DEBORAH CROMBIE: This post should possibly be called "What Debs Is Not Writing" but I think we'll be kinder than that! I'm still recovering from my back surgery on July 1st, and although all is going well, I'm frustrated by the fact that I still can't sit for more than about half an hour--and even more frustrating, I'm still not able to sit comfortably in my computer chair. But, meanwhile, I'm camped out on my living room sofa with my laptop, trying to pick back up where I was in Kincaid/James #20 when all of my back nonsense started.
I've also been rereading/relistening to Deborah Harkness's All Souls series, and am now halfway through SHADOW OF NIGHT, the second book and possibly my favorite. In it, the protagonists time-travel back to London in 1590, meeting all sorts of Elizabethan luminaries. (Harkness is a historian, so the details of life in the time period are wonderful.) In one scene, Matthew and Diana visit Queen Elizabeth I's court in Richmond Palace.
Richmond Palace fronting the River Thames.’ A 1765 engraving by James Basire
Richmond! Writerly attention flags jumped out and smacked me upside the head! Some of my characters live in Richmond! Parts of the book are set all along the Thames at Richmond, Twickenham, and Teddington. I made several research visits to Richmond on my last trip to London! Why did I not associate Richmond with the royal residence of Queen Elizabeth I?
Down the research rabbit hole I went, learning that it was in part because the palace was almost entirely destroyed by Oliver Cromwell and his minions in the decade between 1650 and 1660. It was a favorite residence of Elizabeth's, however--she died there in 1603--and the palace has a fascinating history both before and after the Elizabethan period.
Only a few walls remain, incorporated into later buildings designated The Gatehouse, The Wardrobe, and the Trumpeter's House due to their association with the vanished parts of the palace. All are now private residences. In 2020 you could have bought a three bedroom apartment in The Wardrobe for just under 4 million pounds!
Then, when I looked at Richmond Palace on the map, I realized I had been a stone's throw from the site! I had drinks at The Prince's Head (the Crown and Anchor in Ted Lasso,) I walked across Richmond Green and down Old Palace Lane to the Thames, never realizing that I was setting foot on what was once an actual palace.
I have no idea how this little historical side trip of mine will fit into K/J #20, but I have no doubt it will, if only as a bit of scene-setting local color. I started college as a history major, so this is all catnip to me.
How grand the palace must have been!
It may seem as though I've been wandering in the weeds, but it's these little tidbits and associations that spark my imagination and make me want to be IN the book--and I very much hope readers will feel the same way.
How about it, dear Reds and readers, do you like to know the background of settings in books? And who wants to go in on that flat??
I think it's always a plus to know the background . . . and the history is often so fascinating that it's hard not to get caught up in it . . . .
ReplyDeleteI am famous for going down rabbit holes, but it's so much fun. And you never know what productive thing will come from it!
DeleteDebs, I am sorry to learn that you still aren't able to sit comfortably. What does your doctor say about pain and recovery time? Of course, everyone heals differently, but perhaps there is something you can do to hasten your healing. (Selfishly, we all need to know that you are writing the next book.)
ReplyDeleteLondon is such a rich historical environment for stories. I realize that many parts of the city were once individual little towns and that I barely know anything about any of them. That's why I think we need to organize a tour based on your books. Perhaps that tour should be followed by a Rivers of London Tour. Do you think your publishers would be willing to get together on this? Of course, everyone who takes the tours gets to stay in the 4 million pound suite.
A tour of London based on Debs books is brilliant Judy! I love London and have visited many times and each time I go there, I feel like I discover so many new things. It never grows old. It would be such a unique experience to have a tour based on Deb's books. What fun that would be. Debs??
DeleteJudy, I started PT yesterday--they don't let you start until 6 weeks post op. And I am walking the dog in the mornings, yay, and now will be adding my PT exercises every day. They say it just takes time for the spinal nerves to heal.
DeleteA tour based on my books and Ben Aaronovitch's books! What fun! We follow each other on Twitter (sorry, X :-( ) but I suspect I'm a bigger fan of his books than he is of mine. But first we have to buy the 4 million pound flat....
Just a drop in the bucket for such a successful writer! No?
DeleteLOL Judy, I wish!
DeleteHave to heartily second the support for London sites based or your books and Ben Aaronovitch’s books. Wow.
