Pam Lecky's Blog, page 19

#Review | Footprints in the Sand (The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #2) by Pam Lecky #FootprintsInTheSand #TheLucyLawrenceMysteries @pamlecky

Chicks,Rogues and Scandals

Hello Sunshines! I am super excited to be sharing my review of this amazing book with you all; Footprints In The Sand by Pam Lecky, this is the second book in the; Lucy Lawrence Mysteries and I absolutely love it. Go on then grab that cuppa and enjoy,  I hope you will love it as much as I do!

Footprints in the Sand by Pam Lecky

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Series: The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #2

Format: ebook/ paperback

Cairo 1887: A melting pot of jealousy, lust and revenge. Who will pay the ultimate price?

Lucy Lawrence throws caution to the wind and embarks on a journey of self-discovery to the land of the pharaohs.

Travelling to Cairo as the patron of the charming French Egyptologist, Armand Moreau, Lucy discovers an archaeological community plagued by professional rivalries and intrigue. It is soon apparent that the thriving black market in antiquities threatens…

View original post 849 more words

Footprints in the Sand (The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries Book 2) by Pam Lecky – Review

@DavidsBookBlurg Review of Footprints in the Sand.

David's Book Blurg

Today I’m going to be reviewing Footprints in the Sand (The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries Book 2) by Pam Lecky.

Here’s the blurb

Cairo 1887: A melting pot of jealousy, lust and revenge. Who will pay the ultimate price?

Lucy Lawrence throws caution to the wind and embarks on a journey of self-discovery to the land of the pharaohs.

Travelling to Cairo as the patron of the charming French Egyptologist, Armand Moreau, Lucy discovers an archaeological community plagued by professional rivalries and intrigue. It is soon apparent that the thriving black market in antiquities threatens Egypt’s precious heritage.

When the Egyptian Museum is burgled, Lucy is determined to solve the case, much to the annoyance of the local inspector of police, and the alarm of Mary, her maid. But when an archaeologist is found murdered in the Great Pyramid, Lucy is catapulted into the resulting maelstrom. Can she keep her wits…

View original post 486 more words

New Release from Catherine Kullmann – The Potential for Love

 

Hi Pam, and thanks for inviting me to come and talk about my new book. The Potential for Love. It is set in England in 1816, and is a love story with a difference.

Where a modern woman must balance the demands of her career and her relationships, for a Regency woman they were one and the same thing. Until she married, she was expected to live with her parents, generally with very little real independence. Only through marriage could she attain a certain autonomy and control of her life, but only provided she made the right choice of husband. That is, if she had a choice; for many women, like Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice who accepts Mr Collins solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, any husband is better than none.

[image error]Arabella Malvin, the heroine of The Potential for Love, has a choice. Tired of the life of a debutante, waiting in the wings for her real life to begin, she is ready to marry but, “Marriage was not without its dangers. A wife was a ‘feme covert’, a woman whose very being or legal existence was suspended, and incorporated and consolidated into that of her husband. All she owned would become his—she would become his in the eyes of the law.” Arabella doesn’t want “to be my husband’s satellite, subservient in all things.” But how is she to find a man who will agree to the type of marriage she wants, one of love, laughter, and a bond that was much more than two signatures on the marriage register?

Embarked on her fourth Season ( I suppose a modern parallel would be her final year at university), Arabella finds herself courted by different men, including Lord Henry, the younger brother of a Marquess, Stephen Naughton, an up and coming Member of Parliament and the rector’s son, and Thomas Ferraunt a major newly returned from occupied France. Each offers a different future. Will she decide for the glittering life of the ton, a future as a political hostess or a quieter, provincial life—comfortable but not wealthy— with Thomas?

As she struggles to make her choice, she is faced with danger from an unexpected quarter while Thomas is stunned by a new challenge. Will these events bring them together or drive them apart?  Will Arabella be able to combine career and marriage?

The Potential for Love is available now from Amazon as eBook and paperback. http://mybook.to/ThePotentialForLove. The paperback can also be ordered from all good bookshops.

[image error]Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector.

Catherine has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. Her books are set against a background of the offstage Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society. She also blogs about historical facts and trivia related to this era.

