A Thank You

Hello again,

I know, it’s been a while and anyone kind enough to drop by over the past few months will have noticed the tumbleweed so it’s time to spill the beans.     

Last January I posted a blog asking whether it was possible to write fiction and non-fiction and many of you kindly shared your opinions and tips on how to achieve a balance.  Several of these have been adapted over the past year but fiction has increasingly taken a backseat and it hasn’t always been down to a lack of time.    

Although it seems perfectly obvious now, it’s only in the last few months that I’ve realised I actually enjoy writing about my novel’s research more than the fiction writing itself -which is not a good position for any aspiring novelist! And what started out as a side trip into non-fiction blogging has, with the valued support of editors, increasingly turned into a day job.  Non-fiction now fills my thoughts in a way that fiction never did and the more I delve into the history and lives of those around me the more excited I become, leading to what, quite frankly, can only be described as some distinctly nerdish behaviour.   

So whilst I’m excited at the direction my writing has taken I have regretfully decided to archive this blog and would like to say a heartfelt thank you to those of you who have supported me through interview, comment, link or subscription and for the virtual and real life friendships I have made.  All are greatly appreciated and, hopefully, many of you will stay with me as I move more fully into a freelance career. 

In the meantime, however, I will be working towards the February launch of my new website and hope that 2012 is everything that you wish it to be.   

Best wishes

Rachael

Interview with Mike Rendell – Author of ‘The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman’

As more and more of us are drawn to investigate our past imagine how it must feel to inherit a trunk bursting with 18^th Century journals, diaries and personal treasures that belonged to your great- great-great-great grandfather?  It was a gift treasured by author Mike Rendell and he has kindly agreed to share the story behind his ‘Journal of a Georgian Gentleman – The Life and Times of Richard Hall, 1729-1801’.

Hello Mike,

Richard Hall obviously felt compelled to keep a note of family and historical events for future generations and I know you have a love of family history.  Was this inspired by your inheritance or did you already share Richard’s strong family connection? 

 I had a bit of a wobble when I went through the trauma of a divorce thirty years ago but apart from that I have always felt a very strong sense of ‘family’. I remember getting my Gran to go through albums of Victorian photographs when I was 12 years old so that she could identify all these distant relatives who would otherwise be nameless and ‘lost’. I would spend hours going through the papers and always thought I would be a historian and would write up the diaries as a family history. It has taken a long while to get round to it, but I am glad I did it eventually!

You retired from law in 2003 to write his story.  Was this ever an option or was it something that, having gained ownership of the papers, you were compelled to do? 

 I am acutely aware that I am the custodian – and an accidental one at that – of all sorts of family papers. But it is difficult to pinpoint why I decided to write about Richard Hall, who lived in the 18^th Century, rather than about his children and grandchildren whose life in the Victorian era is just as well documented. Indeed I have never even read all the letters from my grandfather from the trenches in the First World War – or those from my father in the Second World War – because they are too personal. They just sit in a trunk …. waiting! The advantage of writing about someone long-dead is that you can be more objective. But it took a long while for Richard Hall to get under my skin enough for me to want to write about him. At first he seemed such a pious prig and it was only when I saw his life in context of my own – the battle to run a business, to bring up kids, to cope with health and relationship issues etc – that I could see that it was a life worth writing up. And yes, writing is a way of making sure the papers are not lost. My children are not particularly interested in family history – or indeed any history – so it is a real problem deciding what to do with the boxes and boxes of papers!

With such a cornucopia of original documentation at your disposal, how did you begin to organise and structure the journal?  

Originally it was a mixture of wanting to understand what all the diary entries meant (and therefore looking them up on the web) and wanting to preserve things for future generations. My mother was coming up to her 90^th birthday and I thought it would be nice to write it as a story for her and all the family – ‘this is where we came from’ – and initially I printed off a single copy and had it properly bound with a leather spine and marbled boards. Then I decided to edit the whole thing so that it became less of a family-based story and more the general story of what life was like for ‘the man in the street’ in 18^th Century England. Unfortunately the mainstream publisher which I had lined up for the project lost interest so it then took a while to come up with a publisher who would do the book ‘my way’. I always hate books with separate plates at the end, referring you back to ‘see page so-and-so’. I wanted the illustrations – and there are hundreds of them – to be spread throughout the book and to enhance the text. But in answer to your question: where did I start? In the middle of course! I hate beginnings – they are always difficult. So I started in the middle and did chapters 5 and 6 and then built backwards and forwards form there. Illogical, but it worked for me!

I love the fact that you have expanded on entries from Richard’s journals to reflect both local and historical events and beliefs of the time.  How difficult was it to find research that actually matched his records?   

