Secret Rosedale

Did you watch Secret Britain on BBC One yesterday? If you did you would have seen Rosedale in all its glory and in particular the short piece about the brief period in the 16th century when Huguenot glass-blowers worked here.

A Huguenot on St Bartholomew's Day.

As usual, the programme was too disjointed for my taste and it jumped about from one area to another without any coherence. So I would like to use this post to write about the brief appearance of Huguenots in Rosedale and the way stunning hand-made glass-making has now re-established itself in Rosedale Abbey.

I have been researching the brief appearance of Huguenot glass-makers in Rosedale in far more detail than appeared in the TV show for my next novel set in Rosedale during the reign of Elizabeth 1st. This research is personal and probably incorrect but I am a fiction writer and it's plausible. At this time the Cistercian Rosedale Priory I wrote about in my previous and unpublished novel, The Rosedale Miracle, had long gone and Protestantism was in ascendant. However, the people of this part of Yorkshire's North Riding were mainly secret Roman Catholics. I can imagine people who are confused and have to watch their step. For instance, did they know about the Huguenot settlers and, if so, what did they think of them? Answers to such questions are what create a plot and characters which are currently taking shape in my head and I am currently doing much background reading about the French Huguenots in England.

Here is a brief account of my personal theory of why some Huguenots settled briefly in Rosedale which I have given to Rosedale's History Society. I am no historian. I have no proof. It is mere speculation which is why I am prefer to be a fiction writer.

So here it is - with footnotes.

The discovery in 1968 of a glass furnace in Rosedale raises more questions than answers. Joseph Hurst[i] has researched the subject and has provided important evidence of the presence of Huguenot glass-blowers from the church records held at Lastingham Church. The site of a 16th century kiln can be visited by following the track that leads from The White Horse Farm Inn towards Lastingham. (A brief account and history, including a walk around Rosedale is available as a North York Moors National Park booklet[ii] and the reconstructed furnace can be visited at The Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole.)

            There is little doubt now that between the approximate dates of 1567 and 1597 several Huguenot[iii] families lived and worked in Rosedale. They did not mix with the indigenous population of farmers and tradesmen and would appear to have disappeared without leaving any trace. Joseph Hurst discovered entries of births, marriages and deaths with French names in the records of Lastingham Church.[iv]

            Why these families moved to Rosedale in the first place is a matter of conjecture. It is true that the locality provided everything they need to make glass. Sand, potash (produced by burning bracken), timber (to fire the furnace) were all available in abundance in  Rosedale at that time. That they were Huguenots is evident in the style of glass produced and the design of the furnace that has been reconstructed in the Ryedale Folk Museum.

            The history of the Protestant Huguenots is complex. Even the origin of their name is subject to speculation. The immigration of Huguenots to England was not straightforward either. The first wave of immigration to England began after their lives in France became intolerable for them, particularly in the wake of the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 and the Wars of Religion that followed.[v] This was the period in which the Huguenots settled in Rosedale. The main wave of Huguenot immigration actually came a century later. Then, most settled in London (mainly Spitalfields) but also in areas such as Macclesfield, where they were also known for their silk-making.

            So why did they come to Rosedale? And why, having arrived here and build a glass furnace, did they leave after a mere 30 years? I can only speculate using circumstantial evidence. So the following, although based on facts, has no corroborative evidence. It’s a theory. No more.

            When Elizabeth 1^st ascended the throne in 1558, The Manor of Rosedale was owned by Charles Neville, the 6^th Earl of Westmorland (who also owned Kirkbymoorside Castle.) A Roman Catholic, he was one of the leaders of The Rising of The North in 1569 (Also known as the Rising of the Northern Earls and the Northern Rebellion). Their aim was to depose Elizabeth, rescue Mary Queen of Scots from captivity and place her on the English throne. The endeavour failed and the leaders arrested and some executed. Neville was stripped of his lands and titles and fled to the continent where he died in poverty.

            In 1576, a Protestant queen was on the throne and the manor of Rosedale was then granted to the Protestant, Ambrose Dudley, 3^rd Duke of Warwick. The elder brother of The Queen’s favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, he was also one of her most staunch supporters. Earlier, in 1562-3 he had commanded the army sent by the Queen to Le Havre to support the Huguenots in the First French War of Religion.[vi] The venture ended in failure and Dudley suffered a severe leg injury which curtailed his career and eventually led to his death 13 years later.