You can find out more about Catherine’s books and read her blog (My Scrap Album) at www.catherinekullmann.com or follow her on Facebook at fb.me/catherinekullmannauthor or Twitter: https://twitter.com/CKullmannAuthor

New Release from Anna Campbell: The Highlander’s English Bride

It’s always a treat to hear about Anna’s books, so I am delighted today to bring you news of her latest which is released tomorrow. To whet your appetite, Anna is going to tell us all about the setting for The Highlander’s English Bride. Take it away, Anna!

 

The Setting for The Highlander’s English Bride by Anna Campbell

I’m an Aussie who has always had very itchy feet. The last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to do a big European trip, involving extended stays in the UK. This year, for various reasons, I was unable to make it – and as it’s turned out that with the world going mad around me, I’m very glad that’s the case! I’m hoping that by next year, things will have settled down again and I can go back to being a globetrotter.

One of the nice things about being a writer is that at least we can visit exotic foreign lands in our imagination.  It’s not quite as good as going there, but it comes a close second!

[image error]The Highlander’s English Bride, book 6 in my Lairds Most Likely series, comes out on 30th March and writing it allowed me to spend time (at least in my head!) in two of my favourite places. London and the beautiful west coast of Scotland.

The hero and heroine of this story move in scientific circles and the book opens in a grand country manor not far from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Originally, those opening scenes were set at the Royal Observatory, where my hero is announcing the discovery of a new comet. Although I haven’t visited the site, I spent a lot of time on-line working out the practicalities.

Unfortunately, after deciding the internal configuration of the Octagon Room was perfect for my story, I then checked the outside view and realised that if I wanted my hero and heroine caught up to no good in the gardens, the Octagon Room was of no use to me whatsoever. It was upstairs. Sigh. If London society was to discover Hamish and Emily sneaking past the reception room, my protagonists would need to have wings. Thank goodness for plan B which was to invent a house perfect for my needs, although I must admit to a pang when I had to ditch all that wonderful research.

We then move to Bloomsbury and Mayfair. I’ve always had a great fondness for Bloomsbury, not just because of its intellectual connections, but also because it was the first place I stayed in London. But Bloomsbury then and now can’t compete with Mayfair’s fashionable status. It seemed a nice way to compare and contrast my middle-class heroine with my aristocratic hero.

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The second half of the book is set on the west coast of Scotland, north of Oban, which is when I let my yearning for the Highlands take over. I’ve visited Scotland many times, and for the last three years, I’ve done a long writing retreat on the beautiful island of Eigg, just south of the Isle of Skye. It nearly broke my heart to have to cancel this year’s visit, but I’m already booked for next year. I’ve included a couple of photos so you’ll understand my pain!

While Hamish’s estate, Glen Lyon, is on the mainland, I borrowed many things from Eigg for my descriptions. Not least the way the stars burn so large and clear in the sky. In the Hebrides, the light pollution is so low that on a fine night, you feel like you can see to the edges of the universe. When it’s a full moon, the light is bright enough to keep you awake. In fact, the pollution is so low altogether, that the air is like cold champagne. It’s far enough north that most years, they can see the northern lights. A gorgeous part of the world.

Hamish builds an observatory in an old peel tower on his estate – these Dark Ages defensive structures are more a feature of the Borders than of the Highlands, but I’ve always wanted to feature one in a story since I heard about them in grade eight history. I also interweave elements of the strong Viking influence in this part of the world into the story’s background. Norsemen were up and down this coast for hundreds of years, and they left their mark in place names, in surnames, and in local genetics. When longships are cutting edge technology, the Hebrides move much closer to the centre of the world than they’ve since become in our age of land travel. Hamish is a descendant of Viking raiders and looks like it – I had Chris Hemsworth in mind when I wrote him!

[image error]The Highlander’s English Bride ends up in a manor house based on Inveraray Castle, the Campbell clan seat. Beautiful grey stone with gothic windows in the Scottish baronial style. There’s even a little china cabinet room like the one at Inveraray. And like Inveraray Castle, Lyon House overlooks a beautiful sea loch. After their many trials and tribulations, it was a pleasure to settle Hamish and Emily there to enjoy their happy ending. Perhaps they’ll invite me to tea next time I’m in the neighbourhood!