DeleteTake care with your back, as you are, of course. (Heather S)
I like the background of the setting as it paints a picture in my mind. Deb, hope the pain lessens.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dru! I am so much better. Hope your knee surgery recovery is going well, too.
DeleteThanks Deb, it is. I walked a block and a half...
DeleteDEBS: Sorry to hear about the long recovery time from your back surgery.
ReplyDeleteWe all want you to do everyday activities pain-free, including sitting in your office chair & writing!
And I love learning about history in cities like London.
Thanks, Grace! I can write some with the sofa/coffee table set up, just not nearly as comfortable. But I will get there one way or the other!
DeleteMay soon be strong and sitting tall. Sending healing vibes, Deborah. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth!
DeleteEchoing others with my best best wishes for speedy and easy healing from here on out. I would be frustrated about not being able to write, too.
ReplyDeleteI love those historical background details. How delightful you found them!
I know these tidbits get you all jazzed up, too, Edith! And thank you! I am starting to get my energy back and that is the best thing.
DeleteDebs, we're in favor of anything that helps get you back into the story! xox
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Lucy!
DeleteYes, please! Count me in! Thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery so you can et back to writing what we want to read. But so glad you went down this particular rabbit hole - fascinating indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judi! It's made me very excited to get back to my book!
DeleteI'd be in for the flat! I too was a history major and love the bits of history (particularly British), so this stuff is very fun for me too. Lifting my Yorkshire Gold tea to a quick recovery!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gillian! History majors unite! (Although I defected to biology. But one of my main interests was the history of science, especially biology, botany, and genetics, which is one of the reasons I find the Harkness books so fascinating.
DeleteSorry, missed closing my quote above!
DeleteOooh this is so fun for me! When I my husband and I married (in 1994), we moved to England for his work and found a lovely flat in Richmond to live. It’s a wonderful town/small city (in my view, hailing from Maine). We plan to return there in a year or so to reminisce. Of course I devoured Ted Lasso to catch glimpses of it too! I personally love understanding a place’s background in stories/novels, but also when I move to a new house/town/area. I guess I believe that places hold memories themselves in some ways. I sometimes think I can “feel” the history when I’m certain places. Perhaps kooky, but I do like to think of the ancestors who have walked these roads before us and imagine their lives-the decisions they made, the hardships they faced. It helps me to feel grateful for things/aspects of my own life.
ReplyDeleteI feel that when I sit in in worship in our 1851 Quaker Meetinghouse here in NE New England, Stacie. The walls are imbued with Quakers gone by and their spiritual practices.
DeleteStacia, how lovely! Although I expect Richmond was a bit sleepier in '94 than it is now, but it is such a gorgeous place. I am fascinated by life on the Thames in the past, when the river was the highway and everything revolved around it. And I do feel that places hold memories, very much so.
DeleteEdith, this is why I love the old Anglican churches. You can feel the history and all the people who've worshipped there over the centuries.
DeleteStacia, when we visited Williamsburg, my husband laid his hand on the outside wall of the House of Burgesses and said he could “feel” the history of it. Kooky, maybe, but he said he felt it. As a history major, I was disappointed that I didn’t feel it! — Pat S
DeletePat, everyone's connections are different, aren't they? So interesting.
DeleteThis "catnip" is for the metaphorical back rolling still in the future. Best wishes for your ongoing and consistent recovery. I do think this will appear in 20 but maybe even more in 23 or 24 - never goes to waste. And the first of the Harkness books remains my favorite (sometimes being married to a Shakespeare scholar takes the fun out of things.)
ReplyDeleteI take it you're not as enamored with 1590 as I am! I see your point. She does dance quite nicely around young Will, though, don't you think?
DeleteHey, Debs, I'll go in on the flat -- however, I have no money so I'll be a cook and housekeeper in exchange for a little cupboard I can sleep in. And, yes, as a writer of historical fiction of course I love historical details! I've never read the Harkness books but will definitely check them out. Take it easy with your back.
ReplyDeleteIf I had four million quid I'd take you on as cook and housekeeper in that flat, Lorraine! What a location that is. As for the Harkness books, the series is a remarkable feat of world-building, with a supernatural/paranormal element but very grounded in the present world, too. I sadly had to miss Deb's talk here in Dallas last month when she was on tour for the newest book, The Blackbird Oracle, but reading that got me going back to the beginning again.
