-Saxons, English language, Normans, Romans, Vikings | Leave a comment

Patricia Bracewell

The Steel beneath the Silk

The Emma of Normandy Trilogy, Book #3

From my blog...

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Live Internet Event!

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Whimsical Wanderings

Like Janus, Looking Forward & Back

Guest Post by Acclaimed Author Jeri Westerson

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