I’m drawing to the end of my Lairds Most Likely series – there’s The Highlander’s Rescued Maiden and The Highlander’s Christmas Lassie left to come, before I move back to Mayfair in a much more dedicated way for my next series. It’s been wonderful timing revisiting my memories of the glorious Highlands while I’m stuck at home as Australia goes into lockdown!

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Blurb:

An impossible pairing…

Hamish Douglas, the mercurial Laird of Glen Lyon, has never got along with independent, smart-mouthed Emily Baylor. Which wouldn’t matter if this brilliant Scottish astronomer didn’t move in the same scientific circles as Emily and if her famous father wasn’t his mentor. But when Emily looks likely to derail the event which will make Hamish’s career, he loses his temper with the pretty miss and his recklessness leaves her reputation in ruins.

A marriage made in scandal…

Emily has always thought her father’s spectacular protégé was far too arrogant for his own good. But what is she to do when the only way she can save her good name in society is to wed the unruly laird? Reluctantly she accepts Hamish’s proposal, but only on the condition [image error]that their union remains chaste. That shouldn’t be a problem; they’ve never been friends, let alone potential lovers – except that after they marry, Hamish reveals unexpected depths and a host of admirable qualities, and he’s so awfully handsome, and now the swaggering rogue admits that he desires her…

From the ballrooms of London to the grandeur of the western Highlands, a battle royal rages between these two strong-willed combatants. Neither plans to yield an inch – but are these smart people smart enough to see that sometimes the greatest victory lies in mutual surrender?

 

Social media links:

Website is www.annacampbell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaCampbellFans/?pnref=lhc

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-campbell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/296477.Anna_Campbell

Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Campbell/e/B002NKV1HQ/

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084WSDY2Y/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084WSDY2Y/

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B084WSDY2Y/

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-highlanders-english-bride-the-lairds-most-likely-book-6/id1499652346

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-highlander-s-english-bride-the-lairds-most-likely-book-6

About Anna Campbell:
[image error] Photo Credit: Robyn Hills http://www.robyngraphs.com.au

I live on the east coast of Australia and I write historical romance for a living. So far, I’ve had 35 books released, a mixture of traditionally published titles with Harper Collins and Hachette, and my indie releases which have included two substantial series, The Dashing Widows and The Lairds Most Likely. Writing full-time is a dream come true. I was the kind of kid who always had her nose in a book – I still do when I get the chance! So producing stories for people from all around the world to read is my definition of the perfect job. To date, my books have been translated into 24 languages, which proves that love really is the universal language! At present, I’m winding up the Lairds Most Likely series which began in 2018 with The Laird’s Willful Lass. After The Highlander’s English Bride, I’ll release The Highlander’s Rescued Maiden and a Christmas story called The Highlander’s Christmas Lassie. In 2021, I’m planning on returning to London and society glamour and scandal with a brand-new series that I’m really excited about. Watch this space!

A Conversation with Author Tonya Mitchell

This evening in the Library we have ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Tonya Mitchell who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into her life as an author.

Thank you, Pam. I’m a great fan of your books. I’m thrilled to have found your Lucy Lawrence series.

Thank you! You are very welcome Tonya, please introduce yourself: 

[image error]I received my BA in journalism from Indiana University. My short fiction has appeared in The Copperfield Review, Words Undone, and The Front Porch Review, as well as in various anthologies, including Furtive Dalliance, Welcome to Elsewhere, and Glimmer and Other Stories and Poems, for which I won the Cinnamon Press award in fiction.

I am a self-professed Anglophile and I am obsessed with all things relating to the Victorian period. I am a member of the Historical Novel Society North America and reside in Cincinnati, Ohio with my husband and three wildly energetic sons. A Feigned Madness is my first novel.

Which genre do you write in and what draws you to it?