Did that failed venture and his Protestantism, followed by the granting of Rosedale manor (at that time, the whole area was known as a hotbed of Catholic recusancy) make him ponder the possibility of bringing Protestant Huguenots into the area—for the same reasons, perhaps, that Protestant Scots were moved into the north of Ireland?  I am sure that on acquiring the manor of Rosedale he would have commissioned a report on the area and its resources and must have known it would possibly be a suitable area for glass-making, one of the crafts at which the Huguenots excelled. Perhaps he thought he could establish a thriving community of Protestants in Rosedale? Did his continuing ill-health prevent him from following this plan through with sufficient care? We shall never know. But what is known is that Queen Elizabeth was notorious for granting trade monopolies and that in consequence the Rosedale glass-makers would actually have been working illegally.

            Whatever the reasons and however it came about, the glass-making venture did not last. the Huguenots, records of which only last for about 30 years, remained isolated and disappeared without trace. When, in 1592, the monopoly on glass-making in England passed from Jacob Verzelini to Sir Jerome Bowes, the end was in sight as he was far more assiduous than his predecessor in closing down illegal manufacture and trading.

            Ambrose Dudley died in 1590; Queen Elizabeth in 1601. In 1615, James I, concerned by rapid deforestation and the increasing need of timber for ship-building, issued a decree banning the burning of timber, thus bringing to an end any last vestige of glass-making in Rosedale.

---

[i] Joseph Hurst. The Rosedale Glass Furnace and the Elizabethan Glassworkers. 1970. Ryedale Folk Museum

 [ii] In Search of Rosedale Glass

 [iii] The Huguenots were French Protestants who followed the teachings of Martin Luther. Their constant moral battle with the ruling Catholics eventually led to a series of wars during which many of them fled to Protestant countries during the 126^th and 17^th centuries.

 [iv] See endnote 1.

 [v] 23^rd August 1572. King Charles IV of France (some say on the orders of his mother, Catherine de Medici) ordered the killing of Huguenots leaders after the assassination of. Admiral Gaspar de Coligny. This led to mob violence by Catholics. It is estimated that anything between 5 and 30 thousand French Protestants were killed in the ensuing massacre.

 [vi] 1562-1598

So it pleases me greatly that traditional and top-class glass-making has returned to Rosedale twenty years ago with the contemporary glass artists, Kate Jones and Stephen Gillies who feature in the TV show.

Gillies Jones is one of the most celebrated glass-artists in the country and exhibit at many major galleries in  the UK, including The V&A. They are based at what was once the village blacksmiths. If you're lucky, you can see them blow glass but you can always marvel at their artistry and then take a little bit of Rosedale back home with you and follow them @GilliesJones.

Why on earth do people drop litter?

It's been a while.but, take a deep breath FOR ONE OF MY RANTS!

Britain is drowning in litter. It never fails to amaze me that in this modern world of litter bins, those lovely council employees who clear up after us plus all the campaigns and exhortations to keep Britain tidy and to recycle, how many stupid people think nothing of slinging their filthy rubbish about everywhere to the detriment of everyone else. Brainless idiots.

To be fair, the countryside is far less blighted than city streets. But why even think of spoiling one of Britain's National Parks? (or any of them?) Has everyone lost any sense of this country's values?



I mean, why do people take their holidays in such places? It depends on what each particular Park has to offer, of course. Here in the North York Moors, I've nattered on long enough here about its tranquillity, its beauty, its lack of stress and the joys of feeling the wind in your hair, the cry of the curlew, the chuckling of grouse, the tinkling of the becks, the windswept heather uplands; not to mention the roadside verges which right now you can spot wild primroses peeping through the undergrowth - and discarded chocolate wrappers and empty bottles and cans?



Why oh why oh why? Every day I take a walk. Nothing strenuous or painful for me. But I love my series of little walks that show me Rosedale from all its spectacular viewpoints. Only yesterday, I took the walk closest to home - up Heygate Lane and as far as the cattle grid onto the moors - short but steep before turning back.That one only takes me three-quarters of an hour. (Yes, I am very, very  slow because I stop, look, listen and think. It's amazing how often ideas for my writing can pop into my head when I'm walking.) But in that hour what did I find? Apart from pheasants, sheep, rooks, hens and assorted bicycles - a vintage car and a couple of horses - plus an idea or two, I picked up two chocolate wrappers, one empty crisp packet, a discarded bottle of mineral water and any empty can of coke. And it's only April. Come the summer and Annie, our village caretaker will be very busy!

