Nicola Cornick's Blog, page 14

Castle or Town House?

A few weeks ago I was on my travels, visiting a couple of very different historical des res. First up was Corfe Castle. I think that Corfe must the quintessential romantic ruin. Perched high on a hill, with tumbled walls, soaring towers and a host of legends and stories associated with it, Corfe is one of the most dramatic sites I’ve ever visited.  The hill on which the castle stands is said to be the place where King Edward was assassinated in 978 AD. Not a particularly auspicious choice of a place to build but a suitably dramatic start to the story.There is evidence of Saxon building on the site and the castle passed into royal hands at the Norman Conquest and remained a crown property until Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton.

In the 16th century Corfe was described as “a very fayre castle” surrounded by gardens. The Civil Wars, however, brought destruction to Corfe. The castle, a Royalist stronghold, was besieged twice and finally fell into Parliament hands. In 1646 it was partially demolished so that it could never again be used in warfare.

The next day I went to Salisbury, and a visit to Mompesson House. Mompesson is an 18th century town house in the Cathedral Close. The entire Close, hidden away behind a high wall, feels like stepping back in history and when you step over the threshold of Mompesson House that feeling re-inforced, as though you are in a time capsule. The house has a very tranquil and refined atmosphere and is small enough to feel cosy but is also supremely elegant. Mompesson featured in the film “Sense and Sensibility” and is a perfect fit for Jane Austen’s world.

Which do you prefer – the drama of the castle or the elegance of the townhouse?

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Fighting Fire

Today at the Word Wench Blog I am talking about the long and fascinating history of fire-fighting. Here is a taster:

“Fire-fighting is a subject that has always fascinated me. Man’s relationship to fire has always been a challenging one. On the one hand it is of huge benefit to us as a source of warmth and energy. On the other, it’s dangerous. It can run out of control, damaging property and threatening life. So I was curious to learn how men have fought fire through the centuries and what would have happened in the Regency period if your house had caught fire.” To read on, click here!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Catch Desired on bookworm2bookworm!

The wonderful Melanie Friedman is featuring DESIRED on the bookworm2bookworm blog today! Drop by here for the chance to win a copy of the book and whilst you are there you can check out the rest of Melanie’s fabulous blog. Bookworm2bookworm is celebrating its second birthday so I’d like to wish the blog many more happy years!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Prizewinners!

It’s time to announce the latest batch of website and blog prizewinners, so with a drumroll…

Congratulations to Jo who won the beautiful Regency-style velvet scarf and a copy of Mischief and Mistletoe in the October website contest. I loved that scarf so much I didn’t really want to part with it!  Belinda is the blog contest winner and a copy of Desired is winging its way to you, Belinda. Thank you so much to everyone who entered both contests!

This month’s website contest offers a copy of A Lady of Expectations and also a copy of How to Tame  Willful Wife by the lovely and talented Christy English! You can enter the contest here. Good luck, and look out for more blog contests soon!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Best Historical Reads of 2012

The UK Festival of Romance has just announced its shortlist for the award of Best Historical Read of 2012 and I am thrilled that Desired is amongst the finalists! I’ve read several of the other books on the shortlist and am hugely honoured to be in such company. I thought I would share details of the books here for anyone looking for a great historical read. In random order they are:

Mistress of the Sea by Jenny Barden: An epic Elizabethan seafaring adventure. For all who (like me!) love pirates and privateers!

The Silent Touch of Shadows by Christina Courtenay: A deliciously romantic and spooky story set in the present and in 15th century Kent. I loved it!

The Painter’s Apprentice by Charlotte Betts:  Charlotte’s wonderful books have been a real find for me. This is a fabulous 17th century tale of a botanical artist caught up in the events of the Glorious Revolution.

The Road Back by Liz Harris: A wonderful book set against a fascinating historical backdrop of the Himalayas. This one is on my Christmas list and I can’t wait!

Hold on to Hope by Jean Fullerton: Jean’s fabulous historical sagas have been wowing readers for a while and this Victorian-set page turner is no exception.

One of the nicest things  about the list is the broad representation of historical fiction it covers. Congratulations to all shortlistees!

To celebrate the nomination I am offering a copy of Desired to one commenter between now and Thursday.  Have you read the shortlisted books? Do you like stories with pirates or historicals with different and unusual backgrounds? Just leave a comment to enter the drawing!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Win Tickets to The Festival of Romance!