Not difficult at all. It was all part of wanting to understand the context of the diaries, by finding out ‘what did this mean, what did it involve, how did it happen, and why?’ The diaries posed the questions and I simply trawled aimlessly through the web, night after night, until I came up with the answers. It was a delightfully unstructured way of doing research. If I got bored I missed it out, and if I liked something I put it in. Simples!

There are some fabulous images of original paper cuts-outs within the journal.  Can you tell us who would have made them and why?

The paper cut-outs were a real bonus. At first I came to the sexist conclusion that they must have been done by Richard’s daughter but now I am fairly certain Richard did them himself. He was a hosier who specialised in embroidery, so fine work with scissors would have been second nature to him. There are about 50 or 60 of the cut-outs, often simple depictions of the world in which he lived. I have no idea why he did them or who he intended them for – they have simply been preserved in a couple of notebooks, inserted one per page. My guess is that he made them for his younger children when he re-married, in just the same way as he drew animals like goats and squirrels to amuse them. Only when I had written the book did I get the chance to research the paper cutting and discovered that there is a long-standing tradition of this in Germany (where it is known as scheren schnitte) and it is still extremely popular in the States, where they have museums dedicated to the topic, along with their own Guild and newspaper.

You have recently given a talk at St Magnus the Martyr in London, the place where Richard worked as church warden 250 years ago.  What was it like literally walking in his footsteps? 

That was a real bonus. It is slightly eerie being in a place and knowing exactly when a distant ancestor was walking in the same place 250 years before. St Magnus is a lovely Wren church by the Thames, next to where the family lived at Number One London Bridge. Nowadays it is fairly ‘High Church’ with incense etc but back then it was far simpler and more to the taste of Richard Hall. The talk was great – after years of running scared from public speaking I suddenly discovered that I love doing it. Talking about the Eighteenth Century has become a passion, and it is one I love to share.

You’re latest project is a Georgian novel set in England, have you now left your ancestors behind or do they play a role in this too?

Ah the novel! I wrote it as an antidote from writing up the diaries because I felt constrained by having to follow the truth all the time! With a novel you can take the story wherever you like, you can decide personalities, events, the lot. I started from the viewpoint of ‘I know these family members, but what if….?’ In other words I used my imagination to fill in the blanks left by the diaries. What if the daughter got pregnant? What if the son was a gigolo? What if mother battled with alcoholism? I kept the dates, and the family tree, but changed the actual names, and wrote one chapter at a time from the viewpoint of each member of the family in turn. As such it is the story of what life might have been like at One London Bridge in the 1700s, complete with all the family tensions which exist within every family. But will I get it published? I don’t know if I will bother. I might publish it as an e-book, but not in actual print. Frankly I have moved on, and far prefer doing my blog on 18^th Century history. This takes up several hours of each day – I just write about the things which intrigue me. Maybe I will publish them as a series of vignettes, I am not sure. If anyone likes Georgian History do have a look at the blog, it’s on http://georgiangentleman.posterous.com

And as for the book, well, I have given myself two years to give it as much of a push as I can, with talks, with the blog etc. My ambition is to get it into paperback, but for that I really need sales to take off. Meanwhile I can see sales clicking up one by one, week by week, on Amazon. I can also sell the books individually when I give talks. It is great fun – you end up knowing each buyer as an individual, and although the book will never make me rich, the feedback is more than I could ever hope for! And if anyone would like to find out more, do have a look at my website which is at http://mikerendell.com  It also gives you an e-mail address which is info@mikerendell.com and I will be delighted to respond to anyone who is interested in the 18^th Century in general, or the book in particular. I find that there are loads of people out there who are Jane Austen, or Georgette Heyer, or Emily Bronte fans, and who want to know what life was like in the Georgian era. Hopefully the book and the blog give some of the answers!

 

Huge thanks go to Mike for giving such fabulous answers and if anyone wishes to have a look at the book for themselves you can find it here http://www.amazon.co.UK/Journal-Georgian-Gentleman-Richard-1729-1801/dp/1846245230

For me it’s a definite ‘keeper’!

Rachael

Behind the Scenes of Elizabeth Bailey’s ‘The Gilded Shroud’

Hello again!

The past few months have flown by in a flurry of late night writing sessions but finally, and I have to admit at the very last possible moment, I posted my submission to the Romantic Novelists Association New Writer’s Scheme.  I’ve slashed, edited and re-written big chunks but one of my biggest concerns lay in making my characters thoughts and values ring true.    So it was with great interest that I read Elizabeth Bailey’s guest post regarding the creation of her new Georgian detective. Ottilia.   I hope you enjoy it too.   

HOW THEY LIVED THEN – DOES IT HELP OR HINDER MY SLEUTH?

