Virginia Crow's Blog: Crowvus Book Blog, page 15

#HistFicThursdays - The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu - Ann Bennett - Guest Post

 

For this week's #HistFicThursdays blog, I'm thrilled to be sharing the wonderful book The Fortune Teller of Katmandu by Ann Bennett, as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour. In her guest post, Ann shares her approach to research. But first, let's meet the book...

Blurb

A sweeping wartime tale of secrets and love, mystery and redemption, moving from the snow-capped Himalayas to the steamy heat of battle in the Burmese jungle.

Perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries, Victoria Hislop and Rosie Thomas.

Hampshire, UK, 2015. When Chloe Harper’s beloved grandmother, Lena dies, a stranger hands her Lena’s wartime diary. Chloe sets out to uncover deep family secrets that Lena guarded to her grave.

Darjeeling, India, 1943, Lena Chatterjee leaves the confines of a strict boarding school to work as assistant to Lieutenant George Harper, an officer in the British Indian Army. She accompanies him to Nepal and deep into the Himalayas to recruit Gurkhas for the failing Burma Campaign. There, she discovers that Lieutenant Harper has a secret, which she vows never to reveal.

In Kathmandu, the prophesy of a mysterious fortune teller sets Lena on a dangerous course. She joins the Women’s Auxiliary Service Burma (the Wasbies), risking her life to follow the man she loves to the front line. What happens there changes the course of her life.

On her quest to uncover her grandmother’s hidden past, Chloe herself encounters mystery and romance. Helped by young Nepalese tour guide, Kiran Rai, she finds history repeating itself when she is swept up in events that spiral out of control...

"A great read" Advance Reader.
" Thank you so much for allowing me to read the advance copy. I could barely put it down!" Advance Reader,
"What a wonderful book... I loved it. The dual time lines were delineated to perfection... the settings were perfectly rendered.." Advance Reader.
The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu Keeper is available on #KindleUnlimited via this Universal Link

Guest Post
The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu – My Research.

Thank you for inviting me to contribute to your blog. I’m delighted to be able to share a few insights into the historical research I did for The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu.

I’m fascinated by history and always do a lot of research for my books. The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu was no exception. 

This book is set partly in the modern day, but mainly in India, Nepal and Burma in the 1940s. The lead character, Lena, a young Eurasian girl living in Darjeeling in British India, leaves the confines of her strict boarding school where she is working as a teacher, to work on the nearby army base. She finds herself accompanying recruiting officer, Lieutenant George Harper into remote mountains of Nepal to recruit Gurkha soldiers for the Burma campaign being fought against the Japanese. 

In response to a fortune teller’s prophesy, she volunteers to join the Wasbies (the Women’s Auxiliary Service (Burma)) and is sent to the Burmese jungle to provide morale-boosting refreshment and luxuries to front line troops.  

What did make this book slightly easier to research than some of my previous books, was that I’d already written about the Burma campaign in one book (The Lake Palace) and had touched on it in another (The Tea Planter’s Club). The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu is my tenth book about the second world war in South East Asia, so I’d already done quite a bit of research on the wider campaign before I started. 

In this book I drew together a few strands that had fascinated me and about which I wanted to find out more. 

Firstly, I was interested in the Gurkhas who were recruited in great numbers from Nepal to support the Burma campaign. I wanted to include something about the process in the book. For that research I found a number of online resources, but the most fascinating and rewarding research I did was to visit the Gurkha Memorial Museum in Pokhara, Nepal, where there is a wealth of information about the Gurkhas, about how many very young men were recruited from remote villages during the war and how often their army salary would be vital for the survival of their families. I read the inspiring stories of many individual soldiers and viewed records and photographs from conflicts they’d been engaged in. 

I was particularly interested in the rigorous selection process the young men still have to go through before they are accepted into the Gurkhas. They are already tough and strong from a childhood in the Himalayas, but their physical prowess is stretched to the limit by various tests they have to complete. The most notorious of these is the “doko race”, in which they have to run a 5km mountain route within 55 minutes with a rattan basket with 25kg of rocks on their backs.

