Roxane Dhand's Blog

Extraordinary Social Media Connections

In the run-up to the publication of my latest book – The Trouble with Tigers – I  posted this photograph from my research archives on my Facebook page:

The inspiration behind the novel: This photo shows the women of Harmston’s Circus getting ready for the performance.

I had no idea who these other circus ladies might be other than I knew for certain my real life heroine is sitting second from the right. In the book she appears as Lilly, but in real life I knew her to be known as Kiddie.

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The inspiration behind the novel: Duffy the Tiger Trainer

The character Duffy, in The Trouble with Tigers, is based on this real life tiger trainer:

Old signed photo of a man with a tiger strung across his shoulders

I can’t properly read the caption on this, and history has lost the meaning of the message. However the photo was found in the personal photo album of the real life Lilly on whom the novel is based, so I like to imagine the message had significance to her.

We do know that the man in the photo is Charles B Franks. He performed in Ha...

Coming Soon – The Trouble With Tigers

My new novel, The Trouble With Tigers, will be published by Orion Dash in 2022 and is based on a true story.

I had been thinking of writing a novel set in India for a while when I became friends with a woman with Anglo-Indian ancestry. She told me about her grandmother who ran away to the circus in India to escape an abusive marriage. She left her home in Cawnpore in the 1930s leaving behind her husband and 7-year-old son and joined Harmstons – a small circus with its permanent home in Bu...

Read an Extract from The Orphan of Good Hope

With only 2 weeks to go until publication date, I’m pleased to offer you a short extract from The Orphan of Good Hope to give you a taster.

the-orphan-of-good-hope_extractDownload

Want more? Find out about the book and pre-order The Orphan of Good Hope

Researching the Pearlers’ Association of Broome

The pearling industry in Western Australia stretches back to the mid-nineteenth century, with Broome emerging onto the scene in the mid-1880s. Mother-of-pearl was in worldwide demand for use as buttons, cutlery handles, watch-faces and inlay for marquetry. The rich beds of pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) off the beaches of the north-west coast provided a ready supply of the sought-after shell.

By the turn of the twentieth century, Broome was a town of enormous wealth derived almost entire...

The Story of the Amsterdam ‘Marriage Maid’ Orphans

Catharina’s story gave me the barebones of a book, but I needed more to flesh out my novel.

I decided to look into the administration of the Cape of Good Hope at this time in history.

My research took me to Amsterdam from where the Dutch East India Company – also known as the VOC, the most powerful trading company of the era – administered the Cape in the seventeenth and eighteen centuries, until British forces landed in 1795 and claimed it for King George III.

While researching the Dut...

Catharina Ras – The Orphan of Good Hope

A few years back, on holiday in South Africa I had dinner in the lovely restaurant Catharina’s which forms part of the Steenberg wine estate in Constantia, Cape Town.   The restaurant was named after Catharina Ras, the first owner of the estate.  In September 2019 the restaurant underwent a major revamp and reopened as Tryn, the contraction of her name by which Catharina was more familiarly known.

Her fascinating story was printed on the back of the menu and as I read it, I saw the earliest o...

Summertime, summertime, sum sum…

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It’s the start of the summer holidays this week.

The newspapers and Sunday supplements are full of advice on how to turn your white doughy carcass into rock-hard, tanned beach-body perfection in less than two weeks. The contoured swimwear you choose must offer tummy support and, unless you are under twelve, should be one-piece and preferably resemble early bathing suits that cover you from neck to knee.

 And once attired in your beachwear of choice, there’s sunscreen to consider.  UVA (aging...

And Now… A Little Romance

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My publisher wants more romance in the manuscript.  More love interest.  Connection between the characters. That’s what historical fiction fans want to read, after all.

I feel a bit out of date on the amour side of life so I decide to speak to my niece.

In her mid twenties, she knows about
this sort of stuff.

“You need to watch Love Island, Auntie. It’s all there for
you to observe and write about in your book.”

“Eh?”

“Love Island. It’s a programme on TV where people sit around in their sw...

Ciao, come stai?

So excited this week! My book, The Pearler’s Wife is released through Italian Publishing house, Piemme.  Here’s the link.

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And here is the gorgeous cover. It’s called “The Pearl Hunter’s Wife and says, “A distant land. A new world. A forbidden love.” It’s the fourth international edition of PW. I just keep asking myself how this happened with my debut. But I suppose it’s down to my agent, Hattie Grunewald. I appreciate her so much.

My great friend, Salomé, who amongst her thousands of talents...