Andrea Penrose's Blog
July 30, 2017
The Backstory: Paper in the Regency era
In my Regency-set mystery, Murder on Black Swan Lane, the heroine, Charlotte Sloane, makes her living putting words and images on paper. Which got me to thinking about what an incredibly important basic commodity it was in the era. Communication—whether it be art, personal letters, scholarly ideas, firebrand political tracts, music, etc.—was dependent on paper, from the fine deckled edged watercolor papers to a common sheet of foolscap (though none of it, however humble, was cheap.)
So let’s take a quick look at some of the historical highlights of papermaking in Great Britain during the Georgian and Regency eras. Until the late 19th century, when wood pulp became the primary source for mass market printing, paper was made of plant fiber, with linen and cotton fibers being the most common. Ragmen collected scraps of cloth, which were sold to paper mills. These were washed to rid them of dirt and foreign matter, then soaked in large vats where they were, as the old saying goes, pounded to a pulp!
Until the 18th century, stampers—large metal-clad lengths of wood—were worked by hand to reduce the rags to a slurry of fibers (Imagine the muscles of a paper stamper!) The hollander (named as such because it was invented in Holland) took tech to a new level. It was a drum with a wooden roller in its center that was bristling with knifelike blades. The hollander was rotated in a vat of soaking rags, and reduced them to pulp much faster than the old method. (Steam power further improved productivity.) But as is usual with progress, not everything was for the better. Hollanders cut the rag fibers to very short length, while stamping produced long fibers, which made for a stronger paper.
From there, the pulp was then put in a paper mold—wooden frames with a screen set inside it. The pulp embedded in the screen and the water drained away (Leveling the pulp quickly and efficiently was an art!) After a first stage of drying, the sheet was placed on a felt pad—the papermaker would interleaf maybe two dozen sheets of paper and felt together before placed the stack in a press to squeeze out the remaining water.
The earliest type of screen was a grid fine horizontal wires held together by regularly spaced vertical wires or threads of horsehair, which produced “laid” paper. The surface tended to be a little irregular and was hard to print on. In 1757, James Whatman the Elder invented a screen that looks very much like our modern window screens. It produced a finer texture paper, which was called “wove” paper. (Today, Whatman paper is still one of the top brands of high quality paper, and is a favorite of watercolor artists.)
As a final step, the sheets were hung to dry completely before being packaged for sale. As mentioned, paper was not inexpensive—while we routinely buy reams of paper for our printers, Jane Austen and her contemporaries would more often buy far less. The most common package was a quire, which consisted of 24 sheets.
One of the interesting things I discovered was that in 1800, the papermaking industry was using nearly 24 million pounds of rags annually to produce 10,000 tons of paper in England and Wales, and imported cloth scraps were needed to keep up with demand. The shortage of rags prompted experiments with other materials, such as sawdust, rye straw and cabbage stumps, but it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that wood pulp became a viable alternative to rag paper.
I love the feel of fine rag paper and have a number of older books printed on thick, deckled-edge sheet. Inexpensive paper for mass market books—pulp novels!—and newsprint may be practical but is aesthetically disappointing for its feel and rapid deterioration. I also love fancy wrapping papers, good stationery, handmade craft sheets, and thick watercolor paper (I keep telling myself that at some point I will have time to get back into painting . . . Ha!)
So let’s take a quick look at some of the historical highlights of papermaking in Great Britain during the Georgian and Regency eras. Until the late 19th century, when wood pulp became the primary source for mass market printing, paper was made of plant fiber, with linen and cotton fibers being the most common. Ragmen collected scraps of cloth, which were sold to paper mills. These were washed to rid them of dirt and foreign matter, then soaked in large vats where they were, as the old saying goes, pounded to a pulp!