My second line of research was about the Wasbies (The Women’s Auxiliary Service (Burma). I’d never heard about this intrepid group of women before I was researching the Burma campaign for The Lake Palace but I stumbled across stories of Wasbies serving tea and cakes to frontline soldiers from converted Chevrolet vans. I went on to read the diary of a Wasbie, Maria Pilbrow Front Line and Fortitude, by EJ Lockhart-Mure. It really brought home hardships those brave women went through.

I was interested to learn that the Wasbies had to learn to drive the trucks themselves, so in my book, Lena has to undergo driving lessons with a severe sergeant. I also discovered that sometimes the Wasbies found themselves so close to the fighting that they had to be evacuated, in particular from near the front at Kohima – and I included this detail in the book too.

Now, let's meet the author:

Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. She was born in Pury End, a small village in Northamptonshire, UK and now lives in Surrey. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest, was inspired by researching her father’s experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway. Bamboo Island: The Planter's Wife, A Daughter's Promise and Bamboo Road:The Homecoming, The Tea Panter's Club and The Amulet are also about the war in South East Asia, which together with The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu make up the Echoes of Empire Collection.

Ann is also author of The Runaway Sisters, bestselling The Orphan House, The Forgotten Children and The Child Without a Home, published by Bookouture.

The Lake Pavilion, The Lake Palace, both set in British India in the 1930s and WW2, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, set in French Indochina during WW2, make up The Oriental Lake Collection.

Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and works as a lawyer. For more details please visit www.annbennettauthor.com. 
You can follow Ann on these links:Website - Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Goodreads - Amazon Author Page
Keep up with the rest of the The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu tour stops by clicking on the banner below:

13th December: Family, Doggies and a Frozen December Day

Picture 1: Clemency is not having the best time of it with her assessment at the moment. Her graph appears to be backwards - or perhaps the star she is studying is just unusual... who knows?!
Picture 2: But look at our lovely Christmas tablecloth! This was bought for our Big Family Christmas last year and it's just so jolly and festive! 
Picture 3: If you look closely, you can see some birds here enjoying the Crunchy Nut Cornflakes! 
Picture 4: An Orlando on the prowl...
Picture 5: Our road was hand-gritted this morning because the gritter couldn't make it down safely until there was grit. At least 12 accidents in Caithness today... 
Picture 6: The sun is going down on a lovely sunny day.
Picture 7: I found the pig! Apparently that meant I immediately had to take a photograph and rehide him!
Picture 8: Some wonderful crafts by Auri, our niece. 
Picture 9: This is from Mum and Ginny's drive down to Inverness. They got stuck on a very icy road because a lorry couldn't maneuver its way across the ice.
Picture 10: Lydia, Mum and Ginny this afternoon - so pleased for Mum and Ginny that they got to see Lydia before Christmas!
Picture 11: A very kind and well thought-out pre-Christmas present from Lydia.
Picture 12: A very exciting delivery today - a bag of presents!

Picture 13: A winter breaking over Stempster garden.

12th December: Peace and Quiet - finding a little calm in the run-up to Christmas

Picture 1: This weekend we're forecast unseasonably warm weather but, for now, the icy mornings go on... Here is Clem clearing the windscreen.
Picture 2: I tried to get a photo of the sparkly roads but it's harder than I thought, so here is... a road!
Picture 3: Is this one better? There's a moody blue morning sky on this one too!
Picture 4: Poor Teddy is sitting downstairs at the moment, after being rudely grabbed from his perch in the bedroom by Orlando. He looks pretty traumatised, don't you think?
Picture 5: One of my early attempts at cross stitch which resurfaces every year. Probably time to press it now...
Picture 6: What can't you make without breaking eggs...?
Picture 7: ...Forget omlets, the answer is clearly Christmas Cake! It's baking in the range even as I type!
Picture 8: Peace has been maintained in the house now the dogs are in their baskets...
Picture 9: ...They are the wrong baskets, but they seem to have come to some agreement about it!
Picture 10: And speaking of peace: I have had this Christmas Card (from the Radical Tea Towel Company) for a couple of years now, waiting to be sent. But it's message is so poignant at this point in time, I would like to send it to all of you: wherever you are in the world, whatever language you speak, and whatever alphabet you write in.Peace on Earth.
Picture 11: A teacher's desk at lunchtime... It makes you think about the different kinds of peace. Certainly not as important as global peace, but my head could use some quiet!
Picture 12: Pig In Blanket is on the move. If he is discovered, you might see his new perch tomorrow!