Excitement this month as my first historical crime novel THE GILDED SHROUD has just come out in the US.  These days, due to online resources, it can still be bought outside ofAmerica.  This started me thinking about the speed of communication and the global village in which we live in the twenty-first century, as compared with the world my investigator heroine Ottilia inhabits.

She operates with very little of the forensic help now available.  Ottilia’s doctor brother has initiated her into medical lore, so she can read a dead body.  But even this is limited to what was known at the latter end of the eighteenth century.

It is up to Ottilia to notice things.  How the murdered woman’s underclothes have been left in a pile; the position of her dressing robe on the day bed; the untidy shambles of her cosmetic tray.  What do these things suggest?  Deduction is the name of the game.  And that goes along with being a student of human nature.

Old-fashioned detection means asking nosy questions and poking around in places you shouldn’t.  The latter poses no problem to Ottilia.  As to the first, the classes of the era are sharply divided.  But Ottilia has the knack of falling into easy conversation with anyone from high-born to low, and she is canny at extracting information.

A good detective is courteous, adaptable and self-confident, and Ottilia is all these things.  But she can also be ruthless, using shock tactics if she has to.  Again, with evidence thin on the ground and reliant on supposition, Ottilia must force the issue if she is to get at the truth.

When it comes to the authorities, Ottilia is hampered.  As a female, she can’t enter male-dominated domains.  On the other hand, there is a degree of freedom in a world where Bow Street, or out of London a Justice of the Peace, constitute the only competition to the amateur detective.  There was minimal policing, mostly carried out by the militia or, more simply, the local constable.

Of course, women were not expected to be highly intelligent, nor to have abilities thought to be more suited to the male of the species.  Ottilia is therefore unusually clever, but she luckily encounters a man who is not intimidated by her gifts.

Which brings me to Francis and his usefulness.  He and his associates can deal with authority on Ottilia’s behalf.  And when a strong arm is needed, who better than an ex-soldier who knows how to stand to battle?  Besides, she’s a woman – vulnerable at times, and in need of reassurance.  Oh, and a little romance on the side perhaps?

On the whole, I think Ottilia has the necessary resources to overcome the barriers to detection posed by the environment of her time.  Indeed, I’m fast coming to the conclusion that there is very little the era can throw up that she wouldn’t be able to handle!

 I hope readers find as much enjoyment in discovering Ottilia’s talents as I am finding in creating her adventures.

 Elizabeth Bailey

For further information regarding Elizabeth and her new series of books please  go to - www. elizabethbailey.co.uk

Or, if you can’t wait to get your hands on a copy of  ”The Gilded Shroud’ click on the following or visit Amazon and other online stores.

 http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781101541333,00.html?The_Gilded_Shroud_Elizabeth_Bailey

Happy reading.

Interview with Lynn Shepherd – author of Murder at Mansfield Park

It’s a real pleasure to be able to introduce Lynn Shepherd the author of Murder at Mansfield Park to you today, especially as some of you may know her from Twitter.

For her debut novel, Lynn took Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park and turned it into a murder mystery starring her very own thief taker, Charles Maddox, and she has kindly agreed to tell us more.

 

Hi, Lynn, successfully turning a Jane Austen classic into a murder mystery is quite a challenge. How did it come about? And why did you choose Mansfield Park?

I can remember the exact moment I got the idea for Murder at Mansfield Park – it was in 2008 and my agent had emailed me asking what I was working on. I was in the process of replying to him when the title just popped into my head. I knew straightaway that it might be (dare I say it) quite a clever idea – as long as I could pull it off. And that was pretty much what my agent said too! As for Mansfield Park, I first read the book for A level a million years ago, so I can still quote huge chunks of it off by heart. It’s always been Jane Austen’s problem child, and rather a bête noire for me too. I’ve thought for years that there was a funnier, flightier Mansfield Park buried under all Fanny and Edmund’s rather complacent seriousness, and I suppose one of the things my book is trying to do is to be that ‘other’ novel. Or as close as I can make it!

You’ve remained faithful to the language and style of Jane Austen throughout. How difficult was it to ‘channel’ her voice and how different is it to your own?

I had actually done a bit of Austen pastiche for my first (unpublished) novel, so I was able to return to that and use it as the basis for the new book. I did both my first degree and doctorate in English literature, so I approached the task of pastiching Austen in rather an academic spirit. In other words, I wanted to do it properly, if I was going to do it at all. In practice that meant religiously checking each word as I went along – first against any examples of its use in Austen’s work, and then (if it wasn’t there) in works by her predecessors or contemporaries. Even ten years ago that would have been a Herculean task, but now, with so many classic texts online, it was a lot easier. Still quite time-consuming, but at least it was measured in minutes per word, rather than hours or days!