Home Sweet Home - rubbish free.

I took the rubbish back home and disposed of it. However, there is a large recycling bin and plenty of litter-bins in the in the centre of the village (all emptied weekly), not to mention doggy-poo bins. So I won't.

What more do these morons want? Locals with nothing else to do but pick their rubbish up for them?

And the winner is...

...Abbeybufo! Congratulations! (Was it too difficult for the rest of you or did you all fall asleep?) Penguin will kindly wing you a copy your way if you let me know your address by dropping it to me by email  (which is my name - dot -  gmail - dot  - com.)

I also believe we have a mutual friend so you could pass your address to her and she could pass it on to me.

All very cloak and dagger!

So, enjoy a brilliant novel from a writer who understands how love and attraction can blind  us,  especially if the deceiver is a consummate actor and word-smith.

Free copy of THE TUTOR for a lucky reader

IF you love historical fiction, the Tudors, the works of Shakespeare and have a UK postal address -

IF you are prepared to be open-minded about an Elizabethan genius -

IF reading my previous post about THE TUTOR by Andrea Chapin has whetted your appetite, then how about adding a comment below? One lucky person need only answer a simple question (which may involve a bit of delving and guesswork) to win a free copy.


Which of Shakespeare's narrative poems is featured strongly in The Tutor?
I will choose a winner by drawing the names of winners out of my Easter Bonnet on Easter Day. Good Luck!

Here's a clue. 

THE TUTOR. Andrea Chapin

I am breathless, having just finished reading this sumptuous novel which as well as giving us a totally new version of Shakespeare the man, it is also a magnificent account of his poetical genius. But is he as wonderful as he appears?

'Since meeting you, dear lady, I have put quill to page every day. I write and write and write.'

Headstrong young widow Katherine de L'Isle lives a comfortable but solitary existence in her uncle's Lancashire home of Lufanwal Hall until events conspire to shatter her tranquillity. First, the family priest is murdered—for his Catholic sympathies—causing her uncle and protector to flee the country. Abandoned by their father figure, the Lufanwal residents struggle to cope and old rivalries fester beneath the surface. Into this midst of this upheaval, there arrives a new schoolmaster from Stratford by the name of William Shakespeare.

Rude, flirtatious and wickedly witty, Will appals Katherine. Yet the discovery of a mutual love of poetry draws them together and Katherine finds she can never stay away from him for long. First she is seduced by his words, then by his passion. Beneath her excitement, Katherine knows that Will already has a wife. She becomes his muse but will she ever be his true love?

Alone, vulnerable and entangled, Katherine is plunged heart and soul into a passion she cannot control. Meanwhile scandal and intrigue are growing around her family: murder, witchcraft, adultery and high treason loom on the horizon. Worst of all, the more she learns of charming young Will Shakespeare, the more it seems that he is not who he claims to be...

Newly published in the UK by Penguin, it has been already been critically acclaimed in the US. So I am honoured and thrilled to welcome an author new to me of a historical novel that has swept me away and ask her about THE TUTOR.

Welcome, Andrea. How does it feel that your novel that has already been published to acclaim in the USA is now being published here in the UK? Confident or apprehensive?

 AC: I feel excited and apprehensive.  A few weeks ago I did a radio spot here—the audience for which is considered high brow - and before the taping, when we were writing the introduction about my book, the producer said, We have to remember that half of these people will have never read or seen Shakespeare.  I may be wrong, but I feel that is not something that would be said in the same situation in the UK.  So, I’m fully aware that with the book launching in the UK I’m in Shakes-country, which is thrilling and yet anxiety producing at the same time.  The good news is, so far, The London Daily Mail called The Tutor, “hugely enjoyable,” “erudite” and “emotionally intelligent,” and the Hello Magazine Literary Loveliness blog described my writing as “brilliant” and said The Tutor has “politics, religion, romance, and literature, so whatever your favourite genre is, chances are this book will appeal.” While I’m still not confident, and maybe that’s my nature, those early reviews have been very encouraging.

William Shakespeare is many things to many people. Your portrayal of him is both eccentric and fascinating. I found myself falling in love with him like Katherine did! How do you see this enigmatic genius? 