11th December: Presents and Cards and Beautiful Landscapes

Picture 1: Halkirk have their Christmas lights on now - making the whole village look very joyful! 
Picture 2: Spittal also have their Christmas lights on. There was some concern locally that these wouldn't be put on, so it's great to see them shining!
Picture 3: That strange mist was back again this afternoon!
Picture 4: A lovely view at the bridge in Thurso today! 
Picture 5: Home from work and making a start on more Christmas wrapping! 
Picture 6: Detail from one of the pictures which went up on our gallery wall this year. I would love some snow!
Picture 7: Cards not quite written but it's the thought that counts 😂
Picture 8: The family portrait all ready to be put into Mum and Dad's cards!
Picture 9: Clemency busy at work on her Astronomy Degree.
Picture 10: My new (well, pretty old, actually!) stone. I set it by the fire to dry out and discovered these patterns. What do you see?
Picture 11: We got this Christmas card today - very fitting really, as we spotted three deer on the dog walk this morning. Our's were Roe Deer, though, not Red Deer!

10th December: Second Sunday of Advent

Picture 1: it may not look like a particularly exciting sunrise, but the colour in the sky was washing the whole conservatory in pink this morning.
Picture 2: Orlando had a slightly wild start to the day. The vet said on Wednesday that he was a healthy dog and Orlando has taken this as permission to behave like a puppy. Picture 3: A full log basket is always a reassuring look as we approach midwinter! Picture 4: It's a sure sign of Nearly Christmas when this comes out. Look how the pages have been stained by years of Christmas Treacle Biscuit Making! Picture 5: Although it's a lot warmer than last weekend, the birds are still hungry. Here is Mum making up a feast for them out of out-of-date ice cream waffle cones! Picture 6: Look at the bubbles! A lovely gin and tonic in mid-afternoon feels very Christmassy! Picture 7: Some cake all the way from Brittany! This is courtesy of Holly and Andrew - thank you!
Picture 8: Apparently, our local Christmas Treat was cancelled this year. But that didn't stop them from dropping off a beautiful hamper for Mum and Dad! Picture 9: The second candle is lit on our advent wreath. It's always strange when you feel so close to Christmas but you're only on the Second Sunday of Advent! Picture 10: No mistletoe and wine just yet but, right now, the Clem's by the fire!

9th December: My Family and Other Animals

We're not the only ones who love the build up to Christmas. The dogs get very hyper around this time of year. I'm not sure if it's the e numbers in their advent calendar, or the general feeling of excitement and happiness they pick up on. Most of these pictures are of the dogs' antics this Saturday, with a couple of exceptions...

We were heartbroken that plans had to change, meaning we couldn't spend our niece's first birthday with her, but my goodness - that cake was delicious! Let's look at the positives!

Can you spot the three of them? They were quite content just staying there while we walked the dogs. Later on in the same walk, we saw a sparrowhawk, a short eared owl (which took off from right beside us) and a tiny little goldcrest.

Then Jess snuck through to the kitchen garden, and ate something... not sure what! But she wasn't sorry.

Orlando likes to take a stick on his walk, just so he has something to carry. But this one is a little ridiculous.

Lounging with the pups, enjoying the no-work weekend!

And what a special moment! Watching "The Muppet's Christmas Carol" for the first time this Christmas season. A sing-along version, of course!
Hmmm... I'm not sure what was going on here. Too much excitment about Christmas, perhaps.
The dogs' Christmas present arrived. Unfortunately, it said what it was on the package so the dogs knew instantly what it was, and they were very interested! Orlando started unwrapping it until Jess began growling at him. She says she saw it first.
And it's time for doggy advent calendar! Orlando is very focussed, while Jess... no, I just don't know what Jess is doing.

8th December: TGIF!

Picture 1: Orlando kept wanting to go through to the conservatory today so that he could gaze longingly at his advent calendar.
Picture 2: Clever reflections made it look a little bit like our conservatory was on fire earlier today - always fun playing with lights!
Picture 3: The Christmas Cactus is getting ready to bloom in a couple of weeks! I'm sure this won't be the last time you see it!
Picture 4: Jess wasn't very impressed with me that I wanted to take her picture - she just wanted cuddles!
Picture 5: At this point, Orlando would rather have photos taken than cuddles. He is a handsome boy and he knows it.
Picture 6: The reason for the season! 
Picture 7: This stunning folk art icon was a purchase from last year. It's an original painting by a local artist.
Picture 8: Snuggling down to watch a film together is a favourite habit on a Friday night. This week was Dad's choice and he picked The Shop Around the Corner. As longtime You've Got Mail! fans, this was a very interesting watch.