The story is set in 1811, prior to the introduction of the Police Force as we know it, so can you tell us a little more about the role of thief takers and their practices?

There was basically no police force in England until 1829, and it was even later than that outside London. Prior to that, the victim of a serious crime had to rely either on catching the criminal red-handed, or seeing them running from the scene, so they could whip up a ‘hue and cry’ in pursuit. Failing either of these, you could put an advertisement in the papers offering a reward for information, or you could hire someone to find the perpetrator for you. ‘Thief takers’, as the name suggests, were originally men who would track down stolen goods for a fee, though many were not above making a little extra money on the side by arranging for the goods to go missing in the first place! Thief taking was never a very reputable profession, and that was one of the reasons Henry Fielding founded the Bow Street Runners in 1748. They were essentially an officially-sanctioned version of the thief takers, and could be sent out to arrest criminals when a crime was reported to the magistrate in Bow Street. My thief taker, Charles Maddox, is a former Runner who’s now set himself up – very profitably – as what we would now call a private detective.

With many of today’s standard techniques for detection being unavailable, how did you recreate an authentic detective procedure?

I was amazed to find that the Bow Street Runners had actually developed quite sophisticated detection techniques by the end of the eighteenth century. They would question suspects, verify alibis, and even set up identity parades. My personal favourite was the celebrated Runner Charles Jealous, who was said to be able to tell town mud from country mud on a highwayman’s boots! My Charles Maddox is very much in the same mould: alert to the even the smallest physical clues a murderer leaves behind, but relying above all – as he himself says – on ‘logic and observation’.

You must know the plot inside out but how difficult was it to alter in such a way that everyone had a motive or opportunity? And to spread your clues throughout?

That’s the lovely part of writing a detective story – you have to write it ‘forwards’, from the beginning, as well as ‘backwards’, from the end, to make sure as many people as possible could have been in the right place at the right time, and with a viable motive to boot. And yes, I did know Mansfield Park very well, but I’ve deliberately played around with some of the characters and relationships, so that the undercurrents of passion, resentment and jealousy are even more pronounced. And once I had my basic synopsis I had a lot of fun sprinkling clues and red herrings for people to find. In fact I’m really proud that hardly anyone guesses the killer until very late on – if they do at all. That’s the nicest compliment a ‘plotter’ can get!

I understand that Charles Maddox will be making a welcome return in your next novel. Can you tell us a little more about it?

I’m moving forwards a little in time, to 1850, and my literary inspiration this time is Charles Dickens. The book is inspired by Bleak House, but it’s not a pastiche of Dickens’ style – Tom-All-Alone’s is written ‘in my own voice’. And Charles Maddox is indeed making a return, though obviously he’s a much older man now. I called the book Tom-All-Alone’s because that’s one of a list of potential titles that Dickens considered before choosing Bleak House. And of course it’s the bicentenary of Dickens’ birth next year so the timing couldn’t be better.

And finally, now that you have the pleasure of seeing your first novel on the bookshelf, what is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started?

I wish I’d realised how much work there would be in promotion! I wasn’t so naive that I thought that writing ‘The End’ would indeed be the end of it, but I’ve spent far more time writing guest posts, doing interviews, and generally engaging with readers on things like Facebook and Twitter than I ever imagined. But that’s all part of being a writer these days, unless of course you’re such an enormous bestseller that you don’t need to bother. Personally, I really love doing all that, and I’ve met some wonderful people, but it does make for a very big workload – in the last few weeks, for example, I’ve been promoting Murder at Mansfield Park, doing the final edits for Tom-All-Alone’s, and starting the research for the third book. And there’s the ‘day job’ as a copywriter too, which means I have a lot of other deadlines to meet. But then again, would I have it any other way? Absolutely not!

Thanks so much, Lynn. I really appreciate your time. 

And if you would like to find out more, you can find Lynn on twitter as @Lynn_Shepherd or via her website -http://www.lynn-shepherd.com/

Alternatively you can get your mitts on a copy of  Murder at Mansfield Park via the following link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Mansfield-Park-Lynn-Shepherd/dp/1905636792/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309367977&sr=1-2

Happy reading.

Rachael

What did Kent look like in 1769?

It doesn’t look like much on the outside but between two faded red covers lies a beautiful, two inch to one mile, scale map of Kent dating from 1769. 

As a recent donation to Oxfam Books in Tunbridge Wells it’s currently taking centre stage for their ‘local history’ themed ‘Bookfest’.  Running between July 2^nd and 17^th you can vote for your favourite book or go on a tour of the town with Blue Badge guide, Catherine Pitt.  She may even show off some sights that existed at the time of the maps compilation.