I read voraciously as a child. There was never a time I wasn’t reading something. When I was eight-years-old, I told my mom I wanted to write a book. I had no idea what I wanted to write, mind you, I just knew I wanted to write books. I cherish To Kill a Mockingbird to this day. I still remember the first time I read it, the colour of the couch, the way the sun shone through the window. But it wasn’t until I read Jane Eyre in high school that I really started gravitating to historical fiction. History fascinates me in ways few other things do. It’s so intriguing, because as a reader I’d think: Wow, things were really like this? How did these people cope? How did they survive? I love seeing characters in those tight spaces, battling it out with the cultural beliefs, social mores, and injustices of their time—particularly women, who had so little power. I think I became a lover of all things British when I started reading—devouring actually—Agatha Christie novels. The combination of mystery inside, oftentimes, an English manor house hooked me every time. And who doesn’t love Miss Marple?

Are you a self-published/traditional or hybrid author?

I’m lucky enough to be traditionally published by a small press. My debut will be out this fall. I wanted to go the traditional route simply because I wanted to walk into a bookstore one day and see my book there. That’s been a dream for as long as I can remember. Getting published was a hard road for me, though. I had lots of fits and starts along the way, lots of imposter syndrome. I’d read an excellent book and think: How the hell can I do this? Who am I kidding? There have also been changes in the publishing industry that have made it harder to get published traditionally. The Big Five in the US tend to see debut authors as a huge risk, so if you don’t stand out from the get-go, and I mean stand out amongst the brilliant, already-successful authors with big followings, chances are you won’t get far. It’s very competitive.

Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?

In a nutshell, the authors who were writing what I most wanted to read. After Jane Eyre, I began looking for other dark stories: Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Bram Stoker. At some point along the way, I figured out that gothic was really what I loved. From there, I went on to read Shirley Jackson, Margaret Atwood, and Laura Purcell. If there’s something dark and murky about it, something uber twisted, chances are I’m going to love it. What that says about my mental state, I’m not sure

A Conversation with Author Delphine Woods

Today in the Library we have ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Delphine Woods, who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into her life as an author.

[image error]You are very welcome, Delphine, please introduce yourself:   

I’m a Shropshire based author of historical fiction. When I was a teenager, I had my heart set on becoming an actress, but after my first year at drama school, I decided the lifestyle wasn’t for me. I’m too much of a home bird! After wondering what to do for a while, I decided to join the Open University. I studied a variety of modules including creative writing, medicine through history, and children’s literature, and graduated in 2016.

Whilst studying and travelling Europe, I began writing novels. My first novel was a contemporary romance, and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the process (and knowing I could actually write a full novel), the genre didn’t ignite my passion. History is what I love – Victorian history in particular. After a couple of years writing and learning as much as I could about self-publishing, the first novel in my Convenient Women Collection went live in August 2019. There are now five books in the Collection, and I will be publishing the first book in a new, time-slip series soon.

Which genre do you write in and what draws you to it?

I find it a little hard to define my genre. My books are gothic historical mystery-thrillers, with a dash of romance (although very few romantically happy endings occur). I love gothic texts, with wild landscapes and unstable minds, and these themes are prominent in many of my stories. Undoubtedly, there is a feminist slant to my work, and often I depict the horrific ways women have been treated in the past. I like to make my women fight back, in whatever way they can.

Are you an avid reader? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?

Who doesn’t love a good book? Some books just grab you from the start and won’t let go. I am quite a slow reader, I can’t read a book in a day, but I know one has truly given me the bug when I can’t stop thinking about it.

I tend to stick to my favourite genres. Those are, of course, gothic and/or historical fiction, but it is nice to escape into some light-hearted romance once in a while. I’m not all doom and gloom! I also enjoy psychological thrillers and I am fascinated with the human mind and what makes people tick.

Do you have a favourite time of day to write?

My routine varies with each book and my state of mind. I used to like writing first thing in the morning, but that was before I had to keep up with emails. I tend to reply to emails and write newsletters when I first arrive at my work space. Late morning and early afternoon I write my novels, at the moment, anyway. I most definitely cannot write at night. I clock off no later than 6pm and cherish my peaceful evenings with my husband. The same goes for the weekend, although as any writer knows, the mind never really stops plotting and planning.

If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?

I have always thought I would like to be a psychologist. However, in reality, I’m not sure how good I would be. Working in a living museum has appealed to me too, as has becoming a dog trainer!