Until the 18th century, stampers—large metal-clad lengths of wood—were worked by hand to reduce the rags to a slurry of fibers (Imagine the muscles of a paper stamper!) The hollander (named as such because it was invented in Holland) took tech to a new level. It was a drum with a wooden roller in its center that was bristling with knifelike blades. The hollander was rotated in a vat of soaking rags, and reduced them to pulp much faster than the old method. (Steam power further improved productivity.) But as is usual with progress, not everything was for the better. Hollanders cut the rag fibers to very short length, while stamping produced long fibers, which made for a stronger paper.
From there, the pulp was then put in a paper mold—wooden frames with a screen set inside it. The pulp embedded in the screen and the water drained away (Leveling the pulp quickly and efficiently was an art!) After a first stage of drying, the sheet was placed on a felt pad—the papermaker would interleaf maybe two dozen sheets of paper and felt together before placed the stack in a press to squeeze out the remaining water.
The earliest type of screen was a grid fine horizontal wires held together by regularly spaced vertical wires or threads of horsehair, which produced “laid” paper. The surface tended to be a little irregular and was hard to print on. In 1757, James Whatman the Elder invented a screen that looks very much like our modern window screens. It produced a finer texture paper, which was called “wove” paper. (Today, Whatman paper is still one of the top brands of high quality paper, and is a favorite of watercolor artists.)
As a final step, the sheets were hung to dry completely before being packaged for sale. As mentioned, paper was not inexpensive—while we routinely buy reams of paper for our printers, Jane Austen and her contemporaries would more often buy far less. The most common package was a quire, which consisted of 24 sheets.
One of the interesting things I discovered was that in 1800, the papermaking industry was using nearly 24 million pounds of rags annually to produce 10,000 tons of paper in England and Wales, and imported cloth scraps were needed to keep up with demand. The shortage of rags prompted experiments with other materials, such as sawdust, rye straw and cabbage stumps, but it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that wood pulp became a viable alternative to rag paper.
I love the feel of fine rag paper and have a number of older books printed on thick, deckled-edge sheet. Inexpensive paper for mass market books—pulp novels!—and newsprint may be practical but is aesthetically disappointing for its feel and rapid deterioration. I also love fancy wrapping papers, good stationery, handmade craft sheets, and thick watercolor paper (I keep telling myself that at some point I will have time to get back into painting . . . Ha!)
July 19, 2017
The Backstory: Quill Pens
“I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend it for you. I mend pens remarkably well.”
—Caroline Bingley, Pride and Prejudice
These days, the clack, clack of a keyboard has replaced the feathery whisper of a pen dancing over paper for many of us writers. But in Murder on Black Swan Lane, the heroine is a satirical cartoonist, and she sees the world through the cutting-edge strokes of her pen. She’s constantly drawing, and all the constant attention to detail—the fine cross-hatchings, the clever commentary—demands a dexterity that is a dying art in our day. I found myself thinking of the rhythm of Regency writing, and as she needs to occasionally sharpen her quill, both literally and metaphorically, I wondered, “How does she do that?”
Ah, research. Not only is it a perfect excuse to procrastinate, but I also find it such fun to discover the sort of arcane facts that only a history geek can love. So, let’s fly through a quick primer on how a goose feather could end up in Jane Austen’s hand.
It’s thought that quill pens originated in Seville, Spain, around 600 AD. Their use quickly spread throughout Europe as they produced a finer writing on vellum that the older reed pens used before that time. Many of our most historic documents, including the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence, were written with a quill pen. While it’s true that a patent was issued in 1803 for a metal nib, it wasn’t until 1830 that steel-tipped pens became commercially available. Their quality was further enhanced as technology allowed the steel to be tipped with harder metals, such as iridium and osmium, and by 1850 the quill pen was going the way of the Dodo bird.