AC: I see him as brilliant, extremely ambitious and fairly narcissistic.  I see him as sexy and seductive.  I see him as the type of person who is hard to ignore and who has an intrinsic need to dazzle, then to conquer and finally to feed on those who might be vulnerable to his charms.  In their review, Kirkus Reviews said: “Shakespeare is, ultimately, a sort of emotional vampire. He requires adoration, and he uses women—many women—as raw material for his art. This is an audacious move, but Chapin makes it real, and the scenes in which Katharine defends Will to her doubting lady friends will ring true to any woman who has ever uttered the words, “You just don’t understand him!” I love the way the reviewer brought the dynamic from 1590 right into 2015.  I wanted to convey a type that we all—or let’s say many of us—have fallen for and who in the end may break our hearts.

I love the witty and intelligent conversations about the art of poetry between William and Katherine. Were they as much fun to write as they are to read?

AC: I had so much fun with the conversations between William and Katharine, and to tell you the truth, most of the time I was shocked when they emerged and would ask myself, Where did that come from? They were some of the easiest parts of the book to write, so they come from deep within me.  I was talking to a friend recently about this, and the only thing I could come up with is that I went to very top-notch schools from 9^th grade on that had been all-male and had just accepted women, become co-ed, so maybe all of Katharine’s ability to express her wit and intelligence came from my not feeling that I could all those years with the male teachers and classes where I was often the only female.  I didn’t even see it or mind it then, but in retrospect, I see why some women prefer all-women schools until they go to university. 

You clearly know the works of Shakespeare through and through. How much background research did you do? Your love and appreciation of his words shine through this novel so you must have done a great deal. I find myself marvelling your use of 'quotes' of his well known (and even obscure) lines. Tell me about when and how your love for the poet, playwright - and the man himself began.

AC: When I was nine years old, my class at my local community school in New Hampshire put on Macbeth.  I was Lady Macbeth.  We built a theatre-in-the-round in the gymnasium, and we performed an edited version of the play.  We loved it.  I’m an advocate of teaching Shakespeare to children—the earlier the better!  I had seen most of Shakespeare’s plays by the time I started writing The Tutor, but while writing it I immersed myself in his Sonnets—spent months with different editors versions and notes spread out before me.  I felt I needed to get under the poetry, deep into it, to be able to have scenes where they spoke about it, and where Katharine acted as his editor. It was daunting—I took one whole summer with the Sonnets, much of those scenes landed on the cutting room floor, but I had to do it, to attempt to understand and to create his writing process.  And the same goes for his narrative poem Venus and Adonis, that racy, juicy, and delicious poem that Katharine and Shakespeare work on together.  I cut over two hundred pages from my first draft—and in that first draft I had fallen in love with the verse, had gorged on it, put much too much of it in the book.  Same goes for the other poets’ work in the book: Ovid, Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser—I had pages and pages of their verse, but had to snip most of it because it got in the way of the pace and the plot.

I have read before that Shakespeare was a Roman Catholic. Have you come across  'In Search of Shakespeare,' by Michael Wood, a well-regarded UK historian? What particular historian or Shakespearian scholar research influenced your novel. 

AC: James Shapiro’s excellent non-fiction book, 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare is what got me started on this journey.  When I read about Shakespeare’s “lost years” in Shapiro’s book, I was immediately and obsessively drawn to the idea of how the mystery of what Shakespeare was up to during those years would be the perfect territory for a fiction writer.  I did watch Michael Wood’s terrific ‘In Search of Shakespeare.” And I read books by other scholars and writers, including Jonathan Bate, Stephen Greenblatt, Charles Nichols, Peter Ackroyd, Rene Weis, two great short books by Bill Bryson and Frank Kermode, and Germaine Greer’s book, Shakespeare’s Wife.  I found a worn paperback on a friend’s parents’ bookshelf that I love, Shakespeare of London by Marchette Chute, published in 1949.

Your next novel? Can you give us some insight into its subject matter. 

AC: I can.  My next novel is called Lord & Lady Strange—that glamorous, golden real-life couple, who glide in and out of The Tutor, are getting a whole novel for themselves and their three daughters.  In 1590, their life seems near perfect, but just four years later all that comes crashing down, and I’m interested in that fall, and the mystery that still surrounds it today.