7th December: Reay Lights Switch On

This morning we managed to snap this picture of the Lady of the Manor with her two spaniels! Yes, the dogs are about as opposite as two spaniels can be, but they both equally love their mummy.
Judith and I just returned from a lovely time at the Reay Lights Switch On, where she captured this rather unflattering picture:
Thankfully, she did concede that she had been a bit mean with that, and we took another selfie!
If you have never been to one of these Northern Scotland Christmas parties, you need to holiday over here and attend one! There was fabulous food...
...And mulled wine, which Judith seemed incapable of turning down!
We reminisced about the Christmas Hall Parties of our childhoods in Stenness and Deerness, too, although as adults we took time to appreciate the care taken to the finer aspects of the party, like the small vases on each table.
When we got back from Reay, we also had a lovely surprise - our first Christmas card through the post! It carried some sad news from the last year, but was also looking forward in hope, and hope is what it's all about.

#HistFicThursdays - Writing Summer vs Writing Winter - a #HistFicXmas post

 This month, the Historical Writers Forum are running #HistFicXmas on Twitter. Today's prompt asks whether writers prefer writing about summer or winter, so I thought I'd take that as this week's #HistFicThursdays blog post!

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I love winter. Yes, it is brutal and difficult, but there is nothing more beautiful than hoar frost on trees and spiders' webs, nor is there anything more exciting than a thick covering of snow. But to write about? I actually fell in love with writing about fog. I remember, some 14 years ago, when I first realised how enthralling the effects of fog were, how you hear things long before you see them, and how all your other senses - and there are a lot more than five - band together to compensate for that one missing sense. So, in terms of weather, fog gets my vote!

One of my most enduring literary refences to fog is in A Christmas Carol, and so I always link city fog to Christmas. I'm sure there's plenty of fog at other times of the year but this line is engrained in me:

...he could hear the people in the court outside, go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them.

There is little surprise, then, that it is Christmas time in one of my stories when fog is encountered in the same city - although not so elegantly as Mr Dickens!

He left Gordon asleep, stepping out of their room, through the building and out into the foggy air. The smoke of industry was interweaving with the mist, being pushed back to earth by the watery atmosphere. Toby coughed as he breathed it in. It brought back a hundred memories shared with a dozen people who were almost all gone now. He stood on the quayside and closed his eyes, remembering all the ports he had sailed from and into, and all the places he had seen.

But fog is only part of the picture! Because of the nature of the books I write, the long dark nights suit the narrative far more than summer sun. Living in the middle of nowhere, you come to realise that there is not such thing as pitch black nights. Without fail, your eyes adjust so that, even if it is only for tiny stretches, you see things. But what does happen is that all colour drains away, leaving a landscape of black and white. One phrase I've been particularly proud of on this topic, comes from Poisoned Pilgrimage:

It was growing dark outside, the sun having set behind the house and now the subdued colours of night, dominated by shades of grey which the daytime world never knew, were stretching before him.

Of course, there's beauty in summer too, and plenty of adventure to be had. Summer evenings are as magical as dark winter nights. But for me, the side of the year from November to March are the most evocative in both language and memory, the two things which drive my writing.

6th December: A Cold and Frosty Morning

Picture 1: Unfortunately, no picture can do justice to the stunningly icy-blueness of the whole landscape this morning, but this gives you a little glimpse! 
Picture 2: The dogs were walked separately today because Orlando had (and passed!) his MOT. Jess isn't convinced about her aloneness, but she has now accepted her scarf at least!
Picture 3: Late autumn has been so cold this year that our Halloween pumpkins are still virtually intact. That's the first year this has ever been the case!
Picture 4: A brave little brassica withstanding the ice.
Picture 5: Yesterday, Ginny put ash down instead of salt to make the path less slippy. Here are some cute little ash-paws!
Picture 6: Just love the ethereal mist on this one! Admittedly though, it's actually from the boiler exhaust!