If a movie was made of one of your books, who would you like to play the lead roles?

I actually had an actor in mind as I wrote The Promise Keeper. The main male character is called Tom Oliver, and I would want the beautiful Douglas Booth to play him. Tom has Douglas’ full lips, his dark hair, his chiselled jawline, and his brooding sense of danger. I didn’t have a specific actress in mind when I wrote Liz, the female lead, but I think Holliday Grainger would be a good fit because of her beauty and poise – I loved her as Lucrezia in The Borgias.

You have been chosen as a member of the crew on the first one-way flight to Mars – you are allowed to bring 5 books with you. What would they be?

Firstly, there is no way on earth you would get me into that spaceship! I hate flying at the best of times, but, my five books would be … Gosh, this is hard! First up, it has to be Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, my all-time favourite novel which inspired me to write Victorian gothic novels. Second, I would chose Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase because even now, two years after reading it, I can still step into the larder or onto the cliff edge. Philippa Gregory’s The Queen’s Fool would be third. It has been years since I read this book, but the opening scene hooked me straight away, and I still think about bats flying amidst the orange trees at the Alhambra Palace. Fourth, Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White because Sugar is my favourite ever literary character, and Ramola Garai played her so well in the TV mini-series. Finally, I’m going to throw something lighter into the mix because Mars would be pretty hard work. I Love Capri by Belinda Jones is a summer rom-com which has been on my mother’s bookshelf for over a decade and has been flicked through too many times! We all need a bit of love and sunshine!

Please tell us about your latest published work.   

[image error]The last book in my Convenient Women Collection is The Little Wife. Set in 1875 in an isolated Scottish castle, this book has murder, intrigue, sexual tension, and a fight for survival.

When Beatrice Brown’s husband is duty-bound to return to the ominous Dhuloch Castle, she has no choice but to leave her home and go with him. The journey to the Scottish Highlands is nerve-shattering for Beatrice, and life in such a desolate place is no better. All she wants is to go back to England, back to her old, boring life.

As she struggles to cope with the isolation and her husband’s cruel nature, Beatrice finds comfort in the only friendly face, the castle’s mistress, Clementine Montgomery. Soon, the two embark on a passionate affair. With Beatrice’s desires and vibrancy reawakened, she begins to wonder what her husband is hiding. Why did he flee the castle all those years ago?

Something evil lurks inside Dhuloch’s walls. It will not rest until it has blood.

Will Beatrice have the strength to uncover the truth before the castle claims its next victim?

Every book in this collection is a standalone and can be read in any order. If you want a taste of my work for free, join my newsletter and you will receive the Convenient Women Collection novella, The Butcher’s Wife, to whet your appetite.

Buy Link for The Little Wife

 

If you would like to know more about Delphine and her work, please check out her links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordelphinewoods/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorDelphineW
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delphinewoodsauthor/
Website: https://www.delphinewoods.com/

Amelia Edwards: A Victorian Trailblazer

[image error]Amelia Edwards was a fascinating woman who popped her head above the parapet of  convention and made a real impact in her own lifetime. And this was an era when women were supposed to stay at home and not be noticed. Not only did she support herself with her writing, both as a novelist and  journalist, but she fell in love with Egypt and the consequences were absolutely wonderful.

[image error]Inclement weather during a hiking holiday in France, and a pioneering spirit, led Amelia to Egypt in the autumn of 1873. Mere chance, but it changed her life completely. Already an experienced travel writer, she took to the land of the pharaohs with a passion and wrote about her experiences in A Thousand Miles Up the Nile.

I came across the book by chance while undertaking research for my second Lucy Lawrence novel, Footprints in the Sand. I was astonished when I first read the book for it could have been written today. There was none of the stilted dryness you would expect from a Victorian writer but humour and a fascinating insight into Egypt’s heritage and its people. For anyone with an interest in Victorian women (who broke the mould!) or indeed Egyptology, I highly recommend investing in a copy. She even did the wonderful illustrations in the book (example below)!

Amelia was born in London in 1831, daughter of an ex-army officer and an Irish mother. She was educated at home and soon showed a talent for the written word. She produced her first full length novel in 1855 – My Brother’s Wife. Her poetry, stories and articles were published in magazines including Chamber’s Journal, Household Words and the Saturday Review and Morning Post. Her many novels proved popular.