Comprising of twenty-five, 51 cm by 41 cm sheets this topographical map, which records the county’s surface features, was originally produced by a three-man team known as Andrews, Dury and Herbert. John Andrews was a surveyor, renowned for his large-scale maps of European Cities whilst Andrew Dury, a London bookseller and publisher, was an esteemed engraver.  William Herbert, another map seller and publisher, held offices at ‘The Golden Globe’ on London Bridge and is probably best known for his series of East Indian charts, dated 1758, which detailed the British Empires rapidly expanding territory. Together they produced many of the most accurate large-scale maps of the period.

The actual surveillance and compilation of the map would have been a costly exercise, involving a number of genteel subscribers, and taken years rather than months to complete.  The landscape would have been recorded using a system of triangulation based on predominant landmarks such as hills and church steeples and the distance would probably have been measured with an odometer – a type of measuring wheel. 

The difficulties in gathering this type of data frequently led to inaccuracies and during the mid eighteenth century prospective map makers and surveyors were offered grants of £100 by the Society of Arts in London for any new County map surveys completed on a scale of 1 inch to the mile or larger. 

The Andrews, Dury and Herbert map was the most detailed and accurate survey of the county available at the time and its popularity is reflected by a second and third print run.  However, not every one was in favour and one contemporary, a Mr Jacob of Faversham, stated that it was full of ‘many errors and false spellings’.  Referring, no doubt to the notation of alternative place names, such as ‘Stobbington or Stuppington’ and  ‘Pating Fostal or Lenham Fostal’ that can be seen throughout the pages.

How an original later came into the hands of Harry Margary in the 1960′s is unknown, but having discovered a gap in the market, he set up a business, still trading today, to reproduce copies of the highest quality.  And it is one of these wonderful facsimiles that the Oxfam Bookshop is now selling to raise funds for the charity. 

A catalogue from a late 18^th Century bookseller named John Robson shows the map retailing as £1-10s new but if you would like to own this copy yourself, you will need to offer Oxfam in the region of £100.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Sandra Cousins, the manager of Oxfam Books in Tunbridge Wells, for allowing me unlimited access to this beautiful item and for granting permission to take and display images. 

I would also like to thank Mr Roderick Barron, a private antiquarian map dealer, for taking the time to patiently answer my questions and for supplying the above information.  His considerable assistance is greatly appreciated. http://www.barron.co.uk/

Further information relating to the above post:-

The comment relating to duplicated or ‘erronous’ place names is referred to on page 186 in Mary Sponberg Pedley’s – Commerce & Cartography : The Making and Marketing of Maps in Eighteenth Century France & England (University of Chicago Press, 2005)

 

 

And you can find out more about the creation of a Hertforshire survey completed by Andrews and Dury in 1766 on page 107 of Hugh Price’s Parks in Hertfordshire since 1500 (University of Hertfordshire Press, 2008)

 

Further information re Oxfam and it’s Bookfest Walks

 

The Oxfam Bookshop can be found at 6 Chapel Place, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN1 1YQ, on Twitter as @OxfamBooksTW or reached on 01892 616269.  For a map please see the following link:-

 

 http://www.librarything.com/venue/50860/Oxfam-Bookshop-Tunbridge-Wells

 

 

For further details of the guided tours by Blue Badge Guide, Catherine Pitt, please  read the following:-

 

http://discoversoutheastengland.blogspot.com/2011/06/walking-tours-of-tunbridge-wells-for.html

 

Rachael

 

Gabriel Tomkins – A Smugglers Tale by Sally Bland

Hello again,

With the August deadline for the New Writers Scheme hot on my heels it gives me great pleasure to introduce a guest post by Sally Bland, the Editor of ‘Snapshots of History’ and fellow fan of Tunbridge Wells. 

Enjoy!

***

Elements of the less-than-Royal Tunbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells is a place most usually associated with respectability and middle class conservatism.   A relatively young town we think of its heyday as the elegant Georgian period – dandies in fine clothes, taking the waters and promenading in the Pantiles.  But there are elements of a darker past that are less well-known.

Gabriel Tomkins, a native of Tunbridge Wells, may have lived during the same time as Beau Nash, but his life took a very different course.  Originally a bricklayer, he began a criminal career leading one of the first gangs of owlers (wool smugglers, thought to be so called because of the owl sounds used to communicate in the dark) in the early 1700’s. 