Thank you, Andrea. It was a pleasure to 'speak' to you. I wish The Tutor the success it deserves here in the UK. ( The Tutor is available now in paperback and e-book format in the UK, published by Penguin.

Waiting

Waiting for Spring to finally arrive. I know that most of you already have daffodils brightening up you garden borders and roads but I live in the north east of England. Our daffs have been raring to go for what seems like ages. Their buds are tipped with yellow but will they flower? They. Will. Not. What are they waiting for?

Waiting for the very first stage of the very first Tour de Yorkshire to race 100 yards from our house on May 1st! We're having a bit of a party. I only hope and pray it doesn't rain. Hooray for Rosedale Abbey. If you're watching on TV, don't blink or you'll miss it. Just think of us next week as they finally resurface the main road through the village in anticipation.

So what else am I waiting for? You name it. I'm waiting for everything to happen. The eclipse this morning was pretty amazing. I have no pics because I only caught a quick glimpse of the actual crescent sun but the way the light dimmed to dusk and I felt really weird was something I'll never forget. (I hear the south of England did not really see it. But here there was only wisps of cloud which soon cleared into a very nice day. Yes, the sun does shine in Yorkshire! (Sometimes.)

No, not the moon, but the sun.

Oh and I'm waiting to see whether the partial I submitted to a certain publisher is successful. No name or details as I refuse to tempt fate. I've had too much bad luck lately to face it again.

Sorry. That's it for now. As you can tell, I have no fascinating facts to reveal. But I'm okay. I am merely waiting for things to happen - eventually. And for out phone to be fixed. As we have no mobile signal here, it's a complete pain in the proverbial.

What do historians think of historical fiction?

I do so admire the historian, Simon Schama.

He has recently written what I consider to be the most balanced and fair article on historical fiction. It was published in last weekend's Financial Times, which, incidentally, and maybe surprisingly to some, has a highly readable weekly arts section.

You can find it by clicking on this link.

On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone for your recent comments on my decision to consider
self-publishing, both on this blog and on Twitter and Facebook. I have gained great support and encouragement. Thank you, one and all. I also have received emails suggesting publishers I could approach. I am seriously considering every option.

In the meantime, I intend to self-publish an anthology of my published stories of which I have all rights, nor any contractual ties. I then plan to self publish my short story writing 'course' which was werll-received when I ran it years ago on my 'elephant' blog. The idea is that if I don't get my knickers ion a twist making them readable and looking okay, I will proceed with my published novels.

As I said, all is up in the air. Nothing has been written in stone.

Crossing the Rubicon

I have done it. What? Political commentators call it a U-turn. Poets might call it a sea-change. To some writers I have betrayed them. To others I have finally seen sense.

Here goes.

I have decided to give up chasing moonbeams. I have given it my best shot but with only one novel published and which sunk without trace, I have decided to give up the unequal struggle and will concentrate on what I alone choose to write (whilst not forgetting the people who might read it), not try to second-guess the fickle market. I will self-publish. Those who want to read what I write can and those who don’t have the choice to ignore me. 

I know, I know. I have pontificated and bored for England in the past why I didn't do so. Of course I was looking for validation. I never did and still don't believe that I deserve to be published. I still maintain that following the traditional, validated path to publication is the best way forward. I still believe in hard work rather than luck and 'who you know.' I will continue to advise every wannabe writer to perfect one's art, style and genre, find the right literary agent, and that, after working with together and forging a close relationship, submits the resulting typescript to the right editor at the right publishing house. 

That is the dream I have been pursuing for over 20 years since I seriously pursued a writing 'career'. I have bored everyone about my halting progress following the distant star luring me on, only to end up with my hubris splattered across the concrete—more than once—on my former blog: The Elephant inThe Writing Room. In fact, my writing career has been nothing more than an exercise in how to do everything wrong. My first mistake was that I started too late in life. Look, I started to study French at Reading University which was when, as I now realise, depression first hit me during which I did secretarial/admin work, realising after two years, it was as boring as hell. I then went back to education with an English BA course at Queen Mary College, University of London, which is based on the Mile End Road. I loved it but spent most of my time eschewing the union bar, assiduously never missed a lecture, seminar or tutorial. I worked in bookshops then became a translator for the Metropolitan Police in New Scotland Yard, then a wife and mother in Yorkshire. Not exactly exciting but I was happy apart from the occasional blip before finally deciding to take up writing. Now at 64, with two adult sons, one lovely daughter-in-law and the brightest grandson in the whole world, of course, the hands of the clock are whirring around like mad. 