But in the Regency era, “quill” was synonymous with “pen” in Great Britain. (The Latin word for feather is penna) Goose feathers were the most popular, and it’s said that the best ones came from Lincolnshire. Only the “flight” feathers are used. A single goose provides about five per wing during a molt, and perhaps 20 during the course of a year. In addition to domestic production, millions of feathers were imported from all over Europe to meet the demand. Because of the natural curve of a feather, it’s said that right-handed people favor ones from the left wing, and vice versa. (That’s because a writer doesn’t want the feather to curve over the writing hand and obscure the line of sight to the paper.
A freshly plucked Regency feather was not nearly ready for its first dip into ink. It required an elaborate process by a quill dresser to turn it into a reliable writing instrument. Though tough, the barrel of an untreated feather is too flexible for writing. There’s also a membrane inside it which needs to be removed in order for the finished pen to function more efficiently. So the quills were plunged into hot sand—a process called quill dutching, as it’s believed to have originated in Holland. This dries up the inner membrane, allowing it to be removed. It also hardens the barrel. For higher quality pens, the process was repeated several times.
Then it was on to a bath in diluted acqua fortis (known today as nitric acid.) This gave them a uniform yellowish color and made them easier to split. The quills were then shipped in bulk to stationery stores around the country. It was the stationer who would hire a pen cutter to turn a dressed quill into a pen. A good cutter could prepare about 600 pens per day. First comes a steeply angled cut to put a basic point on the quill. A vertical cut of perhaps 3/8 inch is added to gives flexibility, and then the point is trimmed straight across and tapered to a fine writing point.
Swan feathers are larger and stronger than goose feathers. Their points tend to be broader, so they are used when large letters are requires. Crow feathers became the pen of choice for ladies during the era because its smaller barrel tapers to a very fine point, which suited the style of tiny handwriting. They were also popular with artists and mapmakers for the fineness of their line.
I love the look of writing done with a fine nib and real ink. I don’t have a quill pen but I do have a special fountain pen that I use for special letters. What about you? Do you like writing with a fine pen—or receiving letters written with them? I fear handwriting and the stylish nuances of pens and copperplate script are becoming a dying art, though there does seem to be a revival of interest in traditional ways of doing things. Hey, if it was good enough for Jane Austen . . .
—Caroline Bingley, Pride and Prejudice
These days, the clack, clack of a keyboard has replaced the feathery whisper of a pen dancing over paper for many of us writers. But in Murder on Black Swan Lane, the heroine is a satirical cartoonist, and she sees the world through the cutting-edge strokes of her pen. She’s constantly drawing, and all the constant attention to detail—the fine cross-hatchings, the clever commentary—demands a dexterity that is a dying art in our day. I found myself thinking of the rhythm of Regency writing, and as she needs to occasionally sharpen her quill, both literally and metaphorically, I wondered, “How does she do that?”
Ah, research. Not only is it a perfect excuse to procrastinate, but I also find it such fun to discover the sort of arcane facts that only a history geek can love. So, let’s fly through a quick primer on how a goose feather could end up in Jane Austen’s hand.
It’s thought that quill pens originated in Seville, Spain, around 600 AD. Their use quickly spread throughout Europe as they produced a finer writing on vellum that the older reed pens used before that time. Many of our most historic documents, including the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence, were written with a quill pen. While it’s true that a patent was issued in 1803 for a metal nib, it wasn’t until 1830 that steel-tipped pens became commercially available. Their quality was further enhanced as technology allowed the steel to be tipped with harder metals, such as iridium and osmium, and by 1850 the quill pen was going the way of the Dodo bird.
But in the Regency era, “quill” was synonymous with “pen” in Great Britain. (The Latin word for feather is penna) Goose feathers were the most popular, and it’s said that the best ones came from Lincolnshire. Only the “flight” feathers are used. A single goose provides about five per wing during a molt, and perhaps 20 during the course of a year. In addition to domestic production, millions of feathers were imported from all over Europe to meet the demand. Because of the natural curve of a feather, it’s said that right-handed people favor ones from the left wing, and vice versa. (That’s because a writer doesn’t want the feather to curve over the writing hand and obscure the line of sight to the paper.