By the time Amelia was 30, both her parents had passed away. Against the conventions of the time, she decided to go travelling (without the proper male escort!) and had the funds to do it because of her writing success. With a female companion, Lucy Renshawe, she set off, only hiring male servants or guides as required. Her first trip was to Belgium in 1862 and in June 1872 the pair explored the Dolomite Region of Northern Italy (Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys).

[image error] Credit: Amelia Edwards

But over the winter of 1873-74, Amelia and Lucy sailed up the Nile to Abu Simbel. Unlike most travellers who saw Egypt as another pleasure-ground, Amelia was keenly aware of the underlying political and cultural problems of the country. To her shock, she witnessed the results of the highly lucrative and extensive illegal trade in antiquities. Sites were being pillaged and destroyed by all and sundry. All of this was happening in an unstable political climate with rivalry and tension between French and English explorers added to the mix. Saddened and disturbed by what she saw as the desecration of Egypt’s heritage, she returned to England determined to do something about it.

[image error] Flinders Petrie

Amelia was convinced a more scientific approach was needed to preserve Egypt’s treasurers. She studied Egyptology and formed lasting friendships with the likes of Gaston Maspero, who would later become director general of excavations and antiquities for the Egyptian government, and one of the greatest Egyptologists, Flinders Petrie. Amelia promoted the founding of an Egyptological society, culminating in its first meeting in 1880 at the British Museum. Two years’ later, it became the Egypt Exploration Fund, its main purpose to study, conserve and protect ancient sites in Egypt. Amelia’s campaigning paid off, and soon they were able to fund the exploration work of Flinders Petrie in Egypt.

Subsequently, Amelia undertook grueling lecture tours and even gave up her successful novel writing to concentrate on all matters Egyptological. Eventually, her work earned her honorary degrees from several American universities and in honour of her work, she received an English civil list pension for “her services to literature and archaeology”.

[image error]In the early 1890s, Amelia’s health began to deteriorate, and in January 1892, Lucy Renshawe, the woman who had travelled with her and shared her home for nearly thirty years, died. A few months later, Amelia succumbed to influenza. She is buried at St. Mary the Virgin, Henbury, Bristol.

Amelia left a library and collection of Egyptian antiquities to University College London and a bequest to established the first English Chair in Egyptology. Fittingly, Flinders Petrie was the first appointed to the Edwards Chair in UCL.

[image error]I cannot deny that the Egypt described by Amelia in her book presented countless possibilities for mischief to a mystery writer. Her descriptions of Cairo and the many sites she visited, transported me back to Victorian Egypt like no dry contemporary source could do. My heroine, Lucy Lawrence, shared some of Miss Edwards’ qualities of curiosity and determination and so Footprints in the Sand quickly transformed from a vague plot idea to a novel.

Cairo, Autumn 1887: A melting pot of jealousy, lust and revenge. Who will pay the ultimate price?

Lucy Lawrence throws caution to the wind and embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the land of the pharaohs.

Travelling to Cairo as the patron of the charming French Egyptologist, Armand Moreau, Lucy discovers a city teeming with professional rivalries, and a thriving black market in antiquities which threatens Egypt’s precious heritage.

When the Egyptian Museum is burgled, Lucy is determined to solve the case, much to the annoyance of the local inspector of police, and the alarm of Mary, her maid. But when an archaeologist is found murdered in the Great Pyramid, Lucy is catapulted into the resulting maelstrom. Can she keep her wits about her to avoid meeting a similar fate?

Pre-Order Link

Victorian Tourism: Thomas Cook

Today, everyone is familiar with the guided tour or cruise, but such things were virtually unheard of in the early years of the Victorian age. The man who changed that, and who is now considered the inventor of modern tourism, was Thomas Cook.

Who was he?