Now I can see my 'writing career' for what it really is. Don't get me wrong. I am not bitter or regretful. I believe we are totally responsible for the way our lives turn out. Writing is what I will always want to do and I will continue writing for the good of my spirit and my soul for as long as I can. I intend to keep on well into my dotage.

I have no complaint against the realities of the art as well as the business of writing.  As I said, no-one owes me anything. Times are tough for everyone and rightly or wrongly we live in a capitalist society (although, I hope money isn't the be all and end all of human ambition. Until someone finds a way, we cannot live on words. 

Then again I am eating mine as I type this. 

Books and more books

First of all, I want to recommend The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins who is a new name to me whom I hope to hear more of. If you want to read my review it's a five star Amazon review. Basically, I thought it a fine psychological thriller by an author who knows exactly what she is doing. (It has three first person viewpoint narrators for a start.) In my Amazon review, I also mentioned something that annoyed me about the title: the trend of calling young women 'girls' when they are in their late twenties and thirties with lovers, husbands, jobs or children. I know it can be used amongst ourselves in a light-hearted self-deprecating way but it seems it's everywhere now.

Anyway, I was heartened to find this opinion piece in Publishing Perspectives about this very novel. 
What do you think? Am I behind the times and old-fashioned? (Don't worry, I don't like 'lady' or 'ladies' either.)

I am now reading quite a different novel, Solace by Emily Mackie. I am still in the middle of it so I am unsure of whether it appeals to me. If it does, I'll let you know.

 I have two novels on order I am really looking forward to. They are Kate Atkinson's, A God in Ruins,  the 'follow-up' to the stunning Life After Life and A Spool of Blue Thread by the inimitable Anne Tyler. This said to become final novel. I hope it isn't.

New Year. New Beginnings

Winter is well and truly here. The snow is no more than a sprinkling, fortunately, but it's been a day when I haven't been tempted to venture beyond my four walls. Roll on summer.

But I have news to report. I have finally submitted my manuscript of my finished (I hope) novel manuscript. (working title: The Rosedale Miracle.) That's why you've not heard from me for a while. I'm fine but I have kept my head down. I haven't been blogging. I've hardly been tweeting. I haven't done much in the way of housework. I've been a boring writer with my eyes fixed to my screen and not much else.

I have been reading, of course. But nothing has grabbed me as much as The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton did in 2014 that I blogged about back on the old elephant blog. Here and again here. But then, it is very early: only the 17th day of this year, to be precise.

But it's a good excuse to stick its cover up here again with a suggestion that you buy it especially if you still have Christmas book tokens left. And here's a lucky coincidence. Before Christmas I was asked to vote on-line for my favourite novel of 2014,offering me the chance to win National Book Tokens for £50. Of course, I immediately forget it. I never win anything. Do you? Guess what? I got an email yesterday that I'd won and would I supply my postal address? This very morning I got the modern answer to those old paper book-tokens - a plastic swipe card -  to spend in any participating book-store. Yippee!

What a lovely way to ignore that empty feeling having submitted my novel today my agent. I know I will have to wait some time for a verdict. I feel, however, not so much as if I'm waiting for the jury to return from their deliberations but like an empty-nest mother. I was so fed up with the manuscript. It's taken me far too long and has driven me crazy. I've hated it and loved it in  equal measure. So, today, to avoid twiddling-thumb and mourning, I'm updating my blog and deciding what to do with myself, writing-wise. I will not mention the novel again UNLESS: a) it makes it to a publisher after much revision b) even more unlikely, it is accepted for publication. Otherwise I will not complain, moan or go on about the trials of an ignored novelist or the so-called idiocy of agents and publishers. That's life and I refuse to ever be bitter and twisted.

So how am I going to fill my time?

1. My next novel, of course. I've got an outline in my head and some of it already on file, but not much. It's set two hundred years or so after the one I've just finished, but  in exactly the same place but has more width of focus with scenes in London as well - Spitalfields to be more specific, as we're talking Huguenots.

2. I've signed up for an on-line fiction-writing at an intermediate level in order to improve and a chance to offer my work for the appraisal of a tutor who is a published novelist.