A freshly plucked Regency feather was not nearly ready for its first dip into ink. It required an elaborate process by a quill dresser to turn it into a reliable writing instrument. Though tough, the barrel of an untreated feather is too flexible for writing. There’s also a membrane inside it which needs to be removed in order for the finished pen to function more efficiently. So the quills were plunged into hot sand—a process called quill dutching, as it’s believed to have originated in Holland. This dries up the inner membrane, allowing it to be removed. It also hardens the barrel. For higher quality pens, the process was repeated several times.
Then it was on to a bath in diluted acqua fortis (known today as nitric acid.) This gave them a uniform yellowish color and made them easier to split. The quills were then shipped in bulk to stationery stores around the country. It was the stationer who would hire a pen cutter to turn a dressed quill into a pen. A good cutter could prepare about 600 pens per day. First comes a steeply angled cut to put a basic point on the quill. A vertical cut of perhaps 3/8 inch is added to gives flexibility, and then the point is trimmed straight across and tapered to a fine writing point.
Swan feathers are larger and stronger than goose feathers. Their points tend to be broader, so they are used when large letters are requires. Crow feathers became the pen of choice for ladies during the era because its smaller barrel tapers to a very fine point, which suited the style of tiny handwriting. They were also popular with artists and mapmakers for the fineness of their line.
I love the look of writing done with a fine nib and real ink. I don’t have a quill pen but I do have a special fountain pen that I use for special letters. What about you? Do you like writing with a fine pen—or receiving letters written with them? I fear handwriting and the stylish nuances of pens and copperplate script are becoming a dying art, though there does seem to be a revival of interest in traditional ways of doing things. Hey, if it was good enough for Jane Austen . . .
June 26, 2017
Nicola Cornick interviews Andrea Penrose
Today on The Word Wenches, it’s my huge pleasure to be interviewing our very own Andrea Penrose about her new Regency Set Historical Mystery, Murder on Black Swan Lane, which is released tomorrow! (And I'm loving the black swan in the photo!)
There was much excitement at Cornick Cottage when a copy of Murder on Black Swan Lane arrived for me to read. Not only do I love a historical mystery, I have been a fan of Andrea’s writing for years, so I knew I was in for a treat. I was not disappointed. This book was just what I needed to transport me back in time to a Regency world that was rich, vivid and atmospheric, where I spent time with a cast of characters who became as real as friends to me. You know that feeling of displacement and loss you get when you finish a really good book? Yes, that was how I felt at the end – but the good news is that this is the first in a new series. Hooray!
NC: Andrea, welcome to the Wenches as a guest for a change! Please tell us about your new Regency-set historical mystery series and Murder on Black Swan Lane in particular.
AP: As the title implies, a murder is the catalyst of the plot, but the plot threads also weave in the Regency’s fascination with the newly emerging world of science—as well as the era’s love of gossip and scandal, as fanned by the famous satirical cartoonists of the day. Combine the volatile elements of a sensational murder, a notoriously arrogant but brilliant aristocrat and London’s most popular—and scathing—satirist (who unbeknownst to all is a woman) . . . and as the rules of chemistry will tell you, the mixture may threaten to explode!
NC: It’s a great combination and indeed a volatile situation; you get that sense of danger and unpredictability throughout the
Black Swan Lane book, which is very exciting, and that sense of mystery is heightened by the title and the cover too. What is it about a mystery that appeals to you?
AP: What I love about the mystery genre is how the process of unraveling a crime or conundrum gives you a chance to really explore what makes your characters ‘tick.’ In following clues, they have to make elemental, and often very difficult decisions that force them to confront their core beliefs—like basic concepts of right and wrong, and how far loyalty to a friend will stretch if that friend is guilty of some transgression. How they face these challenges, and the disappointment and disillusionment of seeing people succumb to the darker side of human nature, is something that resonates with me as an avid reader of mysteries, so it really intrigued me to try my hand at it.