[image error]Credit: Thomas Cook Group

Thomas was born in 1808 in Derbyshire, England, and left school at ten years of age to work.  In 1826, he became a Baptist minister, becoming an itinerant evangelist, distributing pamphlets and sometimes working as a cabinet maker to earn money. Eventually, Thomas settled in Market Harborough and while there, was persuaded by the local Baptist minister to take the temperance pledge. As a part of the temperance movement, Thomas organised meetings and held anti-liquor processions. In March 1833, Thomas married Marianne Mason at Barrowden in Rutland. They went on to have three children, John, Henry (who died in infancy) and Annie.

The First Excursion

Cook’s initial idea of offering excursions came to him while walking to Leicester to attend a temperance meeting, thus taking advantage of the extended Midland Counties Railway. On 5th July 1841, Thomas escorted almost 500 people, who paid one shilling each for the return train journey. It was the first publicly advertised excursion train in England.

A Growing Business

Soon after, Thomas moved to Leicester, and set up as a bookseller and printer, specialising in temperance literature but also producing guidebooks. Then, in 1846, he took 350 tourists by train and steamboat to Glasgow. For customers travelling for the first time, he offered a guidebook entitled Cook’s Scottish Tourist Practical Directory. One particular chapter bore the heading: Is it Safe for Ladies to Join in Highland Tours? [I’d love to know the answer!]

[image error] Credit: Thomas Cook Group

In the early 1860s, Thomas ceased to act as a personal guide and became an agent for the sale of domestic and overseas travel tickets to countries such as America and Egypt. As the decade progressed, alpine journeys became popular and in 1864, parties began to venture into the newly united Italy.  Thomas opened a London premises on Fleet Street, London, and in 1872, he went into partnership with his son, John, and renamed the company Thomas Cook & Son.  Around this time, the firm started to use ‘circular notes’, which were eventually known as travellers’ cheques.

Thomas retired in 1878, following a disagreement with his son. He moved back to Leicester where he lived quietly until his death in 1892. The business passed to his only surviving son, and was subsequently taken over by Thomas’s grandsons in 1899. The company continued to be run as a family firm until 1928.

[image error]Nile Cruise Poster 1922

The ‘Cook tour’ rapidly became famous during the Victorian era. However, not everyone thought highly of them. One critic referred to them as ‘everything that is low-bred, vulgar and ridiculous’ (Blackwood’s Magazine, February 1865).

Not surprisingly, the worst critics were the wealthy English, now finding their exclusive haunts overrun by the middle-classes. Another gripe was that tourists were ruining the places they visited by importing their customs, such as tea, lawn tennis and churches!

In  my novel, No Stone Unturned, Lucy Lawrence does not travel as part of a Cook tour to Egypt, however, she does encounter many tourists in Cairo who have. As Lucy is fairly occupied trying to solve a robbery, and subsequently a murder, she doesn’t pay them much heed. However, it was her upper class of Victorian male who traditionally did the ‘Grand Tour’, the forerunner of the guided tour. It was frowned upon for a woman, even a widow such as Lucy, to travel without a male escort. Thankfully, there were women prepared to break the mould, and I talk about one of them in my next post on Victorian travel.

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NO STONE UNTURNED – Book 2 of The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries

Cairo, Autumn 1887: A melting pot of jealousy, lust and revenge. Who will pay the ultimate price?

Lucy Lawrence throws caution to the wind and embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the land of the pharaohs.

Travelling to Cairo as the patron of the charming French Egyptologist, Armand Moreau, Lucy discovers a city teeming with professional rivalries and jealousies and a thriving black market in antiquities which threatens Egypt’s precious heritage.

When the Egyptian Museum is burgled, Lucy is determined to solve the case, much to the annoyance of the local inspector of police, and the alarm of Mary, her maid. But when an archaeologist is found murdered in the Great Pyramid, Lucy is catapulted into the resulting maelstrom. Can she keep her wits about her to avoid meeting a similar fate?

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The Shepheard Hotel Cairo

By the middle of the Victorian era, foreign travel was much easier and tourism was flourishing. One of the most popular destinations was the land of the pharaohs – Egypt. The ‘leisure’ classes took advantage in their droves and some could even afford a Thomas Cook Tour up the Nile. A forty-day round trip from Cairo to Luxor in the 1850s cost about £110, the equivalent of £12,856 today. 