3. I have promised myself to be a better blogger about my writing life. But as I have proved recently, when one is immersed in writing a novel that may not ever see the light of day, it's not that easy to be interesting and informative!

Now I think I'll trot over to Twitter and see who's talking...

My Christmas Message

I am finally drawing to the end of revising my latest attempt at a novel. As you probably know, I only write historical novels. but my WIP is a total departure of period for me (14th century). It is my interpretation of what few facts there are about the small nuns' priory that once existed in 500 yards from home. As I come up for air, I find it's also high time for me to mull over my 2014. And what a year it's been. 

The progress of this novel has been incredibly slow and faltering. far slower than I ever intended. The third stroke I suffered November 2013 affected me in more ways than the first two. First my hands are stiff and uncoordinated and I now type as if I'm wearing boxing gloves which makes for loads and loads of silly typos. These have always been my downfall but now they are even worse. (In fact, I have found that many of the mental and physical ills I have always struggled with, (physical coordination, balance plus reading long sentences as found in writers such as Henry James as well as arithmetic I always had low marks for) have deteriorated further. I also struggle now with areas I have never struggled with before,  like spelling, vocabulary and sentence structure. That is annoying enough but is also compounded by the fact that my brain does not work as quickly or as efficiently as it used to. My brain synapses are made of weak lengths of string and can easily unravel, especially when I am tired. This has resulted  in a rethink of my writing and reading programme. I have had to teach myself patience for myself as well as others and to accept my snail-like progress. I could never undertake NaNoWriMo these days - not that I've ever wanted to. Just as well.

This all makes me think again about Julian of Norwich who has been at the forefront of my thoughts as I wrote the novel. (I'm not a believer in organised religion of any sort. If pressed, I might call myself a Humanist although I have great affection for Quakers.) 

Despite the horrid start to the year, health-wise which continued when Jon underwent a major heart operation six months later. The rest of the year became a slow and wobbly climb-back for both of us but, at last, we are both bursting with plans and ambitions for 2015.

So I shall leave you with this remarkable 14th century woman whose dates are actually later than my novel which is set in the early years of the century and well before the catastrophic Black Death. The novel could have extra-added oomph if I could have mad use of it. Only, one problem with historical fiction is that you can tinker a little when it comes to interpretation and tone but not with facts and especially not dates. 

Anyway, I leave you with my best wishes for Christmas and the New Year and leave you with Julian of Norwich's words I have have whole-heartedly adopted and on which I have based the premise of the novel as well as used as frontispiece. I dedicate it to all you lovely people who read my blog and have supported my over 2014.

"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well"

The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

One of the first Persephone books I ever bought was in the last century. Well, 1999, actually. It was about then they began to re-publish excellent books that had been allowed to go out of print. And what discoveries I have made between there and now; not only fiction, but glimpses into a different world, ranging from novels, both light and dark, cookery books, social history, social comedy, biography - you name it, they publish them. And not only from this side of the pond...

...which brings me to The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. It is now being re-printed as the eleventh Persephone Classic. Looking back, I have a horrible feeling I didn't read it at the time, always intending to do so at a later date. Many I did indeed but somehow missed this one. No longer. And I love it.

So, before I discuss The Home-Maker as a novel with characters, a plot and much to say, please pop over to Persephone Books and take pleasure in everything there is to know about these wonderful books.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958) was born in Kansas was a home-maker (in the UK we use the term, 'housewife') who also added significantly to the household budget by her writing. She was also an advocate of Montessori children's education system. Today, much of what it encouraged is seen as vital and, yes, normal. At the time when this book was written it must have sounded very odd. Not only were children not heard, they certainly weren't seen and more importantly, weren't actually listened to. Even today, it is still rare in many societies.

The society in which The Home-Maker is set  is dominated, as one might expect, by church and chapel and the Ladies Guild. Everyone knows one another and all shop at the department store, Willing's Emporium, which sells everything. Events takes place not long after the end of the Great War.  The novel concentrates on one family: Lester and Evangeline Knapp and their three children, in descending order of age: Helen, Henry and Stephen.

