Here I get the chance to talk a bit about my writing but particularly about my second novel, Shadows of the Lost Child.
The book is a partly historical mystery set in a town loosely based on historic York, with a time travel angle.
The historical aspect explores the dark parts of Edwardian England, with poverty, prostitution and the pawn shop featuring; not to mention The Keepsake Arms, the local pub, where Miranda works.
We also meet Tom, a local boy, and one of the key characters, who comes from a tough part of town but is plucky, resourceful and loyal to his friends.
Then he meets Alice, and is wary but entranced.
Alice comes from the present day, but Tom doesn’t know that…
On 18 February, I’ll be talking about my latest novel, Shadows of the Lost Child, at Acomb Library, York (UK). As you’ll know, if you’ve visited this blog before today, the novel is set in a fictional city, Curdizan, which was inspired by historic York.
At Acomb Library on 18th, apart from reading from the novel, I’ll be talking about York’s part in the story, including the legends and history of York, particularly focusing on Bedern and Hungate.
If you’re in the area and want to attend, contact Acomb Library on 01904 552651, email acomb@exploreyork.org.uk The event is on from 7-8 pm.
See you there!
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‘No, Mr Jones, they weren’t tourists, or even the kids who live around here. The children you heard were the School Lane ghosts.’
Aleph Jones is one of the main characters in the novel. When writing about his (haunted?) home, I based it on this very real house in the picture below.
Sadly, this house is no longer there, but was once in Bedern, through the arch and not very far from Goodramgate.
Note that there is no suggestion that the original house was haunted!
Sale of Watching Charlotte Brontë Die: and other surreal stories NOW ON!
First of all, I’d like to thank the 925 people who entered the Goodreads competition to win a copy of Watching Charlotte Bronte Die: and other surreal stories. Congratulations to the three winners – your signed copy will be on its way to you soon.
For those of you who missed out (sigh), the e-book version of Watching Charlotte will be on SALE from 4-10 July at just £0.99/$1.69 – a great reduction (79%). Follow the links below for your copy!
Miranda is one of the main characters, and lives at the turn of the century (1900). Tom describes her perfectly here:
‘She looked as wild as she always did, her eyes glowing bright from the moon up above. She tossed her hair and I stared right back…Neighbours and mates, that’s what we were, even though she was all grown up. Miranda Collenge was eighteen.’
Miranda’s ma runs a backstreet pub in Curdizan Low, a poverty-stricken working class area. Life in Curdizan Low was hard.
There were lots of pubs in Curdizan Low, and many of these were actually houses, with a bar and parlour, the parlour being kept for the ‘best’ customers.
More about the pubs in Curdizan (and other real pubs around that time)
People who stood at the bar to drink, rather than sat down, were known as perpendicular drinkers
Some pubs organised a day’s outing, usually in the summer, for regular customers. Miranda’s da ran such events before he died
Music and singing were common in pubs – but few of these pubs had a music licence. The singers said they were paid as waitresses, and only sang to please the punters. Miranda hated the music nights. She thought it made the pub like a brothel
Girls might go into pubs in groups, but a woman entering a pub on her own was considered inappropriate. Serious prostitution was rare in the Low, but some women would supplement an uncertain family income this way. Such women risked their health as well as their reputation, being vulnerable to pregnancy and STDs. There were also very few places to go, as working class life was naturally communal and houses and rooms were often crowded
Opening hours were different to now. Pubs might be open early in the morning, and it wasn’t just adults who went into pubs. Kids would hover on the pavements outside, and sometimes go in, to get a jug of ale for their da
If your family, like Miranda’s, ran a pub, you could be helping out at the bar, standing on a chair or a box if necessary, well before you were eighteen
In Miranda’s pub, the Keepsake Arms, her mother displayed a boot on a shelf – in past times, a shoe was meant to ward off evil spirits when a building was constructed. The story of the boot in Shadows of the Lost Child is complex – you’ll have to read the book to learn more, but my original idea of the boot came from reading about a real pub called The Golden Slipper. It was previously called The Slipper, and before that The Shoe; and in the 1980s a mediaeval leather shoe was discovered during building renovations. Strangely enough, the pub’s name is believed to have come, not from a shoe, but from the name of a greyhound!
The Golden Slipper is a pub in York, and although the fictional city, Curdizan, draws on aspects of York for its history, the Keepsake Arms was NOT based on the Golden Slipper or any other actual pub. I’ve haven’t yet been in the Golden Slipper, which is not that surprising given that York has over 300 pubs!
The Golden Slipper website also tells us this interesting fact. In the front lounge, visitors can see where a ‘Coffin Drop’ was located, the ceiling being lower here. In past times, this was to allow bodies to leave the building via a side passage, as it was thought unlucky for a body to be taken through the front door.
Rowntree, B. Seebohm, Poverty: a Study of Town Life, Macmillan, 1903
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