Truth
and fiction – where do they meet for a writer of fiction, especially someone
who writes historical novels? For me historical fact is often the spark that
ignites my imagination and sets me off on a new story, as well as being indispensable
in the writing – I may bend the facts a bit, but I try really hard to make sure
what I write is historically accurate.
That
research led to a serious reference book collecting habit (and to having to
build a library in the garden to house them) and it has also spun over into
writing non-fiction books – Walks Through
Regency London, Walking Jane Austen’s London and Stagecoach Travel (the latest) so far. The Great North Road, the
Georgian seaside and walks in Samuel Pepys’s London are next on the list to be
done.
But
I love that moment when I see or hear or touch something and I know it has dug
into my subconscious and sooner or later it will become a story that I can
weave around a hero and heroine of my own creating.
My
new novel, Beguiled By Her Betrayer,
is out this month and is set in Egypt. One of the joys of holidays for me is
the opportunity for research and this book was inspired by a trip down the who used
it as a pleasure steamer. Amongst his guests on board one winter was Agatha
Christie, making notes for Death on the
Nile. The boat that novel was filmed on is still operating on the Nile too.
I
first got the idea for my Egyptian plot when we were in the temple of Philae
and I saw graffiti in French, high up on the walls. I puzzled over why it was
so high up and why it was in French? The more we looked in other temples, the
more high-level French graffiti we found.
A bit of research revealed that the height was
because many of the temples at the time were filled almost to the roof with sand.
No archaeology as we understand it had been carried out and what lay under the
sand was a mystery so anyone visiting would find themselves standing metres
above the present floor level. The graffiti was in French because these were
marks left by Napoleon’s scholars – Les
Savants – who came to Egypt along with the army in 1798. They were stranded
there, along with the troops, when Napoleon went back to France in August 1799
to seize power as Emperor and they continued with their researches which were
eventually published as the first scholarly work on ancient Egypt.
They,
and the army, were left in a dreadful position by Napoleon – the country was
plague-ridden, they had virtually no supplies and when they wrote for help the
Emperor promised to send them a shipload of clowns, comedians and actors to
cheer them up!
This
example of graffiti is at the temple of Philae. At the top it reads R F
(République Française ) An. 7. This is the date in the Republican Calendar and
translates to 1798. Below are names of some the French scholars and, possibly,
their army escort.
I
was so intrigued by what I found out about les
savants that I knew I was gong to have to write about Egypt at this time. I
wanted an English hero and heroine, and it took some thought before I discovered
what Cleo Woodward was doing, deep in the desert, and why Quin Bredon, the man
she is very right not to trust, is in Egypt
tracking down Cleo and her scholarly father who may, or may not, be a
spy.
I’d
love to hear which places or historic events inspire you most and whether there
are any you would love to read about as the setting for a novel. The author of
one comment will win a signed copy of Beguiled
By Her Betrayer.
Twitter:
@LouiseRegency
1 comment:
The place which inspires me the most is England and the Blitz, concerning Sir Winston Churchill and his strength, determination and grit to conquer the Nazis.
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