The export of wool had been made illegal in the 17^th Century in a bid to protect the cloth trade and by 1662 was punishable by death.  The potential rewards were clearly too good to resist, however, and ‘the Mayfield Gang’, led by Tomkins, made lucrative trips to the coast to ‘run’ wool out to the Continent, and bring in brandy and silks.  Quite surprisingly it is thought that the gang had a good deal of support from the local population because of the wide involvement of people in the trade.  Several local farmers were included in the group, as well as labourers boosting their meagre wagers and shopkeepers passing on the goods.  The profits they made also often went back into the community, and during a time of economic hardship, that was not an insignificant factor.  Whilst high society might have the ware-with-all to purchase luxury goods (perhaps it would be some of those same silks that would be paraded around The Grove by the ladies and gentlemen of the area?), many in Tunbridge Wells suffered from the decline in traditional industries.  These included iron smelting and, somewhat ironically, cloth manufacturing.  In addition to the economic benefits, the gang was considered less violent than some of those that operated nearby in Hawkhurst and Goudhurst. 

 That is not to paint too rosy a picture of the Tomkins and his followers.  In 1717 Gabriel was indicted for the murder of Riding Officer, Gerard Reeves, during an affray near Eastbourne, but was later acquitted.  In March 1721 he was shot in the arm whilst taking part in a rescue mission to free other gang members who were being held by armed officers.  His injury did not stop his activities, and later that year he, and his associates, were captured in Nutley on the Ashdown Forest.  Tomkins was sentenced to transportation, but by providing the authorities with information, he managed to talk his way to freedom.

Clearly having learnt nothing from his arrest, he returned to smuggling, and was captured again in 1733.  He gave evidence at an inquiry into abuses in the Customs service, on the strength of which he not only gained his own freedom for a second time, but was given a job by the authorities! Being appointed as a Riding Officer Tomkins would have been responsible for patrolling an area of coastline, keeping a written log of any suspected smuggling going on in the locality, and passing on any information to the authorities.  Thus he began a new career for ‘the other side’, around the same time that Beau Nash appointed himself Master of Ceremonies in Tunbridge Wells.  What Tomkins’ previous gang members (which included his own half-brother, Edward) would have thought about their former leader’s change of path can only be guessed at.  He clearly did well enough at it, however, no doubt aided by his personal experience of smuggling and perhaps also drawing on the organisational skills shown as the leader of the group.  By 1735 he had been promoted to Customs Officer at Dartford and Bailiff to the Sheriff of Sussex.  As such he was responsible for arresting men engaged in very similar activities to those of his own earlier career. 

Whether he was forced out of the role, or the honest life was just not for him, Tomkins’ legitimate employment was short-lived.  He disappeared from his employment in 1741, only to re-appear in the records in his previous criminal capacity.  He tried his hand at highway robbery and in 1746 was tried and sentenced to death for robbing the Chester Mail.  He was finally hanged in Bedford on 23 March 1750, leaving behind him a lesser postscript than other Tunbridgewellians, but having achieved the dubious claim of being one of the first men to bring organised smuggling to the Kent and Sussex coastlines.

Acknowledgements

The above image is taken from a book known as ‘A Gentleman at Chichester’ or more fully as The Genuine history of the inhuman and unparalleled murders of Mr. William Galley, a custom-house officer, and Mr. Daniel Chater, a shoemaker, by fourteen notorious smugglers, with the trials and execution of seven of the criminals at Chichester, 1748-9 -

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22A+gentleman+at+Chichester%22

Finding out more…

There are various reference sources available both online and in Tunbridge Wells library but for a comprehensive insight into the subject you may like to see Richard Platt’s website – http://www.smuggling.co.uk/history.html and his new book ‘Smuggling in the British Isles, A History.’

One of Sally’s personal favourites is also Mary Waugh’s  Smuggling in Kent and Sussex, 1700-1840.

The making of a Georgian or Regency Waistcoat

From 1735 when Richard ‘Beau’ Nash became the arbiter of fashion at Tunbridge Wells, the Chalybeate spring became a true rival to its sister spa in Bath.  Discovered in 1606 when Dudley, Lord North fell from his horse, the medicinal virtues of the spa had been famous for years but under Beau Nash, Tunbridge Wells became a true playground for the rich and famous. 

Taking society under his wing, the new Master of Ceremonies imposed the same strict social rules as in Bath, encouraging the mixing of classes and insisting that life be lived in public.  The Pantiles quickly became a platform for this new way of life and its colonnaded walks were ‘the’ place to see and be seen.  The season ran from April to September and, in order to gain the most from your visit, you had to be fashionable.   And that, according to Jo Wiltcher, manager and costume expert for the Tunbridge Wells Museum, took considerable planning.  

For gents, waistcoats had become a ‘designer’ accessory.  Gone were the days when they were simply a garment for warmth, they were now a way of displaying status, wealth and personality.  The results, as shown in the museum’s world-class collection, could be simply stunning but how were they made? 

