Helen Spring's Book Shelf
Where I chat about history, my books and writing in general, and air snippets about the writing life
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
The Next Big Thing
THE NEXT BIG THING: AUTHORS TAGGING AUTHORS!
I am really pleased to be taking part in The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!
I was tagged by my really good friend, author Judith Arnopp and
it's my pleasure to keep this going.
So, what I have done is answer the questions below, tag a new set
of authors, then they answer, tag authors, etc. I’m answering questions about my next novel, ‘Victoria’s
Link,’ which I am still working on and which I hope will be completed by the
Spring.
What is the working
title of your book?
The title ‘Victoria’s
Link’ has arisen naturally because this book is a sequel to ‘The Chainmakers’,
a book written a few years ago, and it continues the chainmaking theme.
Where did the idea
come from for the book?
So many people seemed
to enjoy what happened to the family in The Chainmakers, and wanted to know
what happened next. On the last page
of ‘The Chainmakers’ Victoria is a
new baby, and so it seemed logical to
explore her youth, as she would be 18 at the outbreak of the Second World War,
and so lived through exciting times. I have long distance hopes that there may
be a third book entitled ‘Final Forging’ set in the sixties...we shall see!
What genre does your
book fall under?
It is Historical Fiction set in World War 11, with big dollops
of romance and adventure.
What is the one
sentence synopsis for the book?
Rich young woman, trapped in occupied Rome, is forced to
question her values, but discovers only love can provide the answers.
How long did it take
you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I am still writing the first draft , but the research took
about two years on and off. When the first draft is finished there will still
be a lot of re-drafting and editing to do.
Which actors would
you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
A movie! What a lovely thought. I am not very
good at remembering the names of actors but I will give it a shot. Keira
Knightley would make a lovely Victoria, beautiful but able to portray some true
grit when required... and for her brother James (who is slightly flaky but
decent underneath it all) I think Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley in
Downton Abbey would be superb. I must have Colin Firth to play Guy, Victoria’s
love interest and good egg, and there is an Italian Mafia character named
Giorgio who is handsome but controlling, and I think Jason Isaacs would be
brilliant in that role. Pam Ferris (who
plays Laura Thyme in Rosemary and Thyme) would be ideal as Victoria’s older friend
Guiditta. My! What a sum all those names would cost! And what a movie they
could make!
What other books
would you compare this story to, in your genre?
I’m not sure. There
are lots of war books around, but the occupation of Italy isn’t covered particularly
well, unless you count classics like Hemingway’s ‘A Farewell to Arms’, and that
doesn’t really count because it is written from the male point of view, as
indeed are most books about the War. Louis de Berniere’s lovely ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ deals
with the effects of occupation in the island of Cephallonia, but I would not
put myself in such august company as these!
What else about the
book might pique the readers’ interest?
I think there has been very little written about the
occupation of Rome, and one incident there (the Ardeantine Cave massacre) is
very little known outside Italy, largely because when it happened was also the
time of the Normandy landings, and so there was little newspaper coverage at
the time.
I would also hope the privations endured in Rome during the
occupation would be of interest, and the wonderful work of the doctors and
medics to repatriate the wounded Allied soldiers. The book moves to New York
for the second half, and explores the society there as the war comes to an end
and the soldiers come home.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey |
Legend has it that a hermit monk named Theoc (from whom it is thought
Tewkesbury was named) lived on the site of the Abbey as early as the 7th
century. Theoc was therefore preaching the new message of Christianity here at
the same time as Cuthbert and Wilfred were preaching in the north, and when the
Venerable Bede was a boy at Lindisfarne. There is a large stone beneath the old
yew trees in front of the Abbey known as Theoc’s stone, on which he is said to
have stood to preach to the local people.
Whether or not the legend of
Theoc is true, there was certainly a small Saxon monastery here in the 8th
century, which was destroyed by Danish raiders, and it was almost 300 years
later in 1087 that Robert Fitzhamon, a
kinsman of William the Conqueror, founded the great Norman Abbey which we see
today, for an order of Benedictine monks. He engaged Giraldus, ( the Abbot of Cranborne who was
anxious to extend his dominion) as the first abbot. It was a marvellous
construction, and when Robert Fitzhamon died in 1107, as a result of wounds
received at the siege of Falaise, his son- in- law Robert Fitzroy, (an
illegitimate son of Henry 1st ) continued the building until the
completion of the Norman phase and its consecration in October 1121.
Mediaeval tomb |
Tewkesbury Abbey became one of the richest
monasteries in England, largely due to the powerful mediaeval families
associated with the Abbey prior to the Dissolution. The lavishly decorated
tombs and chantry chapels which still survive from that period give us a
glimpse of the wealth and influence of these families. One tomb of particular
beauty and interest is that of Simon de Despenser, who was the favourite of
King Edward 11. Edward was imprisoned in a hole in the ground in nearby
Berkeley Castle near Gloucester, before being murdered in a particularly
horrifying way, and his favourite Simon de Despenser was also killed in a
barbaric fashion before being given an honoured and beautiful resting place.
When Henry VIII undertook the dissolution of the monasteries, Tewkesbury was high on his list.
All the monastic outbuildings were demolished, the monks killed or chased away,
and the Abbey stripped of its moveable treasures. To the everlasting credit of
the people of the town, they somehow managed to scrape up the magnificent sum
of £453 to pay off the soldiers and save their church building. It is still the
second largest parish church in England, larger even than 14 of our cathedrals,
and it also boasts the highest Norman tower in England, and still dominates the
beautiful Gloucestershire countryside which surrounds the town.
Stained glass window |
Tewkesbury Abbey has
survived fire, the bloody battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, several periods of
reconstruction, and the Dissolution, and it is nothing short of a miracle that
it has survived in such a complete state. The Norman west front is particularly
fine, as is the impressive nave and the beautiful Romanesque tower. A series of
14th century radiating chapels surround the high altar, and one of
the country’s finest examples of mediaeval stained glass still decorates the
windows in the chancel.
The nave |
The pure Norman
architecture remains almost untouched. Although the original timber vaulted
roof was replaced around 1340 by a splendid lierne vault, it does not detract
the eye from the 14 massive Norman pillars which dominate the nave. Each is
over 30 feet high and several feet thick, and their stark unadorned majesty
seems to epitomise the resilience and grandeur of the Abbey, and the calm
dignity with which it has withstood the turbulence of the passing centuries. It
is a place of timeless beauty.
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