NC: Was there a particular reason you wanted to write mystery in a Regency setting?
AP: To me, the Regency has so many parallels to our modern day world. Like our own time, it was an era of momentous upheaval in all aspects of life—society, art, music, politics—and science/technology. A basic plot thread in the mystery is how science/technology is creating frightening changes at a whirlwind pace. (I think we all can relate to that!) It was really fascinating to play with. I did a lot of research on the subject and found the real-life scientists (though they were called natural philosophers, as the term scientist wasn’t coined until the1830s) just as intriguing as any hero in a novel. My hero, Lord Wrexford, is inspired by men like Humphry Davy and Charles Babbage.
And then there is Charlotte Sloane, a smart, talented, independent woman who, like a number of real-life Regency females, is trying to forge a place for herself in a society that doesn’t allow women to flex their intellectual muscle. How she challenges convention and tries to be true to herself, is another theme I hope appeals to modern readers. (And hey, who can resist Men in Boots!)
NC: Who indeed! You have created an intriguing pair of sleuths in the Earl of Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane. Were there any fictional crime-fighting duos who influenced you?
AP: Well, as I write romance too, I love series that involve the emotional chemistry of a hero-heroine dealing with their personal relationship as well as using their intellect to solve a mystery. Head and heart. Ying and Yang—we all deal with conflicting pulls in our own life, so for me it adds a great layer to the story. I’m a big fan of Deanna Raybourn, Tasha Alexander, Charles Finch, and C.S. Harris, who I think do wonderful characters as well as intriguing plots.
NC: I can vouch for the fact that Wrexford is a very attractive hero and I love that Charlotte is so smart and talented. What wouldyou say were their complementary skills? And their points of conflict?
AP: Oh, I had great fun with Charlotte and Wrexford. They are opposites—he’s a brilliant scientist who’s ruled by logic. She’s a brilliant artist who’s ruled by intuition and imagination. How they come to realize they have more in common than they think—creativity comes in many guises!—and how they both come to see that different perspectives open up a whole new view on things, was something I really enjoyed weaving into the plot threads. As for points of conflict—Wrexford is determined to force the satirical cartoonist known as A.J Quill to reveal how he knows so much about a recent murder—one which Quill’s cartoons are implying he committed. Charlotte is secretly wielding the pen—God forbid a woman satirize Society—and Wrexford interference can ruin her hard-won independent life. So there are, ahem, a few points of conflict to work through when circumstances force them to together. Here’s an excerpt from their first meeting:
Stay where you are!” she warned, trying to regain some semblance of control. “Another step and I’ll scream.”
“By all means go ahead and shriek to the high heavens. Though I imagine it will be a prodigious waste of breath.” He placed a fist on his hip. “I doubt there are many Good Samaritans in this part of Town.”
She thinned her lips, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of being right. “How dare you invade my home! Whoever you are, I demand you leave at once.”
“How ungentlemanly of me. You’re right—I neglected to introduce myself.” A mocking bow. “I am Wrexford. I daresay you’re familiar with my name.”
Charlotte maintained a stony face. “No, I’m not. Now please leave, or . . . or . . .”
“Or you’ll cut out my liver with that dainty little penknife?” He made a tsk-tsk sound. “Yes, well, A. J. Quill is quite skilled in skewering my person. Let him fight his own battles.” Wrexford looked around the room. “Where is he?”
“I tell you, sir, you are mistaken—”
For a big man, he moved with feral quickness. A blur of wolf black, leaving the sensation of predatory muscle and primitive power pricking against her skin.
Stop!” she began, the protest dying quickly as Wrexford leaned over her desk. And began to laugh. “Your husband has captured Prinny’s self-indulgent squint to perfection.” He looked up. “That is, I assume he is your husband.”