They are a loving couple we are told. As is de rigeur, Lester has a clerical job in the accounts department of Willings. Evangeline cooks and cleans and cares for the children. Helen and Henry attend school. Stephen is not old enough. Although they have enough to eat, they are well-clothed, thanks to Evangeline's talent with a needle and cooker. Only, all are miserable and some have medical problems. Lester loathed his job and is not very good. Both he and Henry have problems with their digestion and must eat bland food. The youngest, Stephen, is even though to be an impossible child, naughty, even wicked. He is prone to outbursts of hysterical crying and fits of wild anger. Even the perfect, clever, efficient Evangeline is always on the go and suffers from eczema.

Of course, there is a major crisis. (no plot spoilers here.) The result is that Evangeline becomes the wage-earner and Lester, the home-maker. And, with a twist at the end, their health and happiness, both mental and physical improve beyond measure. What begins as an emergency measure becomes essential. Many people have seen this as a novel that advocates women's rights, but this novel is as much about men's rights as well. What's more important the main thrust is children's rights.

As Lester thinks it through: "How about the children? Did anybody suggest to women that they give to understanding their children a tenth part of their time and real intelligence and real purposefulness they put into getting the right clothes for them? A tenth? A hundredth!" The living, miraculous, infinitely fragile fabric of the little human souls they live with - did they treat that with the care and deft-handed patience they gave to their filet-ornamented table-linen. No, they wring it out and hang it up to dry as they did their dish-cloths."

I actually find that Evangeline is the least sympathetic character in the novel. Even though she becomes a happy and fulfilled woman, who is also able eventually to love and enjoy her children, everything she stands for is far less interesting and impressive to me than what Lester learns about his children. I also fail to see that the marriage is a truly loving relationship because they never understand the truth of the situation at the novel's conclusion. They both realise the truth of the situation but they do not talk about it together. Perhaps the point is not so much them, but human society in general.

PS. I cared about Stephen the most. To me he is the most interesting, engaging and sympathetic character in the whole novel. Lester notices that, despite his early struggles handling his intelligence, he is the outstanding member of the Knapp family. Many other readers have remarked on the scene where Lester watches him learning to handle the mechanics of an egg-whisk (without any egg). You must read this short section, if nothing else, if you want to understand the beast way to understand children learn without adult intervention (or rather) interference.

I'm up to my ears with revision/editing my WIP...

...but I'm still reading because I can't not read in the same way I can't not breathe.

So, if, like me,  you're interested in anything to do with writing and reading, I would like to recommend Where I'm Reading From by Tim Park. If nothing else, it gets writers and readers discussing, agreeing and disagreeing. I'm all for that.

It's a compilation of articles first published in the New York Review of Books.

Here's the blurb:

"Should you finish every book you start?

How has your family influenced the way you read?

What is literary style?

How is the Nobel Prize like the World Cup?

Why do you hate the book your friend likes?

Is writing really just like any other job?

What happens to your brain when you read a good book?

As a novelist, translator and critic, Tim Parks is well-placed to investigate any questions we have about books and reading. In this collection of lively and provocative pieces he talks about what readers want from books and how to look at the literature we encounter in a new light."

***

If my house had enough bookshelves and I had unlimited time to read every single book published by ONE publisher, that publisher would be Persephone Books.  If you haven't heard of this publisher (if not, why not?) please take a mo and visit the lovely website. You will soon tell if it's your sort of publisher. If you're not, that's fine. But I absolutely adore everything about them. And have lots of its books (all with such wonderful wend-papers, bookmark etc.) My only complaint is that I have never been in the shop and probably will never get there - unless I'm asked by anyone willing to may my travel and accommodation expenses. Well, an old girl can dream. After all, that's one of the reasons  why I love to write fiction. 

Anyway, Persephone Books has ambitions to make one of its most popular titles The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canley Fisher into a best-seller. So, they are inviting readers to ask for a free copy - yes a free copy - and blog about it or tweet about it using the hash-tag (#homemakerbook). They are about to republish it as a Persephone Classic and as an e-book. Why not join in? Your can also join in on the conversation on their forum here. 

So, although I already own a copy and have read and enjoyed it, I am going to re-read it and blog about it. I would love you to ask for a free copy so you can join in the discussion with me. This will probably be in January  2015 at which point I hope to have finally submitted the finished version of my WIP to my agent. If you hear nothing more from me about it, you will gather it will have reached the end of the line. My fingers are crossed as I am an optimist with plenty of plans. But I shall never stop writing and reading.  I may pop into Twitter and Facebook from time to time and am happy to reply to emails from my friends and fellow writers but otherwise I shall be busy writing or, as it's winter, ...