[image error]Credit: Nationaal Archief

Two distinct groups of visitors tended to undertake the trip. The first were the military and government officials either stationed in Egypt or en route to India, via the Suez Canal. For many, a stop over in Cairo was an attractive proposition. Secondly, you had tourists drawn to Egypt by its romantic associations, unique antiquities and of course, the wonderfully mild winters. Both groups wanted ‘home from home’ comforts in their accommodation while staying over in Cairo.

[image error]Samuel Shepheard

A canny Englishman, by the name of Samuel Shepheard, found himself in Cairo in 1842, having been thrown off a P&O ship for taking part in an unsuccessful mutiny. He found work at the British Hotel in Cairo and within a couple of years, had bought the hotel and renamed it after himself.

During a hunting trip he met and became friends with Khedive Abbas and two years later Shepheard, with the khedive’s help and influence, managed to buy a former palace on Esbekier Square, an area of park land with tropical greenery and rare trees, that was once occupied by Napoleon’s army and used as headquarters during his invasion of Egypt.

 

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Shepheard’s new hotel became known as a ‘safe haven’ for weary travellers who were guaranteed the best whiskey and the company of fellow Westerners. As the hotel grew in popularity, its guests included British military officers, bureaucrats, and wealthy American travellers. One of its most celebrated guests at the time was the novelist Anthony Trollope. Samuel was renowned as a superb host which contributed in no small part to the success of the hotel.

Shepheard made a small fortune from the hotel, benefitting from the dawn of adventure tourism along the Nile.  Shepheard sold the hotel in 1861 for £10,000 and retired to Eathorpe Hall,  Warwickshire, England. 

Despite his departure, Shepheard’s Hotel remained the centre of the Anglo-American community in Cairo and in 1869, it hosted the celebration of the Grand Opening of the Suez Canal.

The hotel became the playground for international aristocracy where any person of social standing made a point of being seen taking afternoon tea on its famous terrace. 

In my novel, Footprints in the Sand, I base the Hotel Excelsior on Shepheard’s Hotel. It was the perfect setting for Lucy to mingle with the odd assortment of fascinating guests, who would eventually feature in the murder mystery. The famous dining room is the setting for one of the pivotal scenes in the book.

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Cairo, Autumn 1887: A melting pot of jealousy, lust and revenge. Who will pay the ultimate price?

Lucy Lawrence throws caution to the wind and embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the land of the pharaohs.

Travelling to Cairo as the patron of the charming French Egyptologist, Armand Moreau, Lucy discovers a city teeming with professional rivalries, and a thriving black market in antiquities which threatens Egypt’s precious heritage.

When the Egyptian Museum is burgled, Lucy is determined to solve the case, much to the annoyance of the local inspector of police, and the alarm of Mary, her maid. But when an archaeologist is found murdered in the Great Pyramid, Lucy is catapulted into the resulting maelstrom. Can she keep her wits about her to avoid meeting a similar fate?

Pre-Order Link

New Release – Cover Reveal – Jenny O’Brien: Silent Cry

I am delighted to be taking part in today’s cover reveal for one of my favourite authors, Jenny O’Brien. I was lucky enough to read Silent Cry and can tell you, you are in for a treat.

[image error]Alys is fine. Don’t try to find us.

Five years ago, Izzy Grant’s boyfriend Charlie took their newborn daughter Alys out for a drive.

They never came back.

After years of waiting, Izzy has almost given up hoping that they’re still alive – until a note is pushed through her door telling her they’re fine, not to look for them. Suddenly the case is top priority again, and Izzy is swarmed with faces from the past: the detective who was first on the scene to help; an old friend who vanished not long after Alys and Charlie.

Izzy doesn’t know who she can trust, who is sending her notes, where Charlie and Alys might be. Her only ally is DC Gabriella Darin, recently transferred from Cardiff and fleeing a painful past of her own.

Gaby knows something doesn’t fit with the case, and she knows Izzy won’t rest until she finds out what really happened to her daughter. Could someone she knew and trusted really have taken Alys from her?

Wherever Alys and Charlie are, Gaby is determined to find them, no matter what it takes. Somewhere in Izzy’s past is a clue, if Gaby can only find it …