Charlotte didn’t answer. Like a helpless mouse, she seemed frozen by her fate, waiting for the paw to flash out and deliver the inevitable coup de grace.
“Or perhaps it is a more casual arrangement?” His lidded gaze lingered for a moment on her face.
Think! Think! But all that came to mind was the overwhelming urge to stick the knife into one of his eyes.
“Ah, I see you’re in no mood for pleasantries.” Wrexford hooked one of the stools with his boot and pulled it over. “No matter. I’ll wait.”
Panic seized her. Charlotte felt as if its unseen hands were crushing her ribs, squeezing the breath out of her. “You cannot!” she rasped. The knife slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Her hard-won existence shattering into a thousand tiny shards . . . Suddenly fury crested over fear. She flew at him, fists flailing. Be damned with the consequences. Her life was already over.
Wrexford caught her wrists, not before she landed a nasty blow to his cheek. “Tut, tut, there is no need for violence, madam. Your husband and I can—” He stopped abruptly, those infernal eyes now focused on the fingers of her right hand. One by one, he pried them open.She tried to pull away.“Bloody hell,” he breathed, studying the smudges of ink. “Let me guess—it’s not your husband. It’s you who are A. J. Quill.”
NC: I loved that bit of the story! But it’s not just Charlotte and Wexford who are so compelling. One of the wonderful things about the book is the depth with which all the secondary characters are drawn. Do you have a favourite?
AP: Oh, that’s a very hard question! Being a total pantser, I don’t always know what the characters are going to decide to do. In this story I expected them to stay more in the shadows. But they had other ideas! Each of them displayed very strong personalities—and patently ignored me when I politely asked them to shut up!
NC: Ha! I can see that! But it all adds to the richness of the story. Tell us a bit about the next adventure that Charlotte and Wexford embark upon. I am looking forward very much to reading it!
AP: Murder at Half Moon Gate will be out next spring, and it revolves around steam engines. It begins with the murder of a brilliant inventor and the disappearance of his technical drawings. And then... Well, let’s just say there are a lot of moving parts to the mystery! I hope readers will enjoy it!
NC: That sounds intriguing! I’m looking forward to it so much already. Thank you very much, Andrea, for giving us an insight
into your world of Regency mystery!
There was much excitement at Cornick Cottage when a copy of Murder on Black Swan Lane arrived for me to read. Not only do I love a historical mystery, I have been a fan of Andrea’s writing for years, so I knew I was in for a treat. I was not disappointed. This book was just what I needed to transport me back in time to a Regency world that was rich, vivid and atmospheric, where I spent time with a cast of characters who became as real as friends to me. You know that feeling of displacement and loss you get when you finish a really good book? Yes, that was how I felt at the end – but the good news is that this is the first in a new series. Hooray!
NC: Andrea, welcome to the Wenches as a guest for a change! Please tell us about your new Regency-set historical mystery series and Murder on Black Swan Lane in particular.
AP: As the title implies, a murder is the catalyst of the plot, but the plot threads also weave in the Regency’s fascination with the newly emerging world of science—as well as the era’s love of gossip and scandal, as fanned by the famous satirical cartoonists of the day. Combine the volatile elements of a sensational murder, a notoriously arrogant but brilliant aristocrat and London’s most popular—and scathing—satirist (who unbeknownst to all is a woman) . . . and as the rules of chemistry will tell you, the mixture may threaten to explode!
NC: It’s a great combination and indeed a volatile situation; you get that sense of danger and unpredictability throughout the
Black Swan Lane book, which is very exciting, and that sense of mystery is heightened by the title and the cover too. What is it about a mystery that appeals to you?
AP: What I love about the mystery genre is how the process of unraveling a crime or conundrum gives you a chance to really explore what makes your characters ‘tick.’ In following clues, they have to make elemental, and often very difficult decisions that force them to confront their core beliefs—like basic concepts of right and wrong, and how far loyalty to a friend will stretch if that friend is guilty of some transgression. How they face these challenges, and the disappointment and disillusionment of seeing people succumb to the darker side of human nature, is something that resonates with me as an avid reader of mysteries, so it really intrigued me to try my hand at it.