DeleteI love knowing the background histories of settings! And jumping into rabbit holes. Here’s to your back healing more quickly and you, Debs, being in less pain, and sitting comfortably!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Suzette! I am writing this from my computer chair at my desk this morning--yay--so will try not to overdo.
DeleteDebs, rooting for your back health... pain is so hard and it invades every nook and cranny of one's life...
ReplyDeleteOh, the background of settings, SO IMPORTANT. So much so that even when I set a book in a "fictional" place I need to have, in the back (front?) of my mind, a REAL place to mimic. File it under: you can't make this stuff up. Well, you can, but it's not nearly as good as the chaos and richness of real places and their history. Setting fertilizes PLOT.
Hallie, I think so, too, and it's so encouraging to hear it from you!
DeleteSo sorry that your recovery is not going as well as you wanted. I hope you feel better soon and I’m sending positive thoughts to you.
ReplyDeleteI like to know the background of settings in books
Danielle
Oh thanks, Danielle. It is going well, just frustrating. They told me it can take a while for the spinal nerve endings to heal, but I am so much better!!!!!!!!
DeleteI do like to know the background of setting in books. I often look them up. A flat in Richmond and a villa overlooking the Mediterranean. i do like traveling with the REDS.
ReplyDeleteAtlanta
I loved Rhys's fictional villa, too! And, actually, considering the craziness of London real estate prices, that flat back in 2020 was not a bad deal. It came with part of The Gatehouse garden and is right between Richmond Green and the river. Just divine. I'm tempted to put one of my characters in one of those flats but fear I need to be a bit more generic. Wouldn't want the real owners mad at me!
DeleteOh, absolutely! And I am loving the vision of your brilliant brain moving those gorgeous puzzle pieces around. And I tell all my students--setting setting setting. Where you are defines what you do--what you can do, and what you can't do, and provides instant obstacles and solutions. ANd I often make little sketchy maps so I can figure out what a person could see and what they couldn't see.
ReplyDeleteAnd rest rest rest, Debs! xx You'll be all better soon, and this will be a fading memory.
Hank, of course I got into Google Maps and immediately discovered that Streetview stops at The Gatehouse and you can't see into any of those properties now on the grounds of the old palace. I think this is telling me I need to go there, lol! And, Hank, that is such wonderful advice. I'll be your student anytime. xx
DeleteThanks, Brenda. I have rigged up a standing desk, and I am using that sometimes but standing is a bit of a strain on the back as well. Best to do a bit here and a bit there.
ReplyDeleteYes to the flat! And yes to historical backgrounds in moderation. I remember starting to read a novel about present-day Ireland and the first three pages read like they were lifted from a guidebook. I threw it across the room.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a delicate balance. You have to see it from the character's viewpoint. And sometimes a good bit of the infamous info dump has to come out in the editing--as I very well know!
DeleteDeborah, here's to PT and your continuing recovery! It's so frustrating when you can't get comfortable--distracting and annoying--hard to focus, so definitely better to jump into something entirely different--instead of beating yourself up about not writing enough. And look what you found! Some lovely details that will take us all into Richmond with Gemma and Duncan and company! I love my free tours of London and the UK!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a year since I was in London and Richmond, so I needed this very visceral reminder of how much I loved it.
DeleteYes, a little at a time is best. I have a chronic pain condition so I know what you mean. I hope your pain will resolve soon.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a successful PT experience and full recovery, Debs! If I had a million pounds, I'd buy into that shared apartment in s heartbeat. Having studied 16th and 17th English history in college, I knew something about Richmond, but didn't associate modern day Richmond with the actual palace grounds. If I get back to London, maybe on a Deb Crombie book tour...!
ReplyDeleteWe tend to think of Hampton Court as the primary Tudor residence, but it seems as though Elizabeth preferred Richmond. Susan, I'd happily share a flat with you!
DeleteI will definitely sign up for tours of the historical private residences, Debs, just as soon as they open them to the public!
ReplyDeleteI love lots of background as a reader and it's essential to me as a writer - I need to know the history, economy, architecture, etc. in order to get in depth and realistic setting in the fictional world. So it's probably good I don't set my stories in England, because hoo-boy, I don't think I'd ever get out of the research stage!
Julia, it's your level of detail that makes your books seem so real to the reader--that and compelling characters and great action!!