The UK Festival of Romance is taking place this month in Bedford and this wonderful offer has just been announced. You can WIN A PAIR of WEEKEND ROVER TICKETS  in associationwith Novelicious. The lucky winner and a friend will win £60 worth of tickets to ALL THE PARTIES at the Festival:

- Meet the Authors Coffee and Cake Morning
- Meet the Authors Rock Star Party
- Meet the Authors Historical Afternoon Tea
- Total-E-Bound Erotic Romance Party
As well tickets to:
- Pitch Your Novel – for a chance to pitch your novel live to publishers!
To enter the competition all you need to do is leave a comment on Novelicious:
http://www.novelicious.com/2012/10/win-tickets-to-the-festival-of-romance.html
Good luck!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Interview with Blythe Gifford

Today at the Word Wenches I have as my guest award-winning author Blythe Gifford talking about her wonderful new series set in the turbulent world of the Scottish Borders in the Tudor era. Drop by for a chat and the chance to win a copy of her book Return of the Border Warrior! http://bit.ly/ROaywK

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Crossing the River Thames

Here are a couple of notices I spotted on my travels recently. They relate to charges for crossing the River Thames at Goring and Streatley.

There has been a bridge over the Thames at Goring since 1837. The first notice, on the right, refers to charges for the use of that bridge.

Prior to the 1837 bridge there was a ferry crossing at Goring although some people used the crossing point as a ford and drove their carriages across, a risky undertaking. The dangers of the Thames at Goring were illustrated in 1674 when the ferry overturned in the weir pool and many lives were lost. This second notice, on the left, is dated 1719 and relates to the ferry charges. As you can see the ferry was big enough to transport a number of carriages and quite a few livestock.

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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The Secrets of a Courtesan

Next Tuesday, October 23rd, sees the first print publication of a novella I wrote back in 2008. The Secrets of a Courtesan has previously only been available as an e-book so it is very exciting finally to have a print copy! The story is the prequel to the Brides of Fortune series and like those books is set in the village of Fortune’s Folly in Yorkshire and features many of the same characters. It has as its heroine Eve Nightingale, a former courtesan who has made a new life for herself running a pawnbroker’s shop.

Pawnbroking is an ancient profession starting with the Chinese over 3000 years ago when Buddhist monks loaned money to farmers to help them develop their land. Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas was largely funded by Queen Isabella of Spain pawning her jewellery. English Kings sometimes pawned their crown jewels to fund foreign wars. The modern profession has its roots in the Medici family of 15th century Italy. Half of the family pursued the banking profession, the other half pawnbroking. The pawnbroker’s symbol of the three gold balls is based on the Medici family coat of arms.

In Britain pawnbroking expanded during the latter part of the 18th century. William Hogarth’s sketch of 1751, Gin Lane,  features a pawnbroker’s shop where gin addicts could borrow money to buy drink.  In the Victorian and Edwardian era there were said to be almost as many pawnbrokers as public houses. They would lend money on anything from jewellery to clothes to household furnishings. In my story Eve’s generosity towards her customers has led to her becoming a valued friend to the community, someone who knows a lot about the people of Fortune’s Folly and who belongs there. I love writing stories set around a group of friends and a community and it’s been lovely to revisit Fortune’s Folly!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Folly!

A couple of weeks ago I was on the Dorset coast visiting the most extraordinary Victorian folly I have ever seen. Durlston Head Castle is a mock baronial  style castle built for a Victorian industrialist, George Burt, who made his money in construction. The Durlston estate was developed as a Victorian tourist attraction with the castle at the centre housing a restaurant and refreshment rooms for the visitors.

There was an educative as well as an entertainment intent to Durlston. The side wall of the castle features a sundial and two stone tablets inscribed with various statistics such as clock times and tides around the world. South of the castle is a huge globe, one of the largest stone globes in the world, built in 1887. The grounds are landscaped with zig zag paths, streams, drives, shrubberies and pleasure gardens containing special ornamental planting: tamarisks, rhododendrons, fuschias, Pampas grass, holly, yews and variegated laurels. I particularly loved the stone plaques scattered about the grounds that are carved with quotations from the Bible and from Shakespeare.

Along the coast path are the Tilly Whim Caves, limestone quarries that stopped working in 1812 but were opened by George Burt as a tourist attraction. Access to the caves was down a set of  steps and along a passageway. There are stone benches close to the entrance. The caves opened out onto a shelf above the sea where there is an inscription from The Tempest carved into the rock face. Sadly the caves are now closed because rock falls make them dangerous so we were unable to venture down.

Victorian visitors also came to Durlston to see the fossils and to enjoy the sea views from the terraces. We had a splendid walk along the coast path on a very stormy day, then retired to the battlements of the castle to admire the windswept view much as the original visitors would have done!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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