NC: Was there a particular reason you wanted to write mystery in a Regency setting?
AP: To me, the Regency has so many parallels to our modern day world. Like our own time, it was an era of momentous upheaval in all aspects of life—society, art, music, politics—and science/technology. A basic plot thread in the mystery is how science/technology is creating frightening changes at a whirlwind pace. (I think we all can relate to that!) It was really fascinating to play with. I did a lot of research on the subject and found the real-life scientists (though they were called natural philosophers, as the term scientist wasn’t coined until the1830s) just as intriguing as any hero in a novel. My hero, Lord Wrexford, is inspired by men like Humphry Davy and Charles Babbage.
And then there is Charlotte Sloane, a smart, talented, independent woman who, like a number of real-life Regency females, is trying to forge a place for herself in a society that doesn’t allow women to flex their intellectual muscle. How she challenges convention and tries to be true to herself, is another theme I hope appeals to modern readers. (And hey, who can resist Men in Boots!)
NC: Who indeed! You have created an intriguing pair of sleuths in the Earl of Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane. Were there any fictional crime-fighting duos who influenced you?
AP: Well, as I write romance too, I love series that involve the emotional chemistry of a hero-heroine dealing with their personal relationship as well as using their intellect to solve a mystery. Head and heart. Ying and Yang—we all deal with conflicting pulls in our own life, so for me it adds a great layer to the story. I’m a big fan of Deanna Raybourn, Tasha Alexander, Charles Finch, and C.S. Harris, who I think do wonderful characters as well as intriguing plots.
NC: I can vouch for the fact that Wrexford is a very attractive hero and I love that Charlotte is so smart and talented. What wouldyou say were their complementary skills? And their points of conflict?
AP: Oh, I had great fun with Charlotte and Wrexford. They are opposites—he’s a brilliant scientist who’s ruled by logic. She’s a brilliant artist who’s ruled by intuition and imagination. How they come to realize they have more in common than they think—creativity comes in many guises!—and how they both come to see that different perspectives open up a whole new view on things, was something I really enjoyed weaving into the plot threads. As for points of conflict—Wrexford is determined to force the satirical cartoonist known as A.J Quill to reveal how he knows so much about a recent murder—one which Quill’s cartoons are implying he committed. Charlotte is secretly wielding the pen—God forbid a woman satirize Society—and Wrexford interference can ruin her hard-won independent life. So there are, ahem, a few points of conflict to work through when circumstances force them to together. Here’s an excerpt from their first meeting:
Stay where you are!” she warned, trying to regain some semblance of control. “Another step and I’ll scream.”
“By all means go ahead and shriek to the high heavens. Though I imagine it will be a prodigious waste of breath.” He placed a fist on his hip. “I doubt there are many Good Samaritans in this part of Town.”
She thinned her lips, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of being right. “How dare you invade my home! Whoever you are, I demand you leave at once.”
“How ungentlemanly of me. You’re right—I neglected to introduce myself.” A mocking bow. “I am Wrexford. I daresay you’re familiar with my name.”
Charlotte maintained a stony face. “No, I’m not. Now please leave, or . . . or . . .”
“Or you’ll cut out my liver with that dainty little penknife?” He made a tsk-tsk sound. “Yes, well, A. J. Quill is quite skilled in skewering my person. Let him fight his own battles.” Wrexford looked around the room. “Where is he?”
“I tell you, sir, you are mistaken—”
For a big man, he moved with feral quickness. A blur of wolf black, leaving the sensation of predatory muscle and primitive power pricking against her skin.
Stop!” she began, the protest dying quickly as Wrexford leaned over her desk. And began to laugh. “Your husband has captured Prinny’s self-indulgent squint to perfection.” He looked up. “That is, I assume he is your husband.”