During a recent talk, Jo Wiltcher explained how a gent was entirely dependant upon his tailor.  He may have acquired a sense of style or brought silks and embroidered fabrics back from his ‘grand tour’ but it was up to his London tailor to make him look good. He would have chosen an embroidery and waistcoat design from the tailor’s portfolio or possibly, from 1731, a gentlemen’s fashion magazine but then it was up to an army of professionals to make the piece.   

• The silk fabric would have been woven, probably in France,and bought over by a Silk trader.  (Or, if the tailor was willing to turn a blind eye in order to save on costly importation tax, he could source it through a smuggler.)
• A Pattern Maker would create the pattern and a Master Embroiderer would stretch the fabric onto a tambor frame and transfer the pattern onto the fabric. 
•  The workshop Embroiderers would stitch the waistcoat fronts and pockets. 
• A Tailor would make up the back and the lining, whilst sitting in the traditional cross-legged, table-top pose, and the Master Tailor would fit the entire garment to the, hopefully satisfied, individual.  

 The entire process took considerable time and skill and for this reason clothing was expensive.  One of the main, and most exquisite items, in the museum collection is a white satin waistcoat dating from 1742.  It is thought to have been a wedding gift, commissioned by Miss Mary Bridges for her fiancé Mr JosephBeck, and the original tailor’s receipt states a costing of three pounds and three shillings.  That was a considerable amount in Georgian times, equating to 31 days pay for a skilled labourer and the current equivalent of £2,000.  It’s not surprising therefore, that even a wealthy gent had no more than four or five complete outfits for each season and that garments such as breeches and shirts were literally worn out.                

Further Information

Tunbridge Wells Museum currently holds over 7,500 accessories and pieces of clothing dating from the 1700’s to the present day.  Ranging from wedding dresses and babies’ clothes to hairpieces and corsets, the collection is one of the largest in South East England.  Researchers are welcome and you can make an appointment to view individual items by calling 01892 554171 or by emailing them at museum@tunbridgewells.gov.uk

Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks go to Jo Wiltcher, not only for a fascinating talk, but also for her willingness to share her expertise and her permission to display images from the collection.

The image of Richard ‘Beau’ Nash was supplied by Wikipedia

Georgian Grandeur at the Geffrye Museum

If you like having a good nose around somebody’s house, historical or otherwise, then the Geffrye Museum should definitely be on your ‘to see’ list.   

Set within a series of restored 18^th Century Almshouses in Shoreditch, London, the Geffrye Museum is dedicated to the history of domestic interiors.  Covering the 1600′s to present day, it feels like you’re walking through time and, for me, it includes a writers dream, a recreation of a middle class living room in the 1740′s – the era of my novel. 

For Georgians, politeness was far more than a way of speaking and acting, it was a way of life and it affected everything, including the furnishing and use of their homes.  I hadn’t appreciated quite how much this would change the feel of a room, however, until I entered the carefully recreated parlour for 1745.  Based on the first floor, front room of a house in Meard Street, Soho the airy room felt formal and sparse and I immediately found myself standing more upright.  

The panelling is painted in ‘stone’ which, according to the display, is actually a term covering a broad range of commonly used browns, creams and grey-greens whilst the skirting board is brown, in order to cover everyday scuffs and scrapes.  The fashion for green textiles had by now given way to red, yellow and blue fabrics and the use of a horizontal mirror as a light reflector is a relatively new idea. 

The overall appearance is that of constrained elegance and, whilst I am sure the room would have felt more welcoming once inhabited and the candles lit, I could almost feel the pressure to be on one’s guard, to play a certain role and I know I would have rattled my imaginary tea bowl and saucer had I dared to put it down.

By contrast, the parlour for 1790 appears far brighter and more comfortable.  The use of the room was much the same as before, it was still a place to gather, take meals and receive guests but fashion now required lighter, more delicate decoration and the sight of carpet and wallpaper relaxed me no end.  Whether this was because both are familiar, modern-day sights or because they lent an air of cosiness to the room, I’m unsure.  The amount of furniture and accessories used is not vastly different to 1745 but accepted good taste was now about being seen to be ‘neat’, which not only meant being clean and tidy but stylish and bright too.  The resulting effect makes it far easier to imagine playing cards around the central table or gossiping in front of the fire.   

The final display in this section is a drawing room for 1830, which I know is right at the end of the Georgian period but I couldn’t resist showing it to you.  It’s heavy curtains and colour co-ordinated fabrics seemed positively luxurious compared to 1745 and I was almost tempted to change my novel’s timeline so my heroine had something slightly more comfortable to sit on.  But then I thought of the additional research…

Further information

The Geffrye Museum can be found at Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA  but if you are unable to make it in person, please do have a look at their website where you can indulge in a virtual room tour or search their achives and photo library.  

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk - home page

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/period-rooms-and-gardens/panoramas/index.html - virtual tours

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/collections/search-the-collections  - archive search

It’s a brilliant writerly resource and, regardless of your time period, you are bound to find something of interest.  