DeleteLet me add my sympathies over your difficulties in recovering from surgery. Having had several surgeries recently that required PT I know how frustrating it can be. It is difficult to balance your responsibilities to yourself and to your readers! :) As a historian who has spent some time in London and elsewhere in the U.K., I do immensely enjoy your use of detailed settings. Now I'll have to visit Richmond next time I'm in London!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sally! And another historian, how lovely! (I had better get my dates right!)
DeleteI'm sorry your recovery is taking longer than you want it to, Debs, but very glad to hear that you are much better than you were.
ReplyDeleteYour research on Richmond and Elizabeth I's former palace is very intriguing--and you make me want to reread Deborah Harkness! My undergraduate degree focused on the history and literature of England, so I'm always glad to hear bits, or even swathes, of English history.
Your knowlege of Elizabethan England surely puts mine to shame, Kim! I love finding out that we have so many historians in our group!
DeleteThe more background color and atmosphere the better! I'd absolutely love to see that flat.
ReplyDeleteI read that they have "open garden" once a year. That would be lovely if you could time a visit just right...
DeleteDEBS: Wishing you a comfortable recovery from your back surgery!
ReplyDeleteMay I ask if "the flat" is the three bedroom apartment in the Wardrobe? It would be interesting to see that flat in person.
Definitely like knowing the background of settings in books. Look forward to reading your new Duncan/Gemma mystery.
Love the Diana Bishop series by Deborah Harkness. She said that she writes Fiction. It is hard for me to pinpoint the exact genre for these beautiful novels. I just learned that she is also a History Professor at USC. I plan to read her new novel during the Halloween season.
Yes, she is a history professor at USC! And also a wine expert! A woman of many talents, indeed. I saw the real estate listing for the "3 bedroom apartment in The Wardrobe" but if there was a link with photos of the interior it was no longer working. You bet I'd love to have seen the interior!
DeleteSkidding in from a busy day to send healing vibes to you, Debs! Pain-free soon, I hope!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen! Better every day!!
DeleteHugs, Deb! Glad you are seeing progress. As for background, yes! Bring it on. I'll often research a site that appeals in a book. Sometimes they actually exist.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kait! I think we have to trust our instincts, when something waves those flags at us!
DeleteHurray for rabbit holes, I say! I study Benjamin Franklin, and have recently been working on a document from 1787 where he acquired thousands of acres of land in western Pennsylvania. As far as I know, he never visited that land (he died in 1790 and didn't travel far because he had a painful medical condition), but how fascinated was I to learn that his land was in the vicinity of the rally where DJT was shot and then, just this morning, I learned that shortly after Franklin's death, in 1804, a utopian community was founded in the neighborhood of Franklin's holdings.
ReplyDeleteI think Franklin must be fascinating. (Holding hand over eyes here, trying not to be tempted by the rabbit hole!)
DeleteDeborah, have begun watching BBC news (seems saner to me right now than even PBS). Last night there was a brief story about the Cotswolds becoming over-crowded with tourists, especially their individual automobiles taking up all the parking for coaches, and the resulting traffic jams. Thought of you and Gemma and Duncan trying to enjoy time away from London. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteYes, the roads are so narrow, the villages are tiny, and the parking is limited. I've made my visits in the off season, usually autumn. Much better!
DeleteOh Debs, you have shown us all so many interesting places in London and England through your research and your books. I may not have brought it up for a while, but I'm still rooting for a tour of locations from your books. And, alas, my financial advisor says he doesn't think I'll be able to go in on that flat. But, now I've added Richmond to the place I want to go when I take my big England trip. Would like to next year, but I may have to get a gal pal to go instead of my husband. He would come for London and then go home.
ReplyDeleteKathy, Richmond is a half hour on the tube from central London! Easy peasy for an afternoon's sightseeing, then ending up at The Prince's Head for a pint or a glass of wine!
DeleteOh, I do hope you find a way to work in all of that research. It's absolutely fascinating! Hope your back allows you to get back in the chair soon!
ReplyDeleteI love the details -- vicarious travel! Healing Light and gentle hugs to you. -- Storyteller Mary
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you came upon my daughters post of you autographing my.copy of your book. She will love to hear about Richmond. She got her Masters degree in medieval British history with an emphasis on the Tudors. She graduated in 2000 from the Universitu of Kent at Canterbury!
ReplyDeleteYes! I enjoy reading the history in books!
ReplyDelete