Charlotte didn’t answer. Like a helpless mouse, she seemed frozen by her fate, waiting for the paw to flash out and deliver the inevitable coup de grace.
“Or perhaps it is a more casual arrangement?” His lidded gaze lingered for a moment on her face.
Think! Think! But all that came to mind was the overwhelming urge to stick the knife into one of his eyes.
“Ah, I see you’re in no mood for pleasantries.” Wrexford hooked one of the stools with his boot and pulled it over. “No matter. I’ll wait.”
Panic seized her. Charlotte felt as if its unseen hands were crushing her ribs, squeezing the breath out of her. “You cannot!” she rasped. The knife slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Her hard-won existence shattering into a thousand tiny shards . . . Suddenly fury crested over fear. She flew at him, fists flailing. Be damned with the consequences. Her life was already over.
Wrexford caught her wrists, not before she landed a nasty blow to his cheek. “Tut, tut, there is no need for violence, madam. Your husband and I can—” He stopped abruptly, those infernal eyes now focused on the fingers of her right hand. One by one, he pried them open.She tried to pull away.“Bloody hell,” he breathed, studying the smudges of ink. “Let me guess—it’s not your husband. It’s you who are A. J. Quill.”
NC: I loved that bit of the story! But it’s not just Charlotte and Wexford who are so compelling. One of the wonderful things about the book is the depth with which all the secondary characters are drawn. Do you have a favourite?
AP: Oh, that’s a very hard question! Being a total pantser, I don’t always know what the characters are going to decide to do. In this story I expected them to stay more in the shadows. But they had other ideas! Each of them displayed very strong personalities—and patently ignored me when I politely asked them to shut up!
NC: Ha! I can see that! But it all adds to the richness of the story. Tell us a bit about the next adventure that Charlotte and Wexford embark upon. I am looking forward very much to reading it!
AP: Murder at Half Moon Gate will be out next spring, and it revolves around steam engines. It begins with the murder of a brilliant inventor and the disappearance of his technical drawings. And then... Well, let’s just say there are a lot of moving parts to the mystery! I hope readers will enjoy it!
NC: That sounds intriguing! I’m looking forward to it so much already. Thank you very much, Andrea, for giving us an insight
into your world of Regency mystery!
February 11, 2017
BOOK NEWS!
I’m excited to announce that I have a new Regency-set historical mystery series in the works! (A pause as I hit the play button for Handel’s Music for Royal Fireworks!) The first book, Murder on Black Swan Lane, will hit the shelves in July. I’ll be posting more during the upcoming weeks about the inspiration behind the series, as well as a fun look at how the cover was created . . .
But for now, I’ll just dish on why I find the Regency such a fabulously interesting time and place. It was a world aswirl in silks, seduction and the intrigue of the Napoleonic Wars. Radical new ideas were clashing with the conventional thinking of the past. Science and technology were changing the world with frightening speed. As a result, people were challenging and changing the fundamentals of their society.
In so many ways, it was the birth of the modern world, and for me, its challenges, its characters and its conflicts have such relevance to our own times. (And hey, who can resist men in breeches and boots!)
In MURDER ON BLACK SWAN LANE, the first book in my new series, which comes out in July of this year, I’ve sought to create two lead characters who embody the intellectual curiosity—and gritty courage—of the times. They are opposites: a brooding aristocrat whose extraordinary mind runs on the rational new principles of scientific inquiry, paired with a struggling artist whose innate cleverness and intuition are the keys to her survival. Forced to work together, the Earl of Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane find they make a formidable team, despite their differences. (Ah, but as science tells us, opposites often attract!)
They’ll be setting off on some devilishly daunting adventures. So lace up your corsets, tweak the tails of your cravat and get ready to enter a world of glittering ballrooms, dangerous alleyways and deadly intrigues . . .
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