Happy searching!

Rachael

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the staff of the Geffrye Museum for allowing me to take and use images on this site.

Writing Infidelity and Sod’s Law

Ok, it’s time to come clean. I’m guilty of writing infidelity.   

After a year of late nights and procrastination I managed to submit a partial to the RNA New Writers Scheme.  I received a wonderfully encouraging and helpful report but I haven’t even looked at my ms since August.  It’s been a total no go area. Why? I had totally lost my enthusiasm.  My characters were being stroppy and non-communicative and the plot well, even though I had a synopsis, it was refusing to go anywhere.  So feeling like a total failure, I gave up.  

And then another writing opportunity came along, something new and shiny with the lure of a quick fix and I allowed myself to be seduced.  Nothing else in my life has that appeal; the kids will always need something, well for a long time anyway, the housework will always be there and my husband will always have a demanding job. But this, this other blog, it felt like something I could actually manage.  The advertisement was in my local county-based magazine and I allowed myself to daydream, to wonder… What if I gave it a go?  Could I actually do it?  What would I write about?  

It nagged at me all night and then, shoving my ms to the back of the cupboard, I typed up a quick email to the editor asking for further details and got on with the washing up.  What I really wasn’t expecting  half an hour later was to be signed up and setting passwords. You hear of people laughing and crying at the same time and I never actually thought you could do it, but you can when excitement tinged panic sets in.  I hadn’t written anything in months and now I had my own blog for a magazine, a magazine that people actually read!  

So I write a historical blog for ‘Kent Life’ magazine, focussing on the historical people and places of Kent. And it’s fantastic and I love going out and meeting people for it.  In fact, I think that was one of the things I was missing, my family is amazing, but it feels great to be learning new things and meeting new people.  And it’s led to a whole new field I would never have attempted before, writing magazine features. I have just received my first paid commission and it feels amazing, scary and rather daunting but great.   

So, what’s the problem?  My novel is now desperately trying to pull me back in.  It’s sod’s law, after months of lying dormant my characters are now fighting to be heard.  The question is do I let them and, if so, how do I juggle both? 

Have you ever had to decide what path to take?  Fact or fiction?  Or are you good at juggling? 

I’d love to hear from you. 

Rachael

‘Snapshots of History: Stories from the Past’ – New historical magazine

 

Working full time and in the 5^th year of her University of Kent Literature degree you would think that Sally Bland had enough on her plate.  But, discovering the rarity of publishing opportunities for historical fiction, she decided to set up her own magazine and ‘Snapshots of History: Stories from the Past’ was born. 

Published quarterly the magazine focuses on short stories filled with atmosphere, adventure and intriguing characters and can cover any time period before the end of World War II.  Serials and stand alones have so far been a feature, but having managed to track Sally down for a coffee, I discovered that she also plans to include interviews and extracts of work from published authors such as David L. Young.  Having grown up with the non-fiction author, James Bland, as her father, Sally’s aims to de-mystify the publishing process and to dispel some of the miss-conceptions that many new writers have of the roles that publishing professionals play.

She will also be introducing a Member’s Corner where contributors can share their work, experiences or tips with others and she hopes the journal will become fully interactive with subscribers feeling that they are part of something. 

So, how can you get involved?  Firstly, Sally has set up a monthly competition offering publication and a £10 prize to the best monthly short story submission, (runners up may also be offered publication) and the guidelines are as follows:  

‘All entries should be between 1,000 and 2,500 words on any adventurous theme set out at any time prior to the end of World War II.  Historical accuracy is important in order to create an authentic setting, however, Snapshots of History is a fictional publication.  Subjects such as the supernatural, fantasy, violence and sex can be included, but material should not be too graphic or liable to cause offence in any way.

Stories should be typed on single-sided pages, which include page numbers, and forwarded with a cover sheet with the author’s name and contact details.  Copyright will remain with the author. 

All entries must be sumitted by post and you can obtain the address by emailing Sally at snapshotsofhistory@hotmail.co.uk   Please note that there is £2.00 entry fee (for non-subscribers) which must also be included along with a self-addressed envelope.’  There is no set deadline for submissions as entries will be considered for the next available edition.  

Or, if you would like to see a copy for yourself why not become a subscriber?  A year-long subscription, covering four quarterly editions, is just £5.00 and includes standard UK postage.  Subscribers may also submit entries to the competition free of charge.

Unfortunately, Sally is unable to post the magazine overseas at present but this is something she is looking into and if you have any queries regarding the magazine she would love to hear from you at snapshotsofhistory@hotmail.co.uk

Good luck and I look forward to reading your story